There are seven different offerings listed here.
(1) Burnt offerings: animals completely burned, except for the hide, as an offering to God. Good News Translation calls them “sacrifices to be burned,” and many other translations term them “whole burnt offerings.”
(2) Sacrifices: the most general term possible; it usually means animal sacrifices whose meat is shared by the deity and the worshiper (or the priest).
(3) Tithes: this refers to giving the LORD one tenth of a person’s gross income—in most instances, agricultural products such as grain, wine, and olive oil (see 14.22-23). In some languages the idea of tithes in this context may have to be translated by a phrase; for example, “one tenth of all the produce…” or “one part of … out of any ten.”
(4) The offering that you present: a voluntary offering of whatever nature (Revised English Bible “contributions”; New Revised Standard Version “donations”), which the worshiper presented with his hands (see Exo 25.2-3).
(5) Votive offerings: any offering made as payment of a vow or promise. Good News Translation has “the gifts that you promise to the LORD.”
(6) Freewill offerings: offerings not required by law, which could include sacrifices of any kind. Another way to express this is “things you voluntarily give to him.”
(7) The firstlings of your herd and of your flock: or, as Good News Translation has it, “the first-born of your cattle and sheep.” On “cattle” see 2.35 and 5.14.
If it is impossible to come up with different terms or expressions for these various offerings, a general term will have to be used that will include any and all kinds of sacrifices; for example, “There you must offer all your sacrifices to Yahweh” or “There you must slaughter your animals and offer them and your other gifts to Yahweh.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
