The song ends with Moses exhorting the nations to praise Israel for what God has done on their behalf, and translators should reintroduce Moses as the speaker here.

Praise his people, O you nations: that is, “All peoples everywhere, you are urged to praise the LORD’s people,” or “All peoples everywhere, you must say to the LORD’s people, ‘You are wonderful [or, great].’ ”

But New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible translate the Qumran manuscript and the Septuagint, as follows:

Praise, O heavens, his people,
worship him, all you gods (New Revised Standard Version).

Rejoice with him, you heavens,
bow down, all you gods, before him (Revised English Bible).

Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends the following modified form of the text of Qumran manuscript and Septuagint ({B} rating):

Cry out for joy with him, you heavens,
Bow down before him, all you gods.

It is recommended that translators follow Hebrew Old Testament Text Project as translated by Revised English Bible. In the first line “him” refers to the Israelites, the LORD’s people; in the second line “him” is the LORD. A possible rendering is:

• Heavens, you must cry out for joy
with the LORD’s people,
and all you gods bow down
before the LORD.

He avenges the blood of his servants: here, as elsewhere, the blood means violent death; and his servants are his people, the Israelites (verse 36). Here the Qumran manuscript and Septuagint have “his children,” which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers ({B} rating); it is followed by New Revised Standard Version. It is recommended that “his children” be adopted as the text to be translated; “his children” means the same as his servants, that is, the Israelites, the LORD’s people.

Takes vengeance on his adversaries: see verse 41.

Makes expiation for the land of his people: the verb makes expiation means to do what is needed to remove the result of the sins of the people. In effect the sins made the land unclean, and it must be purified—which God does. The text does not say how God does this. Good News Translation “forgives the sins of his people” expresses an important element of the text, but it does not focus on the land (of Israel), as the text itself does. So it is better, with New Jerusalem Bible “purify” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “cleanse,” to make the land the object of the verb. We may say something like the following: “He cleanses the land of his people from the impurities caused by their sins.”

There is a further textual problem here; the Hebrew text as we have it has “his land his people”; but the Qumran manuscript and the Septuagint have “the land of his people,” which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project ({B} rating) and this Handbook recommend.

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 .