In this verse the name of God and the pronouns referring to him are forefronted in Hebrew for emphasis. If it is possible to provide this emphasis in other languages, translators should do so. King James Version provides a rather literal rendering of the Hebrew for the whole verse and clearly shows the focus on the LORD as the one to be worshiped: “But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him ye shall fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.”

The pronoun you is plural throughout this verse. It refers to the descendants of Jacob (that is, the people of Israel) mentioned in verse 34 and alluded to in verse 35.

Fear the LORD: Since it is the LORD who is speaking, it will be quite unnatural in many languages for him to refer to himself in this way. For this reason Good News Translation uses the pronoun “me.” The verb fear may be better translated as “venerate” (New American Bible), “pay homage” (Revised English Bible), or “worship” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version).

Who brought you out of the land of Egypt: See verse 7.

With an outstretched arm is another way of saying with great power. The parallel structure is intended to reinforce the idea. The expression is almost always used with another one bearing the same meaning. It is a common phrase in the book of Deuteronomy (4.34; 5.15; 7.19; 9.29; 11.2; 26.8), but is also found several times elsewhere in the Old Testament (see 1 Kgs 8.42). In most languages it would be a mistake to translate it literally since the meaning would not be the same.

Bow yourselves to him: If direct discourse is used in this section, it will be more natural here to say “bow down to me” (Good News Translation).

In the same way, the expression to him you shall sacrifice will be rendered “to me….” In some languages the prepositional phrase “to me” may need to be placed at the end of the clause rather than at the beginning of it. If the language has an emphatic marker, it probably will be good to add it here.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .