What he did to you in the wilderness: in English, at least, did to you is mostly used to refer to something bad; here it is better to follow Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, New International Version, “did for you,” referring to the many things God did for the people during the forty years in the wilderness. For wilderness see 1.1.

Until you came to this place: that is, “right up to the time you arrived here” (Contemporary English Version), meaning Moab, across the Jordan River from Canaan.

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 .