Yet in spite of this word: that is, in spite of Moses’ speech reminding them how Yahweh had led and protected them all the way from Egypt. Other ways to express this are “But in spite of what I said” (Good News Translation) or “I said all these things, yet you still….”

You did not believe: this verb means, basically, “to be firm,” and means to trust in, to rely on, or to believe. New Jerusalem Bible has “you put no faith in,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “you have no faith in.” Driver points out that the verb in Hebrew is a participle, suggesting a continuous attitude, “you continued not believing.” Terms for believe in many languages are highly figurative; for example, “place one’s heart in” (Thai), “to conform with the heart” (Timorese), and so on. Other examples may be found in A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, pages 38-39.

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 .