In the previous verse Yahweh was speaking to Moses directly. But now he speaks to all the Israelites again. So it will be helpful for translators to begin the verse with something like “Then the LORD said to all of us” (Good News Translation), or “Then the LORD spoke to you again” (Contemporary English Version).
Moreover: here the meaning of the statement that none of that evil generation would enter the land of Canaan (verse 35) becomes clear. In addition to Joseph and Caleb, your little ones … and your children will enter the land. There is no difference in meaning between “little ones” and “children”: this is a double way of referring to the younger generation. They are described as who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, that is, they are not mature enough to make moral decisions and so cannot be punished. Good News Translation “too young to know right from wrong” expresses the meaning well, or we may say “innocent young children” (Contemporary English Version).
Who you said would become a prey: that is, the Israelites said that their children would be taken captive by their enemies (see Num 14.31). This seems to be one of their excuses for not obeying Moses’ command. In languages that do not use the passive voice (as Good News Translation does), we may say “your enemies would capture….” “Your enemies” in a number of languages will be expressed as “those who hate you.”
And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it: this states that the land is both God’s gift and the people’s achievement. They will be able to conquer the land because God will give it to them. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have a complicated structure. It is possible to restructure the verse as follows:
• Then the LORD said to all of us, “You said that your enemies would capture your young children. But I will help these children go into the land and occupy it instead of you.
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 .