At the central sanctuary the Israelite would buy what he was unable to bring with him, and would celebrate with his family.

Oxen … sheep … wine … strong drink: instead of oxen and sheep the translation may prefer words for their meat, such as “beef” and “lamb” (Good News Translation), since it is the eating of the animals that is in focus; otherwise we can say “cattle and sheep” (New International Version, Revised English Bible).

Wine and strong drink: wine is a fermented drink made from grapes (see 7.13). Strong drink is an alcoholic beverage such as beer; it is a fermented drink, not distilled liquor (such as “scotch” and “bourbon”). New International Version has “other fermented drink,” New Jerusalem Bible “fermented liquor,” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “other intoxicant,” New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible “strong drink.” The Hebrew word is defined as “intoxicating drink, evidently a kind of beer.” It is often paired with wine (Lev 10.9; 1 Sam 1.15; Luke 1.15). So both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version translate it as “beer.” In some languages readers have understood a literal translation of strong drink to mean “drink that makes you strong”; that is certainly not the sense of the Hebrew term.

Whatever you desire … whatever your appetite craves: this repetition may be effective in Hebrew, but it is not necessarily natural and effective in other languages. In both clauses the same Hebrew noun nefesh (“soul, appetite”) is used, with two different verbs for “crave, desire, want.”

You shall eat there … and rejoice: this can be more naturally rendered “feast with rejoicing” (Revised English Bible), or “eat and enjoy yourselves” (Good News Translation).

You and your household: as usual, the father of the family is the one being addressed, and here his family and the servants and attendants are included; thus “you, your family, and your servants” is a natural translation. In some languages there is a term that includes both family and servants; if so, that should be used here.

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 .