That his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren: the king is not to be conceited or arrogant; he must not think of himself as superior to his fellow-Israelites (New International Version “consider himself better than his brothers”). The word used to translate his brethren should not mean only his blood brothers, that is, sons (and daughters) of his own parents.

Turn aside from the commandment: that is, disregard, pay no attention to, or disobey. For commandment see 4.2.

To the right hand or to the left: see this idiom in 5.32.

That he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children: this means that his royal line is to last a very long time. The Davidic dynasty, in Judah, lasted from about 1010 to 586 B.C., a total of some 424 years. This same kind of promise is made to Israelites as a whole in 5.32–6.2. Instead of children the word “descendants” is preferable. Good News Translation has a helpful translation: “then he will reign for many years, and his descendants will rule Israel for many generations.” Contemporary English Version is shorter, with “he and his descendants will rule Israel for many years.”

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 .