Has gone and served other gods and worshiped them: this is the sin that breaks the covenant, of which the Ten Commandments are the basic stipulations or requirements (see 4.13). Idolatry is prohibited at the very beginning of the commandments (5.7-8; see also 4.19; 8.19). The verbal form has gone does not necessarily indicate travel to a pagan shrine; the verb here is used as an auxiliary (like the frequent use of the verb “to rise”). Contemporary English Version uses the word “start,” as in “… may start worshiping.”

It may be difficult to establish a difference between served and worshiped pagan deities (see 4.19). “Bow down and worship” may be an alternative model.

Or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven: see 4.19.

Which I have forbidden: as it stands, the first person “I” of the text is Moses himself, who is the speaker. But it seems fairly clear that the text means to say that Yahweh, the God of Israel, was the one who had prohibited idol worship. Bible en français courant follows the Septuagint, “a thing he did not command,” and translates “the LORD never ordered you to do such a thing.” It is on the grounds of context, not text, that Good News Translation has made Yahweh the subject: “contrary to the LORD’s command.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje have done the same, and the translator is encouraged to follow this example.

An alternative translation model combining verses 2 and 3 is the following:

• Moses said to the Israelites, “When you are living in the towns that the LORD your God is giving you, you may hear that a man or woman in your town has disobeyed the LORD’s command and has begun to bow down and worship other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars. By doing this that person has sinned against the LORD and broken his covenant.

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 .