This is the beginning of a new chapter, so translators should begin with something like “Moses said to the Israelites:….”

Verses 1-2 are a single long sentence, and it is possible to divide it into two or more sentences by making verse 1 a complete sentence:

• The LORD your God will destroy … and you will live in their towns and houses. After this [has happened], you must….

Cuts off: here this means to “destroy” (New International Version, Good News Translation), “exterminate” (Revised English Bible), “wipe from the earth,” or whatever other verb suits the context.

Whose land the LORD your God gives you: again the point is made that the land of Canaan is God’s gift to the people of Israel.

Dispossess them: this means to drive them out of their towns and homes. For further comments, see 12.1.

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 .