With the beginning of a new section, translators should reintroduce Moses as the speaker; for example, “Moses said, ….”

Give up to his master: that is, “return him to his master [or, owner].”

A slave: both Good News Translation (second edition) and New Revised Standard Version use the plural, which is an option. But it seems that the writer has the male slave in mind, so the masculine form is a faithful translation of the text; for example, “If a male slave runs away….”

To you: that is, “to the land of Israel,” “to an Israelite community.”

An alternative model for verse 15 is:

• If a slave runs away from his owner in a foreign country, and comes to Israel for protection, you must not return him to his owner.

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 .