Go into your neighbor’s standing grain: there were paths that led through the grainfields. So Good News Translation has “when you walk along a path in someone else’s grainfield.” Instead of standing grain Good News Translation and New International Version have “grainfield.” The grain could be wheat or barley; Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje gives this information in the text.

Pluck the ears with your hands: that is, pluck and eat them. This is what Jesus’ disciples did (Mark 2.23).

Put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain: they were not to cut the heads of grain and take them home. In cultures where sickles are not known, we may use a general translation as follows: “But don’t cut down the stalks of grain and take them with you” (Contemporary English Version).

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 .