If the guilty man deserves to be beaten: this is a serious offense, and the guilty person is to be flogged, that is, beaten with a whip made of leather thongs, or perhaps with a rod. In languages that do not use the passive voice, we may say, for example, “If the judges order them to beat [or, whip] the guilty man.”

The judge shall cause him to lie down: the judge will have the man lie prone, that is, face down on the ground. The Septuagint keeps the plural “the judges” from the previous verse (so also Contemporary English Version).

In his presence: to make sure the punishment is carried out exactly as he ordered. Another way to express this is “in front of him.”

A number of stripes in proportion to his offense: this would be according to the judge’s decision. Stripes may be also expressed as “lashes,” “strokes,” or “blows,” or even “times,” as in “the number of times that he is to be hit with the whip.”

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 .