You shall serve your enemies: they will work as slaves for their enemies.

Whom the LORD will send against you: all the disasters are Yahweh’s doing. It will be good to make this clear in translation; for example, “you shall serve your enemies as slaves,” “you will serve the enemies that the LORD is going to send against you” (Good News Translation), or even “he [Yahweh] will send enemies to attack you and make you their slaves” (Contemporary English Version). However, it is also possible to say something like “Yahweh will let your enemies…,” as Yahweh will not actually be the one oppressing them. For a comment on enemies see 1.42.

In hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and in want of all things: this is a vivid description of the absolute misery to which they will be reduced. Contemporary English Version has “Then you will live in poverty with nothing to eat, drink, or wear.”

He will put a yoke of iron upon your neck: this is a picture of total and degrading slavery, and God will cause it to happen. See Jer 28.13-14 for the same figure of speech. Notice that Good News Translation, in a footnote, gives “Your enemies” as a possible rendering of the Hebrew text, instead of “The LORD.”

Until he has destroyed you: see the same kind of statements in verses 20, 22, 24.

An alternative translation model for verses 47 and 48 is:

• The LORD caused you to prosper in every way, but you would not serve him with glad and joyful hearts. For this reason he will send enemies to attack you, and you will serve them as slaves. You will be hungry, thirsty, and have nothing to wear. You will live in poverty. The LORD will let your enemies treat you harshly until you die.

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 .