The days approach when you must die: some different ways of expressing this are “You will soon die” (Contemporary English Version), “the day of your death is near” (New International Version), “your time to die is near” (New Revised Standard Version), “The time is drawing near for you to die” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “the time is near when you must die” (New Jerusalem Bible). This is meant as a statement of fact; it is neither a promise nor a threat as such.

Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting: present yourselves applies to Moses and Joshua. The tent of meeting (the “tabernacle”) was the place where God “met” his people, that is, where he was present with them (see Exo 27.21; 33.7-11; Lev 25.22; 29.42-45; 33.7-11; Num 27.19). The tent of meeting may also be expressed as “the tent where I meet with you” or “the sacred tent” (Contemporary English Version). Translators should avoid following the model of Today’s English Version, which simply capitalizes “Tent.” People listening to the text read aloud will not hear this special marking device. These two clauses may be more simply expressed as “Call Joshua, and bring him with you to the sacred tent.”

I may commission him: that is, “install him in office.” In Num 27.8-19 Yahweh orders Moses to commission Joshua. Another way to express this is “appoint him as leader of Israel” (Contemporary English Version). Today’s English Version “give him his instructions” is misleading.

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 .