And now, O Israel, give heed to: since this begins a new section, it is a good idea to reintroduce Moses as the speaker, as Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version do. And now marks a turning point, a transition in the discourse. O is a marker in old English which Revised Standard Version uses to indicate that someone is being addressed. It is routinely omitted in New Revised Standard Version. Israel refers to “people of Israel,” “Israelites,” or even “fellow-Israelites.” It is advisable to begin Moses’ words with the vocative: “People of Israel! Obey….” In this context give heed to means “obey,” “follow,” “put into practice.”

The statutes and the ordinances: in this context the two Hebrew words mean much the same: “rules and regulations,” “laws and commands,” all the laws that regulated all aspects of the Israelites’ lives. There are other Hebrew words used (see especially Psalm 119), and some languages will not have more than two or three different terms for “laws,” in which case something like “all the laws,” or “all the rules and regulations” may be used. However, in some languages ordinances and statutes will be described as “all the things that people must do or not do.”

Which I teach you: “that I am telling [or, teaching] you,” “that I am making known to you.” This is a process of education and learning; the Israelites are not simply to obey the laws, but they are to know them, and in some cases even to memorize them.

And do them: New Revised Standard Version “that I am teaching you to observe” is closer to the Hebrew. Here “to observe” means “to obey.” An alternative translation model for the first part of this verse is “Then Moses said to the people of Israel, ‘You must obey all the things that I am telling [or, teaching] you to do or not to do.’ ”

That you may live and …: that is, “so that you may survive to enter” (New Jerusalem Bible). Moses has no idea how long it will be before the Israelites begin to invade (go in) and conquer (take possession of) the land of Canaan (see 1.8).

The LORD, the God of your fathers: if “your” means for readers that Yahweh is not the God of Moses, then the inclusive “our” should be used, “the God of our ancestors” (see 1.11). For LORD see 1.3. For fathers or “ancestors” see 1.8. Contemporary English Version translates the phrase God of your fathers as “He is the God your ancestors worshiped.”

Gives you: “is giving you,” “is about to give you.”

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 .