Beware lest you act corruptly: Revised Standard Version beware is required by the construction of the English sentence, referring back to “take good heed to yourselves” in verse 15. As already mentioned, it is better to restructure verses 15-16, using Good News Translation or Contemporary English Version as a model. The verb act corruptly means to sin, do wrong. This is a religious or moral offense, not a crime as such. The Hebrew carries the idea of going to ruin, rottenness, spoiling something that is good—in this case, the sacred relationship between Yahweh and his people. Beware lest you act corruptly may also be expressed as “Be careful that you do not disobey Yahweh by…,” or “… that you do not ruin your relationship with Yahweh by…,” or even “… that you do not defile yourselves by….”

A graven image: this is essentially an image or an idol, made of stone (10.1, 3) or wood (1 Kgs 5.18) that was carved into the shape of an animal, human being, or some object. In languages where there is no term for graven image or “idol,” it will be necessary to translate the underlying meaning and connect it to the rest of the verse. For example, “that you do not disobey Yahweh by carving out the likeness of any living thing, whether a person [or, people] or….” In this context “likeness” means “the image of” or “what looks like.”

The form of any figure: as the rest of the verse shows, the prohibition is against making such images, figures, or statues resembling a human being or an animal as a representation of the God of Israel, to be used in worship. Bible en français courant follows Traduction œcuménique de la Bible by translating the Hebrew semel (Revised Standard Version figure) by “divinity.” The meaning of the word is uncertain; see its use in Ezek 8.3, 5, and in 2 Chr 33.7, where Revised Standard Version renders “the image of the idol.” It seems better not to use the word “divinity” or “god” here, but to follow Revised Standard Version figure or likeness.

The likeness of a male or female: “that looks like a man or a woman.”

An alternative translation model for verses 15-16 is:

• Moses said to the people of Israel: “When Yahweh spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you didn’t see him. So make certain [or, be careful] that you do not disobey him by carving out the likeness of [or, what looks like] a man or a woman, ….”

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 .