I must die: New Revised Standard Version “I am going to die,” or Good News Translation “I will die,” expresses the Hebrew better.

In this land: that is, Moab, on the east side of the Jordan.

I must not go over the Jordan: “I will not [get to] cross the Jordan River.”

Contemporary English Version has a helpful model for the first two clauses of this verse: “So I must stay here and die on this side of the Jordan….”

You shall go over and take possession: see 1.8.

For that good land see the previous verse.

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 .