So Moses came, literally “and Moses entered,” should here be translated in context. He was up on the mountain for verses 3-6, but now he is with the people down at the foot of the mountain. So Good News Translation has “So Moses went down,” and in some languages it will be necessary to say “So Moses went down the mountain.” And called the elders of the people uses the same word for called as in verse 3, where Yahweh “called to” Moses. There it was to one person, but here Moses is calling a group of people, so Good News Translation says he “called the leaders of the people together.” New Revised Standard Version and others say that he “summoned the elders.” (Elders are discussed at 3.16.)

And set before them, literally “and he placed to their faces,” may need to be changed, for what he “placed” were all these words. Good News Translation has “and told them everything.” All these words uses the demonstrative pronoun these, and so in this context it refers to verses 4-6a. Some translations (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Childs) have changed these to “the,” which may suggest that there were other words from Yahweh in addition to those just mentioned. It is better to retain these.

Words is the plural of davar (see 18.16), which may also mean “commands” (Revised English Bible), but verses 4-6a are more like promises than “commands.” Which the LORD had commanded him refers to verse 3, where Yahweh commanded Moses to “tell the people.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .