But is the common conjunction waw, which here introduces a contrasting statement. Durham has “Yet,” while Good News Translation and others omit it entirely. Good News Translation changes the third person (the LORD) to first person (“I”) since it seems that Yahweh is still speaking. (But see the discussion on the quote level at 9.2-3 above.)

Will make a distinction between is literally “I will cause to be treated differently.” (The Hebrew uses a different word at 8.23.) New American Bible has “will distinguish between,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “will discriminate between.” The idea is that Yahweh will treat the cattle of Israel differently from the cattle of Egypt. The word cattle is a generic word for all domesticated animals and does not necessarily imply that the Israelites had the same kind of animals as the Egyptians. This sentence may also be expressed as “I will treat the animals of the Israelites differently from those of the Egyptians.”

So that nothing translates the Hebrew conjunction waw with the negative marker (“and not”). Good News Translation translates “and no animal.” Nothing shall die, of course, refers to “the animals of the Israelites,” but it also implies that the Egyptian animals will indeed die from the disease (verse 3). Of all that belongs simply emphasizes the distinction that will be made. New English Bible expresses this emphasis with “not a single one will die.” The people of Israel, literally “the sons of Israel,” is usually rendered as “the Israelites” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version).

Translation models showing five different ways to handle the embedded quotations are given below. It should be clear that all of verses 1-4 are Yahweh’s words at the first quote level. It should also be clear that the messenger formula in verse 1 introduces the third quote level, meaning that what follows are the exact words that Moses is to repeat to the king, word-for-word. Verse 5, of course, also contains Yahweh’s words, but it is separated in the Hebrew from the complexity of verses 1-4. (See the comment at verse 5.)

Model (1) shows that the third level quote—that is, the exact words of Yahweh that Moses is to repeat (word-for-word) to the king—continues from verse 1 through verse 4. This option is represented by Revised Standard Version.

Model (2) changes what is the second level (“Thus says the LORD…”) into indirect speech (“that Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says…”). As a result the exact words of Yahweh to the king (through Moses), which were at level 3, are now placed at level 2. This option is represented by Good News Translation, which continues these words from verse 1 through verse 5. (See further comment at verse 5.)

Model (3) limits the third quote level to verse 1, while verses 2-4 are at the second level. This represents what Yahweh wants Moses to say to the king, but not necessarily word-for-word (that is, within the messenger formula). This option is represented by New English Bible.

Model (4), represented by Translator’s Old Testament, is the same as option 3, except that the second quote level continues through verse 5. (See further comment at verse 5.)

Finally, model (5) assumes that Yahweh had already spoken all these words to Moses, and that Moses is already repeating them to the king. (This is only implied in the Hebrew text, which makes explicit what Yahweh first says to Moses.) And by using the colon () before the exact message to the king, and by changing the demand formula at the third quote level to indirect speech, the second quote level can be shown by using only one set of quotation marks. This option is suggested by Contemporary English Version.

(1) The LORD said to Moses, “Go to the palace and tell the king, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews says, “Release my people so that they may worship me. If you keep on refusing to release them, I will bring a terrible disease on all your animals—the horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. But I will make a distinction between….” ’ ”
(2) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go into the palace and tell the king that Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go so that they may worship me. If you keep on refusing… I, Yahweh, have set tomorrow….’ ”
(3) The LORD said to Moses, “Go into the palace and tell the king, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says, “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” That’s what Yahweh says. I [Moses] tell you, if you keep on refusing….’ ”
(4) The LORD said of Moses, “Go into the palace and say to the king, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says to you: “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” I, Moses, warn you that if you refuse to let them go… For Yahweh has decided that tomorrow….’ ”
(5) Then the LORD sent Moses into the palace with this message for the king of Egypt: “Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, commands you to let his people go, so that they can worship him. If you keep on refusing to release them, he will bring a terrible disease… He has set tomorrow….”

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 .