We, that is, the writer and his first readers, know that God was the speaker in Deuteronomy 32.35-36 (compare Psa 135.14 and Rom 12.19). However, some present-day receptors may not know this, or at least may be puzzled for a moment. To make the meaning plain for modern readers, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “We know that the Lord (God) has said….”

In other places where the writer divides a quotation taken from the Old Testament, the result is to emphasize the last part of the quotation. This may be the case here. If so, the implied meaning will be “God will take revenge, not only on his adversaries in other nations (see verse 27), but also, indeed especially, on his own people.” This would fit the context well, since the rest of the chapter is concerned with the Christian community. It is likely that the existing Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 32.35, and followed in Hebrews and Romans 12.19, is an abbreviation of the original “in the day of judgment,” preserved in the Septuagint and other witnesses.

If this explanation is correct, translators will need to find some way of emphasizing the second part of the quotation, perhaps by expanding the words which introduce it (literally “And again” [Revised Standard Version], as for example in the Greek of 1.5). The translation of the introductions to the quotations in 5.5, 6 may serve as a model; there the meaning is “God calls Christ not only his Son, but also a priest….”

The introductions to both parts of the quotation in 10.30 may need expansion for other reasons also. We know who said may be rendered “we know who it was who said,” “we know that it was the Lord who said,” or “… that it was God who said.” The word for know suggests knowledge of facts, not in this context knowledge of people. Similarly, and who also said may be translated “We also know who it was who said.”

The meaning of the first quotation may need expansion; for example, “I will pay you back for the wrong you have done,” or if there is any danger of “pay back” being misunderstood as referring to compensation or reward, “I will certainly make you suffer for the evil you have done.”

In its Old Testament context, the second quotation means “The Lord will prove his people right,” but The Lord will judge his people is certainly how the writer of Hebrews understands the Old Testament text. In some languages this must be adjusted to “I will judge my people,” since God is the assumed speaker.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .