For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you …: For the Hebrew word rendered assembly (qahal), see the comments on 10.7. In this context it may refer specifically to any gathering for worship, especially when presenting sacrifices and other offerings to the LORD at the Tent of Meeting. Good News Translation omits the word assembly since it follows the Vulgate and the Peshitta here. However, the Hebrew sentence here makes sense with it by beginning with “As for the assembly…” (New Revised Standard Version), that is, the whole assembly of Israelites and non-Israelites. (Buber translates the sentence literally as follows: “Assembly! There will be one statute for you and for the sojourner….”) The Hebrew pronouns for you and your are plural, referring to the Israelites. The Hebrew word for statute is chuqqah, which can mean “task,” “obligation,” or “law” (see 9.3). This word refers to a complex of laws here, so Good News Translation says “rules.” For the stranger who sojourns with you, see the previous verse. Here this clause has a plural sense, so Good News Translation says “the foreigners who live among you.”
A perpetual statute throughout your generations: See 10.8. A perpetual statute may be rendered “a lasting ordinance” (New International Version) or “a permanent law” (New Living Translation). The phrase throughout your generations hints at the new beginning that will occur when the new (second) generation finally enters the land of Canaan. It thus marks a contrast to the old generation and its rebellion in previous chapters. The same or similar expression occurs in verses 21, 23 and 38, and a distinctive translation should reflect this repetitive emphasis. Good News Translation renders it “For all time to come,” and places it at the beginning of this verse for added impact. The Spanish common language version (SPCL) has “which will pass from parents to children.”
As you are, so shall the sojourner be before the LORD may be rendered “In the sight of the LORD, these laws apply to you and the foreigners alike” (similarly New International Readers Version).
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .