And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben said to Moses: A new paragraph may begin here (so Good News Translation), and the conjunction And may be rendered “Now then” (Chewa) or “Then” (New Revised Standard Version). Good News Translation renders the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben as “The men of Gad and Reuben,” but in some languages it may be better to say “the leaders of Gad and Reuben” (see verse 2).

Your servants will do as my lord commands: For your servants, see verse 4. Good News Translation replaces this phrase with the pronoun “we,” which is not helpful. It is better say “We, your servants” (New Living Translation, Nueva Traducción Viviente) to express the speakers’ deference. Another model that expresses it begins this clause with “We will obey and do….” The deferential title my lord refers to Moses (see 11.28). The Gadites and Reubenites use the singular pronoun my, which refers to themselves, to indicate that they are speaking “with one voice.” In languages where this singular pronoun will not be natural, translators may render my lord as “Sir” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), “our lord” (Contemporary Russian Version) or even “their lord” (which is in the third person like your servants). This expression of deference is essential at the end of the negotiation process, marking the formal ratification of the covenant (so Ashley, page 613; Cole, page 512). There is no reason to omit it (so Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). In some languages a rendering such as “you, our lord/master” will be natural and will express the speakers’ deference at the same time. For this whole clause New Century Version has “We are your servants, and we will do what you, our master, command.”

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 .