And the LORD said to Moses: See 1.1. Since the speech of the LORD continues here from verse 1, translators may render the conjunction And as “Then” (New International Readers Version, NET Bible) or “further” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

Say to the people of Israel: Good News Translation uses indirect speech here by translating “to say to the people of Israel,” thus reducing the levels of direct speech. This may be more natural in some languages.

When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan refers to crossing over the Jordan River into the territory west of it, as in 33.51. The repetition of this information underscores that the following instructions are to prepare the people for their life in Canaan, the land promised to them by the LORD (see 15.2). As noted at 33.51, in some languages it will be more natural to say “When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land of Canaan” (Good News Translation; similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bijbel in Gewone Taal) or “After you have crossed the Jordan River to enter the land of Canaan” (Parole de Vie; similarly La Nouvelle Bible Segond, SPCL, Nueva Traducción Viviente). Contemporary Russian Version has “when you, crossing the Jordan, enter the land of Canaan,” thus emphasizing entering the land rather than crossing the Jordan. This may be a helpful model in some languages.

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 .