Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 3:22

You shall not fear them: English translations make it appear that Moses is addressing Joshua; but the plural forms in Hebrew make it clear that Moses is speaking to all the people, and not only to Joshua. A translation should make that clear if the target language, like English, does not have different forms for the singular and the plural.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 4:29

But from there: “But while you are there,” “But in that country.” Yahweh is not restricted to his own land, the land of Israel. He can be “found” anywhere.

You will seek the LORD your God and you will find him: the idea of looking for God and finding him may not be easy to express without sounding ludicrous, as though God were hiding or living in some place difficult to find. The “seeking” consists of praying to God, and the “finding” of having the prayer answered. So we may translate “But in that country you will pray to the LORD your God, and he will answer you.”

If you search for him: here a different Hebrew verb is used; other models can be “if you really look for him,” “if you really try to find him,” or “if you really try to contact him….” In some languages this if clause will come first. In such cases translators must ensure that this verse fits with the flow of the paragraph.

With all your heart and with all your soul: in general the heart stands for intellect or will, and the soul for emotion, feelings. This phrase recurs frequently (10.12; 11.13; 13.3; 26.16; 30.2, 6, 10); the triple phrase “heart, soul, and might” is used in 6.5. Some possibilities are “whole-heartedly,” “completely,” “with all your being,” “earnestly.” Translators are urged to use descriptive language similar to the Hebrew if it does not sound strange or unnatural. Otherwise we may simply have to combine the two parts of the verse; for example, “If you earnestly pray to the LORD your God in that country, he will listen to you.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 5:18

Neither shall you commit adultery: it is not necessary to begin with Neither, a literal translation of the common Hebrew conjunction waw that may be translated “and,” “but,” “also,” “neither,” and so on, depending on the immediate context. However, in languages where using a conjunction will be natural style, a translator may choose to include it. To commit adultery is for a married individual to have sexual relations with some person who is not his or her spouse. In the context the commandment is directed to men, and adultery was to have relations with another man’s wife or with a woman who was promised in marriage to another man (see 22.22-25).

In translation the prohibition should apply to both sexes. If an equivalent term cannot be found in a language, it may be necessary to say, for example, “You shall not sleep with someone else’s spouse.” Care must be taken not to use a term that is considered crude or vulgar; euphemisms or polite ways of referring to sexual intercourse can be readily found in most languages; and many languages have their own standard idioms or euphemisms for adultery.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 6:21

Then you shall say to your son: Good News Translation has “Then tell them,” or more simply “Then you will answer” (Contemporary English Version).

We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt: Pharaoh is not a proper name but a title, which is why Good News Translation has “the king of Egypt.” For slaves see 5.6, and for “king” see 1.4.

The LORD brought us out of Egypt: for the verb “bring out” see 4.20.

With a mighty hand: this means by force, by means of great strength (as in 4.34). (The Septuagint has “a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,” as the Hebrew text has in 4.34.)

The final part of the verse may also be rendered as “Yahweh used his great power to bring us out of Egypt.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 8:4

The Hebrew text uses the second singular form of address, but translators are urged to use the plural form, unless the singular is more natural style in their language. We may say something like the following: “Your [plural] clothes haven’t worn out and your [plural] feet haven’t swollen up.”

Your clothing did not wear out and your foot did not swell: from walking through the wilderness all those years. This is an exaggerated way of saying that they had come through those difficult forty years in good shape (see also 29.5; Neh 9.21).

For these forty years see verse 2.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 9:24

You have been rebellious: this verbal phrase in Hebrew is from the same root as the verb rebelled in verse 23. Another way of saying this is “In fact, you have refused to obey Yahweh ever since….”

From the day I knew you: this presumably means from the time Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, forty years before. There is some textual evidence that the Hebrew text should be “he knew you,” referring to God. It could be that this was seen as a criticism of God for not knowing beforehand how the Israelites would act, so that the text was changed in transmission. The Hebrew Old Testament Text Project committee prefers “he knew you,” as do Contemporary English Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible; and a translator should feel free to translate it in this way.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 11:10 - 11:11

Verses 10-13 are one sentence, with some repetition: you are entering to take possession of it (verse 10) and you are going over to possess (verse 11), as in verse 8. In some languages the use of this kind of repetition may have a negative effect, leaving the reader bored with the narrative. A translator should use the style that will include all the information of the biblical text and at the same time keep the reader’s interest.

Not like the land of Egypt: the main difference is the source of water needed to grow crops. In Canaan the seasonal rains supplied the water; in Egypt the water was made to flow in irrigation canals by a series of water wheels, turned by foot. This seems to be the most reasonable explanation of the expression and watered it with your feet; some believe it is simply a way of saying “by means of hard work” (Good News Translation “work hard to irrigate the fields”). Some have suggested this means urinating, but this does not seem very likely. Alternative translation models are “you had to work hard to water your fields,” or “you had to struggle just to water your crops” (Contemporary English Version).

A land … which drinks water by the rain from heaven: in some languages there may be a problem in talking about the land “drinking” rain water; in such cases something like the following can be said: “a land with hills and valleys, which is watered by the rain” (or “which gets its water from the rains”); see verse 14 for more statements about the rains.

See Good News Translation for a good alternative model for verse 11.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 12:12

You shall rejoice before the LORD: or “You shall celebrate there at the place for worshiping the LORD.”

Instead of the all-inclusive “your households” of verse 3, here the fuller statement appears: your sons and your daughters, your menservants and your maidservants.

The Levite: that is, “the Levites,” “members of the tribe of Levi,” or “descendants of the great ancestor Levi” (see 10.8-9; 18.1-2, for further statements).

Has no portion or inheritance with you: that is, the tribe of Levi, unlike the other tribes, will not be given its own territory (see 10.8-9 for no portion or inheritance). Other ways to express this are “The descendants of Levi will have no land of their own,” or “… will not be given their own territory [in which to live].”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .