Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 15:20

These animals were to be eaten in the central sanctuary, perhaps during the Festival of Booths, when the tithes were offered (see 14.23).

It will be helpful to begin this verse with a word such as “Instead”; for example, “Instead, each year you must eat the first-born….”

You and your household: see 14.26.

Before the LORD your God: in the sanctuary (see 14.26).

At the place which the LORD will choose: see 14.23.

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 17:16

He must not multiply horses for himself: this is a most unnatural use of the English language. New International Version has “The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself.” These are horses used in war; the king is not to have a huge cavalry, as Solomon subsequently had (see 1 Kgs 10.26-29; 2 Chr 1.16; 9.28). In cultures where horses are unknown, we may say something like “animals named ‘horse’ ” at this first occurrence of the term. An illustration of this animal should also be included.

Cause the people to return to Egypt in order to multiply horses: the Hebrew text is not completely clear. Most translations, like Good News Translation, take this to mean that the king is not to send people to Egypt to buy horses; but in a footnote Good News Translation gives an alternative rendering, “send people to Egypt in exchange for horses.” This rendering, which is favored by some, seems to mean sending slaves to Egypt in exchange for horses; or it can mean sending mercenary soldiers. The Hebrew says “on account of [or, for] horses.” It is suggested that the rendering chosen by Good News Translation and most other modern translations be followed.

The LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again’: this same statement is made in 28.58, but there is no record of Yahweh having made this promise. In some languages indirect speech will be preferable, as in Good News Translation.

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 19:16

Verses 16-19 deal with a case in which there is only one witness. This person is called a malicious witness, that is, a hostile witness, someone who violates the truth (the same phrase occurs in Exo 23.1; Psa 35.11).

Wrongdoing: the Hebrew word is used in 13.5 to mean apostasy (Revised Standard Version “rebellion against God”). It means the same thing in Isa 1.5; 31.6; Jer 28.16; 29.32 (its precise meaning in Isa 59.13 is in doubt). On the basis of the meaning of the word in these other passages, some commentators believe the charge here is not simply of wrongdoing in general but of apostasy in particular. The Septuagint here uses the word “ungodliness,” which means apostasy; and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has “accuse him of rebellion” (which, in the context, is rebellion against God, not against the king). The whole paragraph indicates clearly that the crime is punishable by death, and the false witness himself shall be put to death (verse 19). It is recommended that the word or expression for “apostasy” be used here (using the same expression used in 13.5), namely “rebellion against God.” So we may translate:

• If a person tries to harm another by falsely accusing that person of rebelling against God, ….

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 21:8

Then the elders will pray, asking Yahweh to forgive the people. In some languages it will be helpful to begin this verse as follows: “Then the elders will pray to Yahweh, saying, ‘….’ ” But it is possible also to understand everything the elders say (beginning with “Our hands did not shed this blood” in verse 7) as a prayer. In this case verse 8 will follow without any break, as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

Forgive: or “Absolve” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or even “Expiate” (see Revised English Bible “Accept expiation”; New International Version “Accept this atonement”). But it seems best to use the more common and understandable term, Forgive (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Bible en français courant). Forgive is a difficult term to translate in many languages. Examples from a variety of languages that may be helpful to translators are “throw away sin,” “cover over sin,” “forget sin,” and so on. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, page 13, gives many more useful examples. Other ways to translate Forgive, O LORD, thy people Israel are “Yahweh, please forgive your people, Israel,” or “Yahweh, please forget the sin of the people of Israel. We are your people.”

Whom thou hast redeemed: this refers back to the liberation from Egypt (the Septuagint includes “from the land of Egypt” in its translation). So Good News Translation has “rescued from Egypt.”

Set not … in the midst of thy people Israel: “do not hold your people Israel responsible,” or “please don’t hold us responsible.”

The guilt of innocent blood: that is, “the responsibility for the death [or, murder] of an innocent person.”

Let the guilt of blood be forgiven them: using the same verb used at the beginning of the prayer. Translators need to decide whether this repetition is good style in their language or not. Good News Translation doesn’t repeat this sentence, but Contemporary English Version makes a separate sentence, with “Please don’t hold this crime against us.” We may also make the meaning of guilt of blood or “crime” clear with “Please don’t hold us responsible for murdering [or, killing] this person.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Then the elders will pray to Yahweh, saying, “Please forgive the people of Israel. We are your people, and you rescued us from Egypt. Please don’t hold us responsible for killing this innocent person.”

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 22:25

Verses 25-29 deal with another case: rape. This case assumes that the woman did cry out but was not heard (see verse 27).

In the open country: meaning that it was at a distance from any town. We may express this as “in the fields outside a town” or “away from where people live.”

Who is betrothed: see verse 23.

Seizes her and lies with her: both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version combine the two actions with the term “rape,” meaning sex by force. In languages that do not have a single term for “rape,” we may say, for example, “forces her to have sex with him.”

Then only the man is to be put to death: in languages that do not use the passive voice, this may be transformed to “they [people not named] shall kill only the man.”

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 25:1

With the beginning of a new section, Moses should be reintroduced as the speaker.

The occasion for this law is a dispute, that is, a legal controversy between two Israelites that must be settled in court by the judges (see 1.16).

Between men: it is better to say “two Israelites” (Good News Translation) or “two Israelite men.”

Decide between them: for the procedure to be followed, see similar cases in 17.8-13; 19.17-18. A more natural way of stating this is “the judges decide that one [of the two men] is guilty.” It should be understood from this that the other one is innocent.

Acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty: the Hebrew text uses two pairs of cognate phrases, that is, phrases consisting of a verb and an adjective formed from the same Hebrew root. Good News Translation combines the final two clauses as follows: “one is declared innocent and the other guilty.” We may also translate “the judges decide that one [of the two men] is guilty and the other is innocent.”

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 27:4

When you have passed over the Jordan: as in verses 2 and 3.

This day: as in verse 1.

Mount Ebal: in the hill country of Israel, some forty-eight kilometers (thirty miles) north of Jerusalem, near the city of Shechem. This verse appears to say that the people are to plaster the stones after setting them up on Mount Ebal. Since it would take several days for them to get to Mount Ebal, this verse does not agree with verse 1, in which the Israelites are told to set up the stones the day they cross the Jordan. Two different traditions have been brought together in this narrative.

Instead of Ebal Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers “Gerizim,” citing as justification the factor which it calls “interpretive modifications.” The Samaritan text has “Mount Gerizim,” which was the holy mountain of the Samaritans after the split between Samaritans and Jews in the fourth century B.C. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives its decision only a {D} rating, and the argument can go either way: it could be that the Samaritan text made the change, or the Masoretic text (the Hebrew text that has come down to us) may have made the change in the interests of the Jews. While several English translations have “Gerizim” in their footnotes, none of the most commonly used versions have it in the text. It is recommended that translators follow the Hebrew (Masoretic) Text.

The repetition in verses 2-4 will be unnatural in a number of languages. In such cases it will be better to combine these verses in a way similar to the following:

• Soon you will cross the Jordan River and enter the land that the LORD your God has promised to give you. He is the God your ancestors worshiped. It is a land full of cattle and crops [or, produce]. As soon as you enter the land, go to Mount Ebal. Set up some large stones there and cover them with lime [or plaster]. Then write on them all these laws and teachings.

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 28:12

Open to you his good treasury the heavens: people thought of the heavens in physical terms as the place where the winds and the rains were stored (see Gen 7.11 and 8.2, the beginning and end of the Flood; see also Job 38.37; Psa 135.7). Translators are urged to keep the figurative language of treasury or “storehouse” if possible; for example, “He will send rain … from his rich storehouse in the sky” (Good News Translation), or “The LORD will open the storehouses in the sky, where he keeps the rain.”

The rain … in its season: that is, at the right time, when the crops needed it. It may be that this emphasis on Yahweh’s power to give rain reflects the belief among the Canaanites that their god Baal was the giver of rain. Contemporary English Version has a helpful model: “he will send rain on your land at just the right times.”

Bless all the work of your hands: see 2.7.

You shall lend … but you shall not borrow: this is not a command but a promise of prosperity. The Israelites will be prosperous enough to lend to other peoples, and never needy enough to have to borrow from them. For lend and borrow see 15.6.

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 .