If only you obey: this is the condition for the promise that there will be no poor people in the land. Again the emphatic form is used; the Hebrew verb is actually “hear,” meaning “listen to,” “pay heed to,” that is, obey.

The voice of the LORD your God: that is, “what the LORD your God orders [or, tells] you to do.”

Being careful to do: the sense is “doing your best to obey,” or “carefully observing” (Good News Translation).

All this commandment: see 5.31.

Again the emphasis is laid on this day (see 11.26, 28, 32; 13.18).

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 .

Here it is possible to go back to the second person of the text, addressing the people as a whole.

Justice, and only justice, you shall follow: the Hebrew text says simply “Justice, justice [you must pursue].” True, fair, impartial justice must be the sole aim of the Israelites. Good News Translation has “Always be fair and just.”

That you may live and inherit the land: this does not mean “live long enough to inherit the land”; rather, it means that if they pursue justice they will go on living in the land of Canaan (see 5.16; 11.31). And here the verb inherit is an inappropriate translation of the Hebrew verb, which is used many times in the sense of “take possession of” (see 11.8, 10, 29; 12.1). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and New Revised Standard Version translate “occupy”; New International Version has “possess.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• People of Israel, if you want to occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and continue to live there, you must always treat people fairly and justly.

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 .

Deut 16.21-22

Plant any tree as an Asherah: this is not a good translation. The Hebrew noun here does not mean a tree but a pole; in relation to Asherah (see 7.5) the meaning is that a sacred pole should not be erected, or fixed into the ground, next to the altar used in the worship of Yahweh. So New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “You shall not set up a sacred post”; Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje uses the compound “a post-idol.”

The altar of the LORD your God: the altar used in the worship of Yahweh, on which animals were offered in sacrifice. For altar see 7.5, and for LORD your God see 1.6.

Set up a pillar: this is a stone pillar (see 7.5).

The LORD your God hates: see 12.31.

An alternative translation model for verses 21-22 is:

• When you make an altar for offering sacrifices to the LORD your God, don’t set up near it a sacred pole for worshiping the female god [or, goddess] Asherah. And don’t set up a sacred stone pillar. The LORD hates these things.

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 .

How are the people to be sure that what the prophet says is truly a message from Yahweh? This question follows naturally from the previous verse.

If you say in your heart: this is equivalent to “If you say to yourself,” “If you think.” Again the second singular is used for the people as a whole, but a plural pronoun is permissible; for example, “You [plural] may ask yourselves [or, think].”

How may we know…? Here, not like elsewhere, the first person plural is used.

… we know the word which the LORD has not spoken: this statement is nonsense in English. Strictly speaking we cannot “know” a word that has not been spoken. In the context, however, what it intends to say seems clear enough, that is, the people want to know how they can tell whether or not the prophet’s message was actually given to him by God. So Contemporary English Version says “How can we tell if a prophet’s message really comes from the LORD?”

This verse connects closely and logically with the following verse, and the connection should be clear and natural in 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 .

All the other people are allowed to live, but they become the slaves of the Israelites.

But the women and the little ones: the little ones were children, presumably including adolescent boys not yet old enough to fight. “Take the women and children as slaves” (Contemporary English Version) is a good model.

All its spoil: this includes everything in the town that the conquerors can make use of. The same holds true for booty, all the belongings of the inhabitants, which the Israelites will keep. For spoil and booty see 2.35.

Enjoy the spoil of your enemies: the verb enjoy is literally “to eat,” used in a figurative sense but easily understood. In a number of languages and everything else … the spoil of your enemies may be shortened to something like “Take everything else that belongs to your enemies and use it.”

Which the LORD your God has given you: the people are constantly reminded that it is God who wins the victory for them.

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 .

What has passed your lips … what you have promised with your mouth: this repetition, as elsewhere, is for emphasis.

You have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God: there was no obligation. The person who made the promise was not forced to do it. An alternative model may be “the LORD didn’t force you to make a promise.”

For the whole verse, many translators will find the Good News Translation model simpler than Revised Standard Version, which follows the Hebrew structure.

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 .

Brought us out of Egypt: or “led us out”; the verb should not have the overtone of transporting or carrying.

A mighty hand and an outstretched arm: see 4.34.

Great terror, with signs and wonders: these are the means by which Yahweh made the Egyptian king agree to let the Israelites leave Egypt. The word terror here refers to the effect the signs and wonders, that is, the plagues, had on the Egyptians. The word signs generally means “miracles,” and wonders often functions as a term that emphasizes this same meaning (see 4.34). The signs and wonders were done by Yahweh before he led them out of Egypt, so we may reorder the text as follows: “Then you made the Egyptians very afraid [or, terrified] with your powerful miracles, and led 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 .

This is not stated directly elsewhere in Deuteronomy; but see in 16.19 the prohibition against taking bribes; see also Exo 23.6-8. Good News Translation has “anyone who accepts money to murder an innocent person” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

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 .