Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 7:24

Give … into your hand means the same as “give over to you” in verses 2, 16. For kings see 1.4.

Make their name perish from under heaven: once the people are killed they will not have any descendants to carry on the family name. Or else the meaning of this statement may be that they will be completely forgotten; no one will remember them or their deeds. Good News Translation has “and they will be forgotten,” and Contemporary English Version has “No one will remember they ever lived.” From under heaven means simply “on earth.”

Stand against you: that is, “resist you successfully” or “stop you” (Good News Translation).

Destroyed: the same verb that is used in verse 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 9:17

I took hold … and cast them: this sounds as though Moses had laid the stone tablets down and then picked them up again. Or else it means that he took a firm grip on the tablets and threw them violently to the ground. This was a deliberate action, not an impulsive act. If translators have a word in their language that means using great force, that term should be used here. It was a way of showing that the covenant between Yahweh and Israel was no longer in existence; by building the idol the Israelites had canceled the covenant, and Moses, representing Yahweh, breaks the tablets of the covenant. No longer is there a covenant between Yahweh and Israel.

And cast them … and broke them: that is, “I threw them down and broke them” This does not describe two separate actions but one—the act of throwing them to the ground broke them into pieces.

Before your eyes: Moses did this as a public gesture, so that all the Israelites could see that the covenant with Yahweh had been canceled. Other ways of saying this are “There right in front of you” or “right before your eyes” (Contemporary English Version). In some languages this phrase may be placed at the beginning of the verse, 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 11:3

His signs: see 4.34. Instead of the noun phrase his deeds, it may be better to say “the [great, or terrible] things [or, miracles] he did.” These are the plagues God sent upon the land of Egypt (in 4.34 the plagues are referred to as “signs and wonders”).

Pharaoh the king of Egypt: here the title “Pharaoh” is used as a proper name (see 6.21). For king see 1.4.

All his land: the sense is either “all his people” or “the entire country” (Good News Translation), probably the latter.

An alternative translation model for verses 2 and 3 is:

• Think today about what the LORD taught you through your experiences with him. It was you, not your children, who experienced these things. You are the ones who saw the LORD use his great power, when he did great miracles in Egypt and caused Pharaoh the king of Egypt and his whole land to suffer terribly.

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 12:6

There are seven different offerings listed here.
(1) Burnt offerings: animals completely burned, except for the hide, as an offering to God. Good News Translation calls them “sacrifices to be burned,” and many other translations term them “whole burnt offerings.”
(2) Sacrifices: the most general term possible; it usually means animal sacrifices whose meat is shared by the deity and the worshiper (or the priest).
(3) Tithes: this refers to giving the LORD one tenth of a person’s gross income—in most instances, agricultural products such as grain, wine, and olive oil (see 14.22-23). In some languages the idea of tithes in this context may have to be translated by a phrase; for example, “one tenth of all the produce…” or “one part of … out of any ten.”
(4) The offering that you present: a voluntary offering of whatever nature (Revised English Bible “contributions”; New Revised Standard Version “donations”), which the worshiper presented with his hands (see Exo 25.2-3).
(5) Votive offerings: any offering made as payment of a vow or promise. Good News Translation has “the gifts that you promise to the LORD.”
(6) Freewill offerings: offerings not required by law, which could include sacrifices of any kind. Another way to express this is “things you voluntarily give to him.”
(7) The firstlings of your herd and of your flock: or, as Good News Translation has it, “the first-born of your cattle and sheep.” On “cattle” see 2.35 and 5.14.

If it is impossible to come up with different terms or expressions for these various offerings, a general term will have to be used that will include any and all kinds of sacrifices; for example, “There you must offer all your sacrifices to Yahweh” or “There you must slaughter your animals and offer them and your other gifts to Yahweh.”

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 13:11

This verse describes the result of the execution of a would-be traitor.

All Israel: that is, all the people of Israel, all the Israelites.

Such wickedness: a most evil thing.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• When the rest of the people of Israel hear what happened to the prophet [or, that person], they will be afraid, and no one else will ever do such an evil thing again.

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 15:10

This verse is the reverse of the previous verse.

You shall give to him freely: literally “giving you shall give,” the emphatic construction. Good News Translation has “Give to them freely and unselfishly.”

Your heart shall not be grudging: this is a figure of speech for not being stingy, not showing an ungenerous spirit. See the expression “open your hand” with a similar meaning in verse 8.

The LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake: an emphatic statement, achieved by repetition (see 12.7). God will prosper the compassionate Israelites who are generous toward their needy fellow citizens.

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 17:6

On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses: as the second part of the verse shows, this means simply “two or more witnesses” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Good News Translation). New International Version and New Revised Standard Version “of two or three witnesses” is not good, since in current English this expression actually means “[just] a few.” See 19.15. Alternative translation models for the first part of this verse are “However, you may put that person to death only if two or more people give evidence against him,” or “… two or more people say, ‘I saw that person worshiping idols.’ ”

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 19:6

This verse gives the reason why there had to be three towns of refuge; if there were only one, it might be so far away from where an accidental death had occurred that the dead man’s relative would overtake the killer before he reached the town of refuge. Good News Translation emphasizes the need for three cities over one, with “If there were only one city, the distance to it might be too great, ….”

The avenger of blood: traditionally this has been taken to mean the dead man’s nearest relative, whose duty it would be to avenge the death. But some believe that the designated avenger would be named by the local authorities. There is not enough evidence to determine which is correct; it is recommended that the idea of a relative be the one expressed by the translation. Good News Translation has “the relative who is responsible to take revenge for the killing,” and Revised English Bible translates “the dead man’s next-of-kin on whom lies the duty of vengeance” (see Num 25.12). “Avenge” or “revenge” means to “pay back” or “punish” someone in a way that fits the crime. So avenger of blood may also be expressed as “the relative who is responsible for punishing the murderer [or, killer].”

In hot anger: in Hebrew this is a verbal form meaning “to boil over.” Alternative ways of expressing this are “be very angry” or “have a very hot heart,” and so on.

Pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long: the meaning is clear enough, but the order of the clauses may be a problem. Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje has “If there were only one city of refuge, it might be so far away that the relative responsible for avenging the death might have time to catch the man who killed his friend.” (In Portuguese “his friend” is not ambiguous; it is the “friend” of the killer.)

Wound him mortally: more simply, “kill him.”

The man did not deserve to die: this is why the three towns of refuge are needed. Good News Translation translates this as “an innocent man.” In some languages this will be expressed as “a pure [or, clean] person.”

He was not at enmity with his neighbor in time past: as in verse 4.

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 .