This is another rhetorical question, whose answer is “No.” Since it is so long and complex, it may be well to translate it as a statement; for example, “No other god ever dared [or, tried] to go and take a group of people….”

Attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation: the verb attempted may be translated “dared” (see its use in 28.56, where Revised Standard Version has “venture”). For go and take a nation, see verse 20. Here Yahweh is portrayed as forcibly going to Egypt and seizing the Israelites to be his own people. If take a nation for himself … is too difficult to translate, we may say “Yahweh your God dared to go and take you out of Egypt; no other god has ever done something like this.”

Yahweh did this by using trials, signs, wonders, war, and great terrors. All these events refer to the plagues God sent on the Egyptians to force the king to let the Israelites leave the country (Exo 7.14–12.36). In a series like this the precise meaning of each term is not as important as the cumulative effect of all of them used together:

• trials refer to the sufferings inflicted on the Egyptians;

• signs were the plagues themselves, seen as demonstrations of God’s power;

• wonders means miraculous events in general; in this context they are bad, not good;

• war seems to refer to what happened to the Egyptians as they chased the Israelites across the “Red Sea” (Exo 14.14; 15.3-4; Deut 11.4);

• great terrors were terrifying events, unspecified.

Good News Translation may serve as a good model for this list: “plagues and wars … miracles and wonders, and … terrifying things.” See the similar list in 26.8.

By a mighty hand and an outstretched arm: a vivid metaphor for great power, mighty strength; so “used his great power and strength” (also 5.15; 7.19; 11.2; 26.8). An alternative translation model for by trials … great terrors may be:

• He used his great power and strength and caused the Egyptians to suffer terribly. He did amazing and dreadful things that terrified the Egyptians, and he fought against them for you.

According to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt: the initial according to is a poor rendering of the Hebrew in English; it should have been “as”: “as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt” (New Revised Standard Version).

Before your eyes: that is, “in your presence.” These were public, not private, displays of Yahweh’s power. Time is shortened, and Moses’ addresses his audience, forty years after the exodus, as the very people who left Egypt. Another way of saying this is “You actually saw.”

It is possible to combine verses 32-34, putting the order of events in a more logical sequence:

• When the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt and made you his own people, you yourselves actually saw how he used his great power and strength and caused the Egyptians to suffer terribly. He did amazing and dreadful things that terrified them, and he fought against them for you. Later at Mount Sinai you heard him talking to you out of the fire. And yet you are still alive! Has anything like this ever happened since the time God created human beings? Even if you search the entire earth you will find that no one has heard of another god who did such things as the LORD your God has done for 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 .

If translators begin a new section here, it will be a good idea to start the verse with something like “Moses said to the people:….” This Handbook, however, recommends that a new section begin with verse 23.

All your assembly means “all of you who were together [or, gathered].” See 4.10-13 for this verse.

With a loud voice: Yahweh spoke loudly enough for everybody to hear him.

And he added no more: these are all the “words” (commandments) that Yahweh gave directly to the people at Mount Sinai (see 4.13; 9.10; 10.4).

And then he wrote them upon two tables of stone: in modern English “tablets” is used (Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, and others) instead of tables (see also 4.13). In the nature of the case the verb “to write” may not be appropriate for what is engraved or inscribed on stone; so something like “carved” or “inscribed” may be better.

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 .

With the beginning of a new chapter and section, Moses may need to be reintroduced as the speaker; for example, “Moses said to the people of Israel:….”

Verses 1-2 are one sentence, and some restructuring may be required, such as Good News Translation has done.

Brings: or “takes” (see 6.10).

Take possession: see 2.12.

Clears away many nations before you: see 4.38. The verb means “expel,” “drive out” (Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version). For before you Good News Translation has “as you advance.” The many nations are seven in number; the list here is complete.

Seven nations greater and mightier than yourselves: greater means larger in number of population, and mightier (Note Exo 1.9) refers to the combined strength of a large population rather than the physical strength of each individual.

The meaning and origin of the names of these seven nations are matters of dispute among scholars. Some of these groups are said to have been descended from Noah’s son Ham (Gen 10.6, 15-19), but the Handbook does not recommend that they appear as “the descendants of….” The Jebusites are identified as the inhabitants of Jebus, that is, Jerusalem (Josh 15.8, 63), and so can be called “the people who lived in [the city of] Jebus.” The Canaanites can also be called “a people who lived in [the land of] Canaan.” It seems, however, that the best translation of all seven of these names is “the people called ‘Hittites’ ” and so on, transliterating the proper names in accordance with the rules of the target language.

In restructuring the text, the information about the seven nations may be placed nearer to the beginning of the verse, as follows:

• The LORD your God is going to take you into the land that you will possess. Seven nations that have more people and are stronger than you live in that land: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. As you advance [into the land] God will drive them all out.

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 agricultural items are listed; these are all cultivated, not wild, except possibly the honey (see 32.13).

Wheat and barley were grain crops from which bread was made. In cultures where they are unknown, and a general term for “grain” is available, that term should be used here; for example, “grains named ‘wheat’ and ‘barley.’ ” If such a general term is not available, we may use a phrase suggesting a similarity to grains that are known; for example, “rice-like plants named ‘wheat’ and ‘barley.’ ” In some areas a general word for “fruit” may be employed for crops that have grains and must be threshed; for example, “fruits called ‘wheat’ and ‘barley.’ ”

For vines see vineyards at 6.11. Figs may be rendered as “a sweet fruit named fig.” Pomegranates are the fruit of a small tree of the same name found in west Asia and north Africa. They are red and shiny, about the size of a small apple. In cultures where this fruit is unknown, we may say “a fruit named pomegranate.” After these first instances of “fig” and “pomegranate,” translators may simply use the borrowed word without saying “a fruit named….” For olives see 6.11. It will be helpful to include notes in the glossary describing these various types of fruit.

For honey see 6.3.

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 .

Moses argues that, if God does not keep his promise to take the people into the Promised Land, then the Egyptians will say that God hated the Israelites and led them out of Egypt in order to kill them in the wilderness.

Lest the land from which thou didst bring us: here bring is correct, from the point of view of Moses in the land of Moab. Lest may be expressed as “Otherwise” (Good News Translation), or even expanded to “If you destroy your people” (Contemporary English Version), pointing back to verse 25.

The land … say: preferably “the people of the land say” (as in the Septuagint, “the inhabitants of the land say”); the Hebrew text has “the land say” (using a plural form of the verb). But it will be helpful to identify the people as “Egyptians”; for example, “If you destroy your people, the Egyptians will say….”

Bring them into the land … brought them out: since these are the Egyptians speaking, it is better to say “take them” and “took them out.”

An alternative translation model for the final part of this verse is:

• Yahweh was unable [or, wasn’t powerful enough] to take them into the land that he had promised to give to them. In fact, he hated them so much that he took them into the wilderness in order to kill them.

Translators in some languages may prefer to use indirect speech; in this case the model of Good News Translation will be helpful.

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 .

Grass in your fields for your cattle: the animals include cows, goats, and sheep. See 2.35.

You shall eat and be full: they will always have enough, and more than enough, to eat. They will never go hungry.

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 .

You shall not eat the blood: for the prohibition against eating blood, see verse 23 (also Gen 9.3-4; Lev 17.10-14). The Israelites devised a method of draining the blood out of the animal, a ritual still practiced by Jews today. Another way to render this sentence is “But you must not eat the blood of any animals” (Contemporary English Version).

Pour it out upon the earth like water: as New Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have it, “on the ground.” To make it clearer, “Pour it out on the ground as you would pour out water.”

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 .