That the manslayer might flee there who kills his neighbor unintentionally: the meaning of the text is clear and should be expressed naturally: “so that anyone who accidentally kills another person can flee there and be safe [or, find safety].”

Another qualification is added, without being at enmity with him in the past, to make quite clear that this law has nothing to do with premeditated murder. New International Version uses standard legal language: “unintentionally … without malice aforethought.” Good News Translation is simpler with “accidentally killed someone who had not been his enemy.”

By fleeing to one of these cities he might save his life: the underlying assumption is that a member of the dead person’s family would seek to kill the man, even though the killing had been accidental. In the city of refuge he would be safe. A fuller treatment is given in 19.1-13.

An alternative translation model for languages that do not have the passive voice is the following:

• He could escape to any of these towns and they [unknown agents] cannot execute him.

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 now recounts what Yahweh said to him (verses 28b-31). In Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation Yahweh’s words are enclosed within single quotes, since they are a second level of direct speech. See the comments at the beginning of chapter 5.

Notice the redundancy in the Hebrew text: “your words, when you spoke to me”; “I have heard the words … that they have spoken to you”; “all that they have spoken.” Good News Translation has removed most of the redundancy: “When the LORD heard this, he said to me.” In some languages it will be desirable to keep the redundancy as giving a feeling of solemnity to the text.

They have rightly said all that they have spoken: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “They did well to speak thus”; Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje “Everything they have said is right”; New Jerusalem Bible “Everything they have said is well said.”

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 verse offers the reason for Yahweh’s commands. It is better to keep it in the same paragraph with verses 1-5, as Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version do.

Here the Hebrew text switches from the second person plural of address to the second singular, but in some languages translators may need to keep the plural pronoun.

You are a people holy to the LORD your God: the adjective holy means being the exclusive possession of Yahweh their God, and thus complete dedication to him. Holiness is not primarily moral and spiritual purity; it is total commitment to the exclusive worship and service of God. So Good News Translation has “Do this because you belong to the LORD your God,” and Contemporary English Version has “Israel, you are the chosen people of the LORD your God.”

God has chosen you: the initiative is God’s, not Israel’s. The verb has the sense of choosing from among several options: out of all the peoples.

For his own possession: this is the meaning of holiness, “belonging exclusively to God.”

On the face of the earth: it is not necessary to reproduce the Hebrew figure “face of the earth”; it is enough to say “all the world,” or “the whole earth” (see 6.15).

New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh offers a good model for this verse:

• You are a people consecrated to the LORD your God; of all the peoples on earth the LORD your God chose you to be His treasured people.

However, in languages that do not use the passive voice, we may translate

• Israel, you belong to the LORD your God. There are many nations [or, peoples] in the world, but he chose only you to be his special people.

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 .

Beware lest you say in your heart: that is, “Be careful not to say to yourself [or, yourselves],” or even “Be careful that you never think.”

My power and the might of my hand: the Israelites might be tempted to think that they had prospered because of their own efforts, their own skill and strength. Many languages require direct speech here, although Good News Translation has indirect speech. A model using direct speech is “Don’t think, ‘My own skill and hard work have made me rich.’ ” Contemporary English Version has “don’t say, ‘I’m rich, I have earned it all myself.’ ” In some languages wealth is defined by possessions (cattle and so on) rather than silver and gold. So we may translate “that gives you the strength to get many possessions.”

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 .

And he wrote …, as at the first writing: an alternative model is “There [on the mountain] the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on them, just as he had done the first time.”

On the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly: see the same language in 9.10.

The LORD gave them to me: that is, the two stone tablets, not the ten commandments.

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 verse is exactly like 6.9.

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 .

The prohibition to eat blood (verse 16) is here justified by the statement the blood is the life. This may have to be expressed as “it is the blood that gives life to a living being.”

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 .