Deuteronomy 1:17

1:17 They ¹  must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly ²  and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

Deuteronomy 9:4

9:4 Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land.” It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you.

Deuteronomy 10:8

10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ³  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings ⁴  in his name, as they do to this very day.

Deuteronomy 12:18

12:18 Only in the presence of the Lord your God may you eat these, in the place he ⁵  chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites ⁶  in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the Lord your God in all the output of your labor. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 16:11

16:11 You shall rejoice before him ⁸  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, ⁹  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

Deuteronomy 22:17

22:17 Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out ¹⁰  before the city’s elders.

Deuteronomy 26:5

26:5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering ¹¹  Aramean ¹²  was my ancestor, ¹³  and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, ¹⁴  but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people.

Deuteronomy 26:13

26:13 Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the sacred offering ¹⁵  from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. ¹⁶  I have not violated or forgotten your commandments.

Deuteronomy 28:31

28:31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to save you.

Deuteronomy 31:21

31:21 Then when ¹⁷  many disasters and distresses overcome them ¹⁸  this song will testify against them, ¹⁹  for their ²⁰  descendants will not forget it. ²¹  I know the ²²  intentions they have in mind ²³  today, even before I bring them ²⁴  to the land I have promised.”

Deuteronomy 31:29

31:29 For I know that after I die you will totally ²⁵  corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly ²⁶  before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.” ²⁷ 

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¹ tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).

² tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.

³ sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.

⁴ sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.

⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

⁶ tn See note at Deut 12:12.

⁷ tn Heb “in all the sending forth of your hands.”

⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

⁹ tn Heb “gates.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “they will spread the garment.”

¹¹ tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.

¹² sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).

¹³ tn Heb “father.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Heb “the sacred thing.” The term הַקֹּדֶשׁ (haqqodesh) likely refers to an offering normally set apart for the Lord but, as a third-year tithe, given on this occasion to people in need. Sometimes this is translated as “the sacred portion” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV), but that could sound to a modern reader as if a part of the house were being removed and given away.

¹⁶ tn Heb “according to all your commandment that you commanded me.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁷ tn Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

¹⁹ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²⁰ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²¹ tn Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”

²² tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²³ tn Heb “which he is doing.”

²⁴ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “totally.”

²⁶ tn Heb “do the evil.”

²⁷ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”