3:18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites 17 equipped for battle.
4:25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, 24 if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind 25 and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him, 26
6:1 Now these are the commandments, 34 statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed 35 6:2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments 36 that I am giving 37 you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days.
6:10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you – a land with large, fine cities you did not build,
7:1 When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you – Hittites, 38 Girgashites, 39 Amorites, 40 Canaanites, 41 Perizzites, 42 Hivites, 43 and Jebusites, 44 seven 45 nations more numerous and powerful than you –
7:16 You must destroy 49 all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship 50 their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget 58 – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him. 59
10:12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, 72 to obey all his commandments, 73 to love him, to serve him 74 with all your mind and being, 75
12:1 These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to obey as long as you live in the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, 86 has given you to possess. 87
12:20 When the Lord your God extends your borders as he said he would do and you say, “I want to eat meat just as I please,” 90 you may do so as you wish. 91
15:7 If a fellow Israelite 104 from one of your villages 105 in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive 106 to his impoverished condition. 107
15:19 You must set apart 111 for the Lord your God every firstborn male born to your herds and flocks. You must not work the firstborn of your bulls or shear the firstborn of your flocks.
16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants 119 for each tribe in all your villages 120 that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. 121
17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, 122 legal claim, 123 or assault 124 – matters of controversy in your villages 125 – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 126
17:14 When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” 17:15 you must select without fail 128 a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens 129 you must appoint a king – you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. 130
19:14 You must not encroach on your neighbor’s property, 135 which will have been defined 136 in the inheritance you will obtain in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 137
20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry 138 and troops 139 who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.
20:16 As for the cities of these peoples that 140 the Lord your God is going to give you as an inheritance, you must not allow a single living thing 141 to survive.
22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, 146 nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive 147 to the Lord your God.
28:15 “But if you ignore 158 the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force: 159
28:45 All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has given 160 you.
28:58 “If you refuse to obey 163 all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,
30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses 169 I have set before you, you will reflect upon them 170 in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.
32:15 But Jeshurun 177 became fat and kicked,
you 178 got fat, thick, and stuffed!
Then he deserted the God who made him,
and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.
32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, 179
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist 180 my power.
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn Or “has given you the land” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
3 tn The Hebrew text includes “in their hand,” which is unnecessary and somewhat redundant in English style.
4 tn The Hebrew text does not have the first person pronoun; it has been supplied for purposes of English style (the Lord is speaking here).
5 tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”
6 tn Heb “he has.” This has been converted to first person in the translation in keeping with English style.
7 tn Heb “known” (so ASV, NASB); NAB “been concerned about.”
8 tn Heb “the
9 tc The translation follows the LXX in reading the first person pronoun. The MT, followed by many English versions, has a second person masculine singular pronoun, “your.”
10 tn Heb “hardened his spirit” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “made his spirit stubborn.”
11 tn Heb “made his heart obstinate” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “made his heart defiant.”
12 tn Heb “into your hand.”
13 sn Aroer. Now known as àAraáir on the northern edge of the Arnon river, Aroer marked the southern limit of Moab and, later, of the allotment of the tribe of Reuben (Josh 13:9, 16).
14 tn Heb “the city in the wadi.” This enigmatic reference may refer to Ar or, more likely, to Aroer itself. Epexegetically the text might read, “From Aroer…, that is, the city in the wadi.” See D. L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1–11 (WBC), 49.
15 sn Wadi Jabbok. Now known as the Zerqa River, this is a major tributary of the Jordan that normally served as a boundary between Ammon and Gad (Deut 3:16).
16 tn Heb “was left to him.” The final phrase “to him” is redundant in English and has been left untranslated.
17 tn Heb “your brothers, the sons of Israel.”
18 tn Heb “the
19 tn Heb “which you are crossing over there.”
20 tn Heb “commanding.”
21 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so ASV).
22 tn Heb “the
23 tn Heb “commanded.”
24 tn Heb “have grown old in the land,” i.e., been there for a long time.
25 tn Heb “a form of anything.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV “an idol.”
26 tn The infinitive construct is understood here as indicating the result, not the intention, of their actions.
27 tn Heb “the
28 tn Heb “he will not drop you,” i.e., “will not abandon you” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
29 tn Or “will not.” The translation understands the imperfect verbal form to have an added nuance of capability here.
30 tn Heb “take up the name of the Lord your God to emptiness”; KJV “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The idea here is not cursing or profanity in the modern sense of these terms but rather the use of the divine Name for unholy, mundane purposes, that is, for meaningless (the Hebrew term is שָׁוְא) and empty ends. In ancient Israel this would include using the Lord’s name as a witness in vows one did not intend to keep.
31 tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”
32 tn Heb “who is there of all flesh.”
33 tn Heb “the
34 tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.
35 tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”
36 tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.
37 tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.
38 sn Hittites. The center of Hittite power was in Anatolia (central modern Turkey). In the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200
39 sn Girgashites. These cannot be ethnically identified and are unknown outside the OT. They usually appear in such lists only when the intention is to have seven groups in all (see also the note on the word “seven” later in this verse).
40 sn Amorites. Originally from the upper Euphrates region (Amurru), the Amorites appear to have migrated into Canaan beginning in 2200
41 sn Canaanites. These were the indigenous peoples of the land, going back to the beginning of recorded history (ca. 3000
42 sn Perizzites. This is probably a subgroup of Canaanites (Gen 13:7; 34:30).
43 sn Hivites. These are usually thought to be the same as the Hurrians, a people well-known in ancient Near Eastern texts. They are likely identical to the Horites (see note on the term “Horites” in Deut 2:12).
44 sn Jebusites. These inhabited the hill country, particularly in and about Jerusalem (cf. Num 13:29; Josh 15:8; 2 Sam 5:6; 24:16).
45 sn Seven. This is an ideal number in the OT, one symbolizing fullness or completeness. Therefore, the intent of the text here is not to be precise and list all of Israel’s enemies but simply to state that Israel will have a full complement of foes to deal with. For other lists of Canaanites, some with fewer than seven peoples, see Exod 3:8; 13:5; 23:23, 28; 33:2; 34:11; Deut 20:17; Josh 3:10; 9:1; 24:11. Moreover, the “Table of Nations” (Gen 10:15-19) suggests that all of these (possibly excepting the Perizzites) were offspring of Canaan and therefore Canaanites.
46 tn That is, “set apart.”
47 tn Heb “the
48 tn Or “treasured” (so NIV, NRSV); NLT “his own special treasure.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4-6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.
49 tn Heb “devour” (so NRSV); KJV, NAB, NASB “consume.” The verbal form (a perfect with vav consecutive) is understood here as having an imperatival or obligatory nuance (cf. the instructions and commands that follow). Another option is to take the statement as a continuation of the preceding conditional promises and translate “and you will destroy.”
50 tn Or “serve” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).
51 tn Heb “testings” (so NAB), a reference to the plagues. See note at 4:34.
52 tn Heb “the strong hand and outstretched arm.” See 4:34.
53 tn Heb “the
54 tn Heb “the
55 tn Heb “if forgetting, you forget.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis; the translation indicates this with the words “at all” (cf. KJV).
56 tn Heb “the
57 tn Heb “stiff-necked” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).
sn The Hebrew word translated stubborn means “stiff-necked.” The image is that of a draft animal that is unsubmissive to the rein or yoke and refuses to bend its neck to draw the load. This is an apt description of OT Israel (Exod 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9; Deut 9:13).
58 tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tishÿkakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.
59 tn Heb “the
60 sn The very finger of God. This is a double figure of speech (1) in which God is ascribed human features (anthropomorphism) and (2) in which a part stands for the whole (synecdoche). That is, God, as Spirit, has no literal finger nor, if he had, would he write with his finger. Rather, the sense is that God himself – not Moses in any way – was responsible for the composition of the Ten Commandments (cf. Exod 31:18; 32:16; 34:1).
61 tn Heb “according to all the words.”
62 tn Heb “the
63 tn On the phrase “metal calf,” see note on the term “metal image” in v. 12.
64 tn Heb “the
65 tn Heb “the
66 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God,” that is, against the commandment that he had spoken.
67 tn Heb “the
68 tn Heb “Lord
69 tn Heb “your inheritance”; NLT “your special (very own NRSV) possession.” Israel is compared to landed property that one would inherit from his ancestors and pass on to his descendants.
70 tn Heb “you have redeemed in your greatness.”
71 tn Heb “by your strong hand.”
72 tn Heb “the
73 tn Heb “to walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “follow his ways exactly”; NLT “to live according to his will.”
74 tn Heb “the
75 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being”; NCV “with your whole being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
76 tn Heb “that not.” The words “I am speaking” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
77 tn Heb “who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of the Lord.” The collocation of the verbs “know” and “see” indicates that personal experience (knowing by seeing) is in view. The term translated “discipline” (KJV, ASV “chastisement”) may also be rendered “instruction,” but vv. 2b-6 indicate that the referent of the term is the various acts of divine judgment the Israelites had witnessed.
78 tn The words “which revealed” have been supplied in the translation to show the logical relationship between the terms that follow and the divine judgments. In the Hebrew text the former are in apposition to the latter.
79 tn Heb “his strong hand and his stretched-out arm.”
80 tn Heb “if hearing, you will hear.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute to emphasize the verbal idea. The translation renders this emphasis with the word “close.”
81 tn Again, the Hebrew term אָהַב (’ahav) draws attention to the reciprocation of divine love as a condition or sign of covenant loyalty (cf. Deut 6:5).
82 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
83 tn Heb “this commandment.” See note at Deut 5:30.
84 tn Heb “commanding you to do it.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation and “to do it” has been left untranslated.
85 tn Heb “walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV); TEV “do everything he commands.”
86 tn Heb “fathers.”
87 tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the
88 tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”
89 sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.
90 tn Heb “for my soul desires to eat meat.”
91 tn Heb “according to all the desire of your soul you may eat meat.”
92 sn These other sacrifices would be so-called peace or fellowship offerings whose ritual required a different use of the blood from that of burnt (sin and trespass) offerings (cf. Lev 3; 7:11-14, 19-21).
93 tn Heb “on the altar of the
94 tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the
95 tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.
96 tn Heb “every abomination of the
97 tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.
98 tn Heb “the
99 tn Heb “all your heart and soul” (so NRSV, CEV, NLT); or “heart and being” (NCV “your whole being”). See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
100 sn Execution by means of pelting the offender with stones afforded a mechanism whereby the whole community could share in it. In a very real sense it could be done not only in the name of the community and on its behalf but by its members (cf. Lev 24:14; Num 15:35; Deut 21:21; Josh 7:25).
101 tn Or “set apart.”
102 tn Heb “The
103 tn Or “treasured.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4-6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.
sn The Hebrew term translated “select” (and the whole verse) is reminiscent of the classic covenant text (Exod 19:4-6) which describes Israel’s entry into covenant relationship with the
104 tn Heb “one of your brothers” (so NASB); NAB “one of your kinsmen”; NRSV “a member of your community.” See the note at v. 2.
105 tn Heb “gates.”
106 tn Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. NIV “hardhearted or tightfisted” (NRSV and NLT similar).
107 tn Heb “from your needy brother.”
108 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”
109 tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.
110 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁנֶה (mishneh, “twice”) could mean “equivalent to” (cf. NRSV) or, more likely, “double” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). The idea is that a hired worker would put in only so many hours per day whereas a bondslave was available around the clock.
111 tn Heb “sanctify” (תַּקְדִּישׁ, taqdish), that is, put to use on behalf of the
112 tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).
113 tn The Hebrew phrase חַג שָׁבֻעוֹת (khag shavu’ot) is otherwise known in the OT (Exod 23:16) as קָצִיר (qatsir, “harvest”) and in the NT as πεντηχοστή (penthcosth, “Pentecost”).
114 tn Heb “the sufficiency of the offering of your hand.”
115 tn Heb “the
116 tn Heb “the
117 tn Heb “the
118 tn Heb “in all the work of your hands” (so NASB, NIV); NAB, NRSV “in all your undertakings.”
119 tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice.
120 tn Heb “gates.”
121 tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”
122 tn Heb “between blood and blood.”
123 tn Heb “between claim and claim.”
124 tn Heb “between blow and blow.”
125 tn Heb “gates.”
126 tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.
127 tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).
128 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”
129 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.
130 tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”
131 tn Heb “border.”
132 tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).
133 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”
134 sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.
135 tn Heb “border.” Cf. NRSV “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker.”
136 tn Heb “which they set off from the beginning.”
137 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.” This phrase has been left untranslated to avoid redundancy.
138 tn Heb “horse and chariot.”
139 tn Heb “people.”
140 tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is “cities.”
141 tn Heb “any breath.”
142 tn Heb “the priests, the sons of Levi.”
143 tn Heb “in the name of the
144 tn Heb “by their mouth.”
145 tn Heb “every controversy and every blow.”
146 tn Heb “a man’s clothing.”
147 tn The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “offense”) speaks of anything that runs counter to ritual or moral order, especially (in the OT) to divine standards. Cross-dressing in this covenant context may suggest homosexuality, fertility cult ritual, or some other forbidden practice.
148 tn Or “just”; Heb “righteous.”
149 sn See Exod 17:8-16.
150 tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX
151 tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.
152 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
153 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).
154 tn Heb “the
155 tn Heb “so that.” Verses 18-19 are one sentence in the Hebrew text, but the translation divides it into three sentences for stylistic reasons. The first clause in verse 19 gives a result of the preceding clause. When Israel keeps God’s law, God will bless them with fame and honor (cf. NAB “he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory”; NLT “And if you do, he will make you greater than any other nation”).
156 tn Heb “for praise and for a name and for glory.”
157 tn Heb “and to be.” A new sentence was started here for stylistic reasons.
158 tn Heb “do not hear the voice of.”
159 tn Heb “and overtake you” (so NIV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “and overwhelm you.”
160 tn Heb “commanded”; NAB, NIV, TEV “he gave you.”
161 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NRSV); NASB “the offspring of your own body.”
162 tn Heb “siege and stress.”
163 tn Heb “If you are not careful to do.”
164 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
165 tn Heb “have not listened to the voice of.”
166 tn Heb “in order to establish you today to him for a people and he will be to you for God.” Verses 10-13 are one long sentence in Hebrew. The translation divides this into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
167 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).
168 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV “children.”
169 tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”
170 tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”
171 tn Heb “the
172 tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.
173 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
174 tn Heb “the
175 tn Heb “to the
176 tn The phrase “this law” is not in the Hebrew text, but English style requires an object for the verb here. Other translations also supply the object which is otherwise implicit (cf. NIV “who do not know this law”; TEV “who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God”).
177 tn To make the continuity of the referent clear, some English versions substitute “Jacob” here (NAB, NRSV) while others replace “Jeshurun” with “Israel” (NCV, CEV, NLT) or “the Lord’s people” (TEV).
sn Jeshurun is a term of affection derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, “be upright”). Here it speaks of Israel “in an ideal situation, with its ‘uprightness’ due more to God’s help than his own efforts” (M. Mulder, TDOT 6:475).
178 tc The LXX reads the third person masculine singular (“he”) for the MT second person masculine singular (“you”), but such alterations are unnecessary in Hebrew poetic texts where subjects fluctuate frequently and without warning.
179 tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the
180 tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).