1:26 You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God. 1
1:34 When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow: 3
6:6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,
11:16 Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods! 22
11:26 Take note – I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 23
15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation 35 of debts.
20:10 When you approach a city to wage war against it, offer it terms of peace.
23:9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure. 52
23:12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine. 53
25:4 You must not muzzle your 57 ox when it is treading grain.
25:13 You must not have in your bag different stone weights, 58 a heavy and a light one. 59 25:14 You must not have in your house different measuring containers, 60 a large and a small one.
25:17 Remember what the Amalekites 61 did to you on your way from Egypt,
1 tn Heb “the mouth of the
2 tn Heb “do not tremble and do not be afraid.” Two synonymous commands are combined for emphasis.
3 tn Heb “and swore,” i.e., made an oath or vow.
4 tn Heb “like the days which you lived.” This refers to the rest of the forty-year period in the desert before Israel arrived in Moab.
5 tn Heb includes “with silver.”
6 sn Ar. See note on this word in Deut 2:9.
7 tn The words “you must fight” are not present in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “gives your brothers rest.”
9 tn Heb “to make holy,” that is, to put to special use, in this case, to sacred purposes (cf. vv. 13-15).
10 tn Heb “may multiply greatly” (so NASB, NRSV); the words “in number” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 18, 23).
12 tn Heb “from the gods.” The demonstrative pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
13 tn Heb “will bless the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
14 tn Heb “the commandments of the
15 tn Heb “by walking in his ways.” The “ways” of the Lord refer here to his moral standards as reflected in his commandments. The verb “walk” is used frequently in the Bible (both OT and NT) for one’s moral and ethical behavior.
16 sn Taberah. By popular etymology this derives from the Hebrew verb בָעַר (ba’ar, “to burn”), thus, here, “burning.” The reference is to the
17 sn Massah. See note on this term in Deut 6:16.
18 sn Kibroth-Hattaavah. This place name means in Hebrew “burial places of appetite,” that is, graves that resulted from overindulgence. The reference is to the Israelites stuffing themselves with the quail God had provided and doing so with thanklessness (Num 11:31-35).
19 tn Heb “your inheritance.” See note at v. 26.
20 tn Heb “an outstretched arm.”
21 tn Heb “grass in your field.”
22 tn Heb “Watch yourselves lest your heart turns and you turn aside and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
23 sn A blessing and a curse. Every extant treaty text of the late Bronze Age attests to a section known as the “blessings and curses,” the former for covenant loyalty and the latter for covenant breach. Blessings were promised rewards for obedience; curses were threatened judgments for disobedience. In the Book of Deuteronomy these are fully developed in 27:1–28:68. Here Moses adumbrates the whole by way of anticipation.
24 tn Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”
25 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
26 tn Heb “the
27 tn NEB “the griffon-vulture.”
28 tn The Hebrew term פֶּרֶס (peres) describes a large vulture otherwise known as the ossifrage (cf. KJV). This largest of the vultures takes its name from its habit of dropping skeletal remains from a great height so as to break the bones apart.
29 tn The Hebrew term עָזְנִיָּה (’ozniyyah) may describe the black vulture (so NIV) or it may refer to the osprey (so NAB, NRSV, NLT), an eagle-like bird subsisting mainly on fish.
30 tc The MT reads the Niphal (passive) for expected Qal (“you [plural] must not eat”); cf. Smr, LXX. However, the harder reading should stand.
31 tn Heb “gates” (also in vv. 27, 28, 29).
32 sn Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. This strange prohibition – one whose rationale is unclear but probably related to pagan ritual – may seem out of place here but actually is not for the following reasons: (1) the passage as a whole opens with a prohibition against heathen mourning rites (i.e., death, vv. 1-2) and closes with what appear to be birth and infancy rites. (2) In the other two places where the stipulation occurs (Exod 23:19 and Exod 34:26) it similarly concludes major sections. (3) Whatever the practice signified it clearly was abhorrent to the
33 tn Heb “the
34 tn The Hebrew text includes “way is so far from you that you are unable to carry it because the.” These words have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because they are redundant.
35 tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּת (shÿmittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”
36 tn Heb “your eye.”
37 tn Heb “your needy brother.”
38 tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).
39 tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”
40 sn Sacred pillar. This refers to the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.
41 sn The reference to the priest suggests also the presence of the ark of the covenant, the visible sign of God’s presence. The whole setting is clearly that of “holy war” or “Yahweh war,” in which God himself takes initiative as the true commander of the forces of Israel (cf. Exod 14:14-18; 15:3-10; Deut 3:22; 7:18-24; 31:6, 8).
42 tn Heb “and he will say to the people.” Cf. NIV, NCV, CEV “the army”; NRSV, NLT “the troops.”
43 tn Heb “to fight against it to capture it.”
44 tn Heb “you must not destroy its trees by chopping them with an iron” (i.e., an ax).
45 tn Heb “you may eat from them.” The direct object is not expressed; the word “fruit” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
46 tn Heb “to go before you in siege.”
47 sn This requirement for the woman to shave her head may symbolize the putting away of the old life and customs in preparation for being numbered among the people of the
48 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by “make certain.”
49 tn Heb “hung,” but this could convey the wrong image in English (hanging with a rope as a means of execution). Cf. NCV “anyone whose body is displayed on a tree.”
50 sn The idea behind the phrase cursed by God seems to be not that the person was impaled because he was cursed but that to leave him exposed there was to invite the curse of God upon the whole land. Why this would be so is not clear, though the rabbinic idea that even a criminal is created in the image of God may give some clue (thus J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy [JPSTC], 198). Paul cites this text (see Gal 3:13) to make the point that Christ, suspended from a cross, thereby took upon himself the curse associated with such a display of divine wrath and judgment (T. George, Galatians [NAC], 238-39).
51 tn The Hebrew term שַׁעַטְנֵז (sha’atnez) occurs only here and in Lev 19:19. HALOT 1610-11 s.v. takes it to be a contraction of words (שַׁשׁ [shash, “headdress”] + עַטְנַז [’atnaz, “strong”]). BDB 1043 s.v. שַׁעַטְנֵז offers the translation “mixed stuff” (cf. NEB “woven with two kinds of yarn”; NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “woven together”). The general meaning is clear even if the etymology is not.
52 tn Heb “evil.” The context makes clear that this is a matter of ritual impurity, not moral impurity, so it is “evil” in the sense that it disbars one from certain religious activity.
53 tn Heb “so that one may go outside there.” This expression is euphemistic.
54 tn Heb “give [over] your enemies.”
55 tn Heb “nakedness of a thing”; NLT “any shameful thing.” The expression עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers specifically to sexual organs and, by extension, to any function associated with them. There are some aspects of human life that are so personal and private that they ought not be publicly paraded. Cultically speaking, even God is offended by such impropriety (cf. Gen 9:22-23; Lev 18:6-12, 16-19; 20:11, 17-21). See B. Seevers, NIDOTTE 3:528-30.
56 sn What the
57 tn Heb “an.” By implication this is one’s own animal.
58 tn Heb “a stone and a stone.” The repetition of the singular noun here expresses diversity, as the following phrase indicates. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
59 tn Heb “a large and a small,” but since the issue is the weight, “a heavy and a light one” conveys the idea better in English.
60 tn Heb “an ephah and an ephah.” An ephah refers to a unit of dry measure roughly equivalent to five U.S. gallons (just under 20 liters). On the repetition of the term to indicate diversity, see IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
61 tn Heb “what Amalek” (so NAB, NRSV). Here the individual ancestor, the namesake of the tribe, is cited as representative of the entire tribe at the time Israel was entering Canaan. Consistent with this, singular pronouns are used in v. 18 and the singular name appears again in v. 19. Since readers unfamiliar with the tribe of Amalekites might think this refers to an individual, the term “Amalekites” and the corresponding plural pronouns have been used throughout these verses (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
62 tn Heb “ the
63 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.”
64 tn Or “from beneath the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
65 sn This command is fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-33.
66 tn Or “in the country” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). This expression also occurs in v. 15.
67 tn Heb “the
68 tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV); NASB “which I charge you today.”
69 tc The MT reads “Your.” The LXX reads “Heaven will be to you.”
70 tn Or “heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
71 tn Heb “heart” (so KJV, NASB).
72 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the curses mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
73 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
74 tn The Hebrew term שִׁקּוּץ (shiquts) refers to anything out of keeping with the nature and character of Yahweh and therefore to be avoided by his people Israel. It is commonly used with or as a synonym for תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “detestable, abhorrent”; 2 Kgs 23:13; Jer 16:18; Ezek 5:11; 7:20; 11:18, 21; see note on the term “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25). See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:243-46.
75 tn The Hebrew text includes “which were with them.” Verses 16-17 constitute a parenthetical comment.
76 tc A number of LXX
77 tn Heb “which you are going there to possess it.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
78 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “totally.”
79 tn Heb “do the evil.”
80 tn Heb “the work of your hands.”