2:24 Get up, make your way across Wadi Arnon. Look! I have already delivered over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, 4 and his land. Go ahead! Take it! Engage him in war!
10:12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, 21 to obey all his commandments, 22 to love him, to serve him 23 with all your mind and being, 24
15:7 If a fellow Israelite 42 from one of your villages 43 in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive 44 to his impoverished condition. 45
18:1 The Levitical priests 52 – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. 53
24:1 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive 71 in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house.
24:7 If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, 74 and regards him as mere property 75 and sells him, that kidnapper 76 must die. In this way you will purge 77 evil from among you.
24:16 Fathers must not be put to death for what their children 78 do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.
28:1 “If you indeed 79 obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving 80 you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth.
28:15 “But if you ignore 81 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: 82
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 83 you.
32:10 The Lord 88 found him 89 in a desolate land,
in an empty wasteland where animals howl. 90
He continually guarded him 91 and taught him; 92
he continually protected him 93 like the pupil 94 of his eye.
33:21 He has selected the best part for himself,
for the portion of the ruler 95 is set aside 96 there;
he came with the leaders 97 of the people,
he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord
and his ordinances with Israel.
34:9 Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him; 98 and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses.
1 tn Heb “the
2 sn Caleb had, with Joshua, brought back to Israel a minority report from Canaan urging a conquest of the land, for he was confident of the
3 tn Heb “the
4 sn Heshbon is the name of a prominent site (now Tell Hesba„n, about 7.5 mi [12 km] south southwest of Amman, Jordan). Sihon made it his capital after having driven Moab from the area and forced them south to the Arnon (Num 21:26-30). Heshbon is also mentioned in Deut 1:4.
5 tn Heb “was left to him.” The final phrase “to him” is redundant in English and has been left untranslated.
6 sn Argob. This is a subdistrict of Bashan, perhaps north of the Yarmuk River. See Y. Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 314.
7 sn Geshurites. Geshur was a city and its surrounding area somewhere northeast of Bashan (cf. Josh 12:5 ; 13:11, 13). One of David’s wives was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur and mother of Absalom (cf. 2 Sam 13:37; 15:8; 1 Chr 3:2).
8 sn Maacathites. These were the people of a territory southwest of Mount Hermon on the Jordan River. The name probably has nothing to do with David’s wife from Geshur (see note on “Geshurites” earlier in this verse).
9 sn Havvoth-Jair. The Hebrew name means “villages of Jair,” the latter being named after a son (i.e., descendant) of Manasseh who took the area by conquest.
10 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.
11 tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”
12 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.
13 tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.
14 tn That is, “set apart.”
15 tn Heb “the
16 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.
17 tn Heb “the God.” The article here expresses uniqueness; cf. TEV “is the only God”; NLT “is indeed God.”
18 tn Heb “who keeps covenant and loyalty.” The syndetic construction of בְּרִית (bÿrit) and חֶסֶד (khesed) should be understood not as “covenant” plus “loyalty” but as an adverbial construction in which חֶסֶד (“loyalty”) modifies the verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “keeps”).
19 tn Heb “the
20 tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.
21 tn Heb “the
22 tn Heb “to walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “follow his ways exactly”; NLT “to live according to his will.”
23 tn Heb “the
24 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being”; NCV “with your whole being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
25 tn Heb “that not.” The words “I am speaking” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
26 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.
27 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.
28 tn Heb “his strong hand and his stretched-out arm.”
29 tn Heb “this commandment.” See note at Deut 5:30.
30 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.
31 tn Heb “walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV); TEV “do everything he commands.”
32 tn Heb “do not listen to,” that is, do not obey.
33 tn Heb “the commandments of the
34 tn Heb “am commanding” (so NASB, NRSV).
35 tn Heb “walk after”; NIV “by following”; NLT “by worshiping.” This is a violation of the first commandment, the most serious of the covenant violations (Deut 5:6-7).
36 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).
37 tn Heb “on the altar of the
38 tn Or “anything that has been put under the divine curse”; Heb “anything of the ban” (cf. NASB). See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
39 tn Or “set apart.”
40 tn Heb “The
41 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
42 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.
43 tn Heb “gates.”
44 tn Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. NIV “hardhearted or tightfisted” (NRSV and NLT similar).
45 tn Heb “from your needy brother.”
46 sn When the bondslave’s ear was drilled through to the door, the door in question was that of the master’s house. In effect, the bondslave is declaring his undying and lifelong loyalty to his creditor. The scar (or even hole) in the earlobe would testify to the community that the slave had surrendered independence and personal rights. This may be what Paul had in mind when he said “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).
47 tn Heb “the Passover.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English.
48 tc The MT reading אֶל (’el, “unto”) before “the place” should, following Smr, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate, be omitted in favor of ב (bet; בַּמָּקוֹם, bammaqom), “in the place.”
49 tn Heb “the
50 tn Heb “gates.”
51 tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the
52 tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.
53 sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the
54 tn Heb “according to all the desire of his soul.”
55 tn Or “sojourning.” The verb used here refers to living temporarily in a place, not settling down.
56 tn Heb “and overtake him, for the road is long.”
57 tn Heb “smite with respect to life,” that is, fatally.
58 tn Heb “no judgment of death.”
59 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).
60 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”
61 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.
62 tn Heb “the priests, the sons of Levi.”
63 tn Heb “in the name of the
64 tn Heb “by their mouth.”
65 tn Heb “every controversy and every blow.”
66 tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”
67 tn Heb “the hated.”
68 tc The LXX and Smr read “to the men,” probably to conform to this phrase in v. 21. However, since judicial cases were the responsibility of the elders in such instances (cf. Deut 19:12; 21:3, 6; 25:7-8) the reading of the MT is likely original and correct here.
69 tn The Hebrew term בִּעַרְתָּה (bi’artah), here and elsewhere in such contexts (cf. Deut 13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:9), suggests God’s anger which consumes like fire (thus בָעַר, ba’ar, “to burn”). See H. Ringgren, TDOT 2:203-4.
70 tc Some LXX traditions read הַנִּשְׁאָרִים (hannish’arim, “those who remain”) for the MT’s יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”), understandable in light of Deut 19:20. However, the more difficult reading found in the MT is more likely original.
71 tn Heb “nakedness of a thing.” The Hebrew phrase עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers here to some gross sexual impropriety (see note on “indecent” in Deut 23:14). Though the term usually has to do only with indecent exposure of the genitals, it can also include such behavior as adultery (cf. Lev 18:6-18; 20:11, 17, 20-21; Ezek 22:10; 23:29; Hos 2:10).
72 tn Heb “hates.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.
73 tn Heb “writes her a document of divorce.”
74 tn Heb “from his brothers, from the sons of Israel.” The terms “brothers” and “sons of Israel” are in apposition; the second defines the first more specifically.
75 tn Or “and enslaves him.”
76 tn Heb “that thief.”
77 tn Heb “burn.” See note on the word “purge” in Deut 19:19.
78 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB; twice in this verse). Many English versions, including the KJV, read “children” here.
79 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”
80 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).
81 tn Heb “do not hear the voice of.”
82 tn Heb “and overtake you” (so NIV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “and overwhelm you.”
83 tn Heb “commanded”; NAB, NIV, TEV “he gave you.”
84 tn Heb “besiege,” redundant with the noun “siege.”
85 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.
86 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).
87 tn Heb “to the
88 tn Heb “he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
89 tn The reference is to “his people/Jacob” (cf. v. 9), that is, Israel (using a collective singular). The singular pronouns are replaced by plural ones throughout vv. 10-14 by some English versions as an aid to the modern reader (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT).
90 tn Heb “in an empty, howling wasteland.” The word “howling” is derived from a verbal root that typically refers to the wailing of mourners. Here it likely refers to the howling of desert animals, or perhaps to the howling wind, in which case one may translate, “in an empty, windy wasteland.”
91 tn Heb “was surrounding him.” The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing care during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
92 tn Heb “he gave him understanding.” The form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
93 tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing protection during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
94 tn Heb “the little man.” The term אִישׁוֹן (’ishon) means literally “little man,” perhaps because when one looks into another’s eyes he sees himself reflected there in miniature. See A. Harman, NIDOTTE 1:391.
95 tn The Hebrew term מְחֹקֵק (mÿkhoqeq; Poel participle of חָקַק, khaqaq, “to inscribe”) reflects the idea that the recorder of allotments (the “ruler”) is able to set aside for himself the largest and best. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 444-45.
96 tn Heb “covered in” (if from the root סָפַן, safan; cf. HALOT 764-65 s.v. ספן qal).
97 tn Heb “heads” (in the sense of chieftains).
98 sn See Num 27:18.