2:24 Get up, make your way across Wadi Arnon. Look! I have already delivered over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, 12 and his land. Go ahead! Take it! Engage him in war! 2:25 This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth 13 with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.” 14
4:25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, 22 if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind 23 and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him, 24
6:1 Now these are the commandments, 33 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 34
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, 37 Girgashites, 38 Amorites, 39 Canaanites, 40 Perizzites, 41 Hivites, 42 and Jebusites, 43 seven 44 nations more numerous and powerful than you –
7:16 You must destroy 50 all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship 51 their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments 59 I am giving 60 you today so that you may live, increase in number, 61 and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. 62
9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget 66 – 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. 67
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, 77 has given you to possess. 78
15:12 If your fellow Hebrew 88 – whether male or female 89 – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant 90 go free. 91
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,”
20:16 As for the cities of these peoples that 107 the Lord your God is going to give you as an inheritance, you must not allow a single living thing 108 to survive.
22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, 119 nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive 120 to the Lord your God.
22:9 You must not plant your vineyard with two kinds of seed; otherwise the entire yield, both of the seed you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled. 121
28:15 “But if you ignore 134 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: 135
28:20 “The Lord will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing you 136 in everything you undertake 137 until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me. 138
28:25 “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror 139 to all the kingdoms of the earth.
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 141 you.
28:58 “If you refuse to obey 144 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 149 I have set before you, you will reflect upon them 150 in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.
31:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent 152 of meeting 153 so that I can commission him.” 154 So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting.
1 tn Heb “I have placed before you the land.”
2 tn Heb “the
3 tn Heb “swore” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to God’s promise, made by solemn oath, to give the patriarchs the land.
4 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 11, 21, 35).
5 tn Heb “their seed after them.”
6 tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”
7 tn Heb “the
8 tn Or “has given you the land” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
9 tn Heb “command” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “charge the people as follows.”
10 tn Heb “brothers”; NAB “your kinsmen.”
11 sn The descendants of Esau (Heb “sons of Esau”; the phrase also occurs in 2:8, 12, 22, 29). These are the inhabitants of the land otherwise known as Edom, south and east of the Dead Sea. Jacob’s brother Esau had settled there after his bitter strife with Jacob (Gen 36:1-8). “Edom” means “reddish,” probably because of the red sandstone of the region, but also by popular etymology because Esau, at birth, was reddish (Gen 25:25).
12 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.
13 tn Heb “under heaven” (so NIV, NRSV).
14 tn Heb “from before you.”
15 tn Heb “the
16 tn Heb “which you are crossing over there.”
17 tn Heb “commanding.”
18 tn Heb “it is wisdom and understanding.”
19 tn Heb “wise and understanding.”
20 tn Heb “the
21 tn Heb “commanded.”
22 tn Heb “have grown old in the land,” i.e., been there for a long time.
23 tn Heb “a form of anything.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV “an idol.”
24 tn The infinitive construct is understood here as indicating the result, not the intention, of their actions.
25 tn Heb “the
26 tn Heb “he will not drop you,” i.e., “will not abandon you” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
27 tn Or “will not.” The translation understands the imperfect verbal form to have an added nuance of capability here.
28 tn In the Hebrew text the form is a participle, which is subordinated to what precedes. For the sake of English style, the translation divides this lengthy verse into two sentences.
29 tn Heb “who hate” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). Just as “to love” (אָהַב, ’ahav) means in a covenant context “to choose, obey,” so “to hate” (שָׂנֵא, sane’) means “to reject, disobey” (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37; see also 5:10).
30 tn Heb “visiting the sin of fathers upon sons and upon a third (generation) and upon a fourth (generation) of those who hate me.” God sometimes punishes children for the sins of a father (cf. Num 16:27, 32; Josh 7:24-25; 2 Sam 21:1-9). On the principle of corporate solidarity and responsibility in OT thought see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). In the idiom of the text, the father is the first generation and the “sons” the second generation, making grandsons the third and great-grandsons the fourth. The reference to a third and fourth generation is a way of emphasizing that the sinner’s punishment would last throughout his lifetime. In this culture, where men married and fathered children at a relatively young age, it would not be unusual for one to see his great-grandsons. In an Aramaic tomb inscription from Nerab dating to the seventh century b.c., Agbar observes that he was surrounded by “children of the fourth generation” as he lay on his death bed (see ANET 661). The language of the text differs from Exod 34:7, the sons are the first generation, the grandsons (literally, “sons of the sons”) the second, great-grandsons the third, and great-great-grandsons the fourth. One could argue that formulation in Deut 5:9 (see also Exod 20:50) is elliptical/abbreviated or that it suffers from textual corruption (the repetition of the words “sons” would invite accidental omission).
31 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.
32 tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”
33 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.
34 tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”
35 tn Heb “upright.”
36 tn Heb “the
37 sn Hittites. The center of Hittite power was in Anatolia (central modern Turkey). In the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200
38 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).
39 sn Amorites. Originally from the upper Euphrates region (Amurru), the Amorites appear to have migrated into Canaan beginning in 2200
40 sn Canaanites. These were the indigenous peoples of the land, going back to the beginning of recorded history (ca. 3000
41 sn Perizzites. This is probably a subgroup of Canaanites (Gen 13:7; 34:30).
42 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).
43 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).
44 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.
45 tn That is, “set apart.”
46 tn Heb “the
47 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.
48 tn Heb “the God.” The article here expresses uniqueness; cf. TEV “is the only God”; NLT “is indeed God.”
49 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”).
50 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.”
51 tn Or “serve” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).
52 tn Heb “testings” (so NAB), a reference to the plagues. See note at 4:34.
53 tn Heb “the strong hand and outstretched arm.” See 4:34.
54 tn Heb “the
55 tn Heb “come under the ban” (so NASB); NRSV “be set apart for destruction.” The same phrase occurs again at the end of this verse.
sn The Hebrew word translated an object of divine wrath (חֵרֶם, kherem) refers to persons or things placed under God’s judgment, usually to the extent of their complete destruction. See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
56 tn Or “like it is.”
57 tn This Hebrew verb (שָׁקַץ, shaqats) is essentially synonymous with the next verb (תָעַב, ta’av; cf. תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah; see note on the word “abhorrent” in v. 25), though its field of meaning is more limited to cultic abomination (cf. Lev 11:11, 13; Ps 22:25).
58 tn Heb “detesting you must detest and abhorring you must abhor.” Both verbs are preceded by a cognate infinitive absolute indicating emphasis.
59 tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).
60 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).
61 tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”
62 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).
63 tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.
64 tn Heb “if forgetting, you forget.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis; the translation indicates this with the words “at all” (cf. KJV).
65 tn Heb “the
66 tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tishÿkakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.
67 tn Heb “the
68 tn On the phrase “metal calf,” see note on the term “metal image” in v. 12.
69 tn Heb “the
70 tn Heb “your sin.” This is a metonymy in which the effect (sin) stands for the cause (the metal calf).
71 tn Heb “burned it with fire.”
72 tn Heb “the
73 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God,” that is, against the commandment that he had spoken.
74 tn Heb “this commandment.” See note at Deut 5:30.
75 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.
76 tn Heb “walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV); TEV “do everything he commands.”
77 tn Heb “fathers.”
78 tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the
79 tc Heb “in the eyes of the
80 tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the
81 tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.
82 tn Heb “every abomination of the
83 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).
84 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.
85 tn Or “set apart.”
86 tn Heb “The
87 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
88 sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.
89 tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”
90 tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.
91 tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”
92 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.
93 tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.”
94 tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
95 tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).
96 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”).
97 tn Heb “the sufficiency of the offering of your hand.”
98 tn Heb “the
99 tn Heb “gates.”
100 tn Heb “stone them with stones so that they die” (KJV similar); NCV “throw stones at that person until he dies.”
101 tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).
102 tn Heb “according to all the desire of his soul.”
103 tn Or “sojourning.” The verb used here refers to living temporarily in a place, not settling down.
104 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).
105 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”
106 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.
107 tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is “cities.”
108 tn Heb “any breath.”
109 tn Heb “the priests, the sons of Levi.”
110 tn Heb “in the name of the
111 tn Heb “by their mouth.”
112 tn Heb “every controversy and every blow.”
113 tn Heb “Atone for.”
114 tn Heb “and do not place innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.”
115 tn Heb “you must not see.” See note at 22:1.
116 tn Heb “and (must not) hide yourself from them.”
117 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “be sure.”
118 tn Heb “help him to lift them up.” In keeping with English style the singular is used in the translation, and the referent (“the animal”) has been specified for clarity.
119 tn Heb “a man’s clothing.”
120 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.
121 tn Heb “set apart.” The verb קָדַשׁ (qadash) in the Qal verbal stem (as here) has the idea of being holy or being treated with special care. Some take the meaning as “be off-limits, forfeited,” i.e., the total produce of the vineyard, both crops and grapes, have to be forfeited to the sanctuary (cf. Exod 29:37; 30:29; Lev 6:18, 27; Num 16:37-38; Hag 2:12).
122 sn See Exod 17:8-16.
123 tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX
124 tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.
125 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
126 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).
127 tn Heb “the
128 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”).
129 tn Heb “for praise and for a name and for glory.”
130 tn Heb “and to be.” A new sentence was started here for stylistic reasons.
131 tn Heb “who rise up against” (so NIV).
132 tn Heb “way” (also later in this verse and in v. 25).
133 tn Heb “the
134 tn Heb “do not hear the voice of.”
135 tn Heb “and overtake you” (so NIV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “and overwhelm you.”
136 tn Heb “the curse, the confusion, and the rebuke” (NASB and NIV similar); NRSV “disaster, panic, and frustration.”
137 tn Heb “in all the stretching out of your hand.”
138 tc For the MT first person common singular suffix (“me”), the LXX reads either “Lord” (Lucian) or third person masculine singular suffix (“him”; various codices). The MT’s more difficult reading probably represents the original text.
tn Heb “the evil of your doings wherein you have forsaken me”; CEV “all because you rejected the Lord.”
139 tc The meaningless MT reading זַעֲוָה (za’avah) is clearly a transposition of the more commonly attested Hebrew noun זְוָעָה (zÿva’ah, “terror”).
140 tn Heb “you will not cause your ways to prosper.”
141 tn Heb “commanded”; NAB, NIV, TEV “he gave you.”
142 tc The LXX adds σφόδρα (sfodra, “very”) to bring the description into line with v. 54.
143 tn Heb “delicateness and tenderness.”
144 tn Heb “If you are not careful to do.”
145 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
146 tn Heb “have not listened to the voice of.”
147 tn Heb “you will not be confident in your life.” The phrase “from one day to the next” is implied by the following verse.
148 tn Heb “will say and see.” One expects a quotation to appear, but it seems to be omitted. To avoid confusion in the translation, the verb “will say” is omitted.
149 tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”
150 tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”
151 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”).
152 tc The LXX reads “by the door of the tent” in line with v. 10 but also, perhaps, as a reflection of its tendency to avoid over-familiarity with Yahweh and his transcendence.
153 tn Heb “tent of assembly” (מוֹעֵד אֹהֶל, ’ohel mo’ed); this is not always the same as the tabernacle, which is usually called מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “dwelling-place”), a reference to its being invested with God’s presence. The “tent of meeting” was erected earlier than the tabernacle and was the place where Yahweh occasionally appeared, especially to Moses (cf. Exod 18:7-16; 33:7-11; Num 11:16, 24, 26; 12:4).
154 tn Heb “I will command him.”
155 tn Heb “stiffness of neck” (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV). See note on the word “stubborn” in Deut 9:6.
156 tn Heb “How much more after my death?” The Hebrew text has a sarcastic rhetorical question here; the translation seeks to bring out the force of the question.
157 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
158 tn The Hebrew text includes “with your eyes,” but this is redundant in English and is left untranslated.