19:1 When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he 1 is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses,
14:1 You are children 3 of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald 4 for the sake of the dead.
16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants 5 for each tribe in all your villages 6 that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. 7
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn Heb “the
3 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”
4 sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.
5 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.
6 tn Heb “gates.”
7 tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”