4:25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, 6 if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind 7 and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him, 8
18:20 “But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized 18 him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.
19:15 A single witness may not testify 19 against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established 20 only on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
24:5 When a man is newly married, he need not go into 28 the army nor be obligated in any way; he must be free to stay at home for a full year and bring joy to 29 the wife he has married.
33:11 Bless, O Lord, his goods,
and be pleased with his efforts;
undercut the legs 30 of any who attack him,
and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.
1 sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom.
2 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).
3 tn The words “I say this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 16 is subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.
4 tn Heb “the
5 tn Heb “commanded.”
6 tn Heb “have grown old in the land,” i.e., been there for a long time.
7 tn Heb “a form of anything.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV “an idol.”
8 tn The infinitive construct is understood here as indicating the result, not the intention, of their actions.
9 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.
10 tn Or “like it is.”
11 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).
12 tn Heb “detesting you must detest and abhorring you must abhor.” Both verbs are preceded by a cognate infinitive absolute indicating emphasis.
13 tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.”
14 tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
15 tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).
16 tn Heb “according to all the desire of his soul.”
17 tn Or “sojourning.” The verb used here refers to living temporarily in a place, not settling down.
18 tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
19 tn Heb “rise up” (likewise in v. 16).
20 tn Heb “may stand.”
21 tn Heb “however, a tree which you know is not a tree for food you may destroy and cut down.”
22 tn Heb “[an] enclosure.” The term מָצוֹר (matsor) may refer to encircling ditches or to surrounding stagings. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 238.
23 sn Heb “send her off.” The Hebrew term שִׁלַּחְתָּה (shillakhtah) is a somewhat euphemistic way of referring to divorce, the matter clearly in view here (cf. Deut 22:19, 29; 24:1, 3; Jer 3:1; Mal 2:16). This passage does not have the matter of divorce as its principal objective, so it should not be understood as endorsing divorce generally. It merely makes the point that if grounds for divorce exist (see Deut 24:1-4), and then divorce ensues, the husband could in no way gain profit from it.
24 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by the words “in any case.”
25 tn The Hebrew text includes “for money.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
26 tn Or perhaps “must not enslave her” (cf. ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); Heb “[must not] be tyrannical over.”
27 sn You have humiliated her. Since divorce was considered rejection, the wife subjected to it would “lose face” in addition to the already humiliating event of having become a wife by force (21:11-13). Furthermore, the Hebrew verb translated “humiliated” here (עָנָה, ’anah), commonly used to speak of rape (cf. Gen 34:2; 2 Sam 13:12, 14, 22, 32; Judg 19:24), likely has sexual overtones as well. The woman may not be enslaved or abused after the divorce because it would be double humiliation (see also E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy [NAC], 291).
28 tn Heb “go out with.”
29 tc For the MT’s reading Piel שִׂמַּח (simmakh, “bring joy to”), the Syriac and others read שָׂמַח (samakh, “enjoy”).
30 tn Heb “smash the sinews [or “loins,” so many English versions].” This part of the body was considered to be center of one’s strength (cf. Job 40:16; Ps 69:24; Prov 31:17; Nah 2:2, 11). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 325.