3:18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites 1 equipped for battle.
6:1 Now these are the commandments, 8 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 9
6:10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you – a land with large, fine cities you did not build,
7:7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples.
8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments 14 I am giving 15 you today so that you may live, increase in number, 16 and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. 17
9:1 Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications. 19
11:8 Now pay attention to all the commandments 22 I am giving 23 you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed, 24
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, 29 has given you to possess. 30
12:20 When the Lord your God extends your borders as he said he would do and you say, “I want to eat meat just as I please,” 31 you may do so as you wish. 32
13:6 Suppose your own full brother, 38 your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods 39 that neither you nor your ancestors 40 have previously known, 41
15:12 If your fellow Hebrew 45 – whether male or female 46 – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant 47 go free. 48
19:14 You must not encroach on your neighbor’s property, 60 which will have been defined 61 in the inheritance you will obtain in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 62
28:1 “If you indeed 71 obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving 72 you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth.
28:15 “But if you ignore 73 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: 74
1 tn Heb “your brothers, the sons of Israel.”
2 tn Heb “commanding.”
3 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so ASV).
4 tn Heb “to which you are crossing over to possess it.”
5 tn Or “word” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV “words.”
6 tn Heb “by a strong hand and an outstretched arm,” the hand and arm symbolizing divine activity and strength. Cf. NLT “with amazing power and mighty deeds.”
7 tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NRSV).
8 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.
9 tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”
10 tn Heb “testings” (so NAB), a reference to the plagues. See note at 4:34.
11 tn Heb “the strong hand and outstretched arm.” See 4:34.
12 tn Heb “the
13 tn Heb “the
14 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).
15 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).
16 tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”
17 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).
18 tn Heb “if forgetting, you forget.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis; the translation indicates this with the words “at all” (cf. KJV).
19 tn Heb “fortified to the heavens” (so NRSV); NLT “cities with walls that reach to the sky.” This is hyperbole.
20 tn On the phrase “metal calf,” see note on the term “metal image” in v. 12.
21 tn Heb “the
22 tn Heb “the commandment.” The singular מִצְוָה (mitsvah, “commandment”) speaks here as elsewhere of the whole corpus of covenant stipulations in Deuteronomy (cf. 6:1, 25; 7:11; 8:1).
23 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB, NRSV). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in vv. 13, 27).
24 tn Heb “which you are crossing over there to possess it.”
25 tn Heb “do not listen to,” that is, do not obey.
26 tn Heb “the commandments of the
27 tn Heb “am commanding” (so NASB, NRSV).
28 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).
29 tn Heb “fathers.”
30 tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the
31 tn Heb “for my soul desires to eat meat.”
32 tn Heb “according to all the desire of your soul you may eat meat.”
33 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).
34 tn Heb “on the altar of the
35 tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.
36 tn Heb “the
37 tn Heb “all your heart and soul” (so NRSV, CEV, NLT); or “heart and being” (NCV “your whole being”). See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
38 tn Heb “your brother, the son of your mother.” In a polygamous society it was not rare to have half brothers and sisters by way of a common father and different mothers.
39 tn In the Hebrew text these words are in the form of a brief quotation: “entice you secretly saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods.’”
40 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 17).
41 tn Heb “which you have not known, you or your fathers.” (cf. KJV, ASV; on “fathers” cf. v. 18).
42 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).
43 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”
44 tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.
45 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.
46 tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”
47 tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.
48 tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”
49 tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).
50 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”).
51 tn Heb “the sufficiency of the offering of your hand.”
52 tn Heb “the
53 tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.
54 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”
55 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.
56 tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”
57 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).
58 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”
59 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.
60 tn Heb “border.” Cf. NRSV “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker.”
61 tn Heb “which they set off from the beginning.”
62 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.” This phrase has been left untranslated to avoid redundancy.
63 tn Heb “hired against you.”
64 tn Heb “sit.” This expression is euphemistic.
65 tn Heb “with it”; the referent (the spade mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
66 tn Heb “what comes from you,” a euphemism.
67 sn For the continuation of these practices into NT times see Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.
68 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”).
69 tn Heb “for praise and for a name and for glory.”
70 tn Heb “and to be.” A new sentence was started here for stylistic reasons.
71 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”
72 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).
73 tn Heb “do not hear the voice of.”
74 tn Heb “and overtake you” (so NIV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “and overwhelm you.”
75 tc For MT reading שָׁגַל (shagal, “ravish; violate”), the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate presume the less violent שָׁכַב (shakhav, “lie with”). The unexpected counterpart to betrothal here favors the originality of the MT.
76 tn Heb “lack of everything.”
77 tn Heb “he” (also later in this verse). The pronoun is a collective singular referring to the enemies (cf. CEV, NLT). Many translations understand the singular pronoun to refer to the
78 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NRSV); NASB “the offspring of your own body.”
79 tn Heb “siege and stress.”
80 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
81 tn Heb “have not listened to the voice of.”
82 tn Heb “the
83 tn Heb “stiffness of neck” (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV). See note on the word “stubborn” in Deut 9:6.
84 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.