25:1 If controversy arises between people, 8 they should go to court for judgment. When the judges 9 hear the case, they shall exonerate 10 the innocent but condemn 11 the guilty.
27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments 12 I am giving 13 you today.
27:9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God.
32:5 His people have been unfaithful 21 to him;
they have not acted like his children 22 – this is their sin. 23
They are a perverse 24 and deceitful generation.
32:6 Is this how you repay 25 the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your creator?
He has made you and established you.
33:3 Surely he loves the people; 26
all your holy ones 27 are in your power. 28
And they sit 29 at your feet,
each receiving 30 your words.
1 tn Heb “command”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “charge Joshua.”
2 tn A כּוּר (kur) was not a source of heat but a crucible (“iron-smelting furnace”) in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19); cf. NAB “that iron foundry, Egypt.” The term is a metaphor for intense heat. Here it refers to the oppression and suffering Israel endured in Egypt. Since a crucible was used to burn away impurities, it is possible that the metaphor views Egypt as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.
3 tn Heb “to be his people of inheritance.” The Lord compares his people to valued property inherited from one’s ancestors and passed on to one’s descendants.
4 tn Heb “the
5 sn Anakites. See note on this term in Deut 1:28.
6 tn Heb “great and tall.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “strong,” NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).
7 tn Or “land” (so NIV, NCV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “land” or “earth.”
8 tn Heb “men.”
9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”
11 tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”
12 tn Heb “the whole commandment.” See note at 5:31.
13 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 10).
14 tn The word “tribes” has been supplied here and in the following verse in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Heb “who lies with” (so NASB, NRSV); also in vv. 22, 23. This is a Hebrew idiom for having sexual relations (cf. NIV “who sleeps with”; NLT “who has sexual intercourse with”).
16 tn See note at Deut 22:30.
17 tn Heb “he uncovers his father’s skirt” (NASB similar). See note at Deut 22:30.
18 tn Heb “the commandments of the
19 tn Heb “and walk in his ways” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
20 tn Heb “and there will be no power in your hand”; NCV “there will be nothing you can do.”
21 tc The 3rd person masculine singular שָׁחַת (shakhat) is rendered as 3rd person masculine plural by Smr, a reading supported by the plural suffix on מוּם (mum, “defect”) as well as the plural of בֵּן (ben, “sons”).
tn Heb “have acted corruptly” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); NRSV “have dealt falsely.”
22 tn Heb “(they are) not his sons.”
23 tn Heb “defect” (so NASB). This highly elliptical line suggests that Israel’s major fault was its failure to act like God’s people; in fact, they acted quite the contrary.
24 tn Heb “twisted,” “crooked.” See Ps 18:26.
25 tn Or “treat” (TEV).
26 tc Heb “peoples.” The apparent plural form is probably a misunderstood singular (perhaps with a pronominal suffix) with enclitic mem (ם). See HALOT 838 s.v. עַם B.2.
27 tc Heb “his holy ones.” The third person masculine singular suffix of the Hebrew MT is problematic in light of the second person masculine singular suffix on בְּיָדֶךָ (bÿyadekha, “your hands”). The LXX versions by Lucian and Origen read, therefore, “the holy ones.” The LXX version by Theodotion and the Vulgate, however, presuppose third masculine singular suffix on בְּיָדָיו (bÿyadayv, “his hands”), and thus retain “his holy ones.” The efforts to bring pronominal harmony into the line is commendable but unnecessary given the Hebrew tendency to be untroubled by such grammatical inconsistencies. However, the translation harmonizes the first pronoun with the second so that the referent (the Lord) is clear.
28 tn Heb “hands.” For the problem of the pronoun see note on the term “holy ones” earlier in this verse.
29 tn The Hebrew term תֻּכּוּ (tuku, probably Pual perfect of תָּכָה, takhah) is otherwise unknown. The present translation is based on the reference to feet and, apparently, receiving instruction in God’s words (cf. KJV, ASV). Other options are as follows: NIV “At your feet they all bow down” (cf. NCV, CEV); NLT “They follow in your steps” (cf. NAB, NASB); NRSV “they marched at your heels.”
30 tn The singular verbal form in the Hebrew text (lit. “he lifts up”) is understood in a distributive manner, focusing on the action of each individual within the group.