Deuteronomy 8:18

8:18 You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors, 1  even as he has to this day.

Deuteronomy 10:8

10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi 2  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings 3  in his name, as they do to this very day.

Deuteronomy 31:16

31:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die, 4  and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they 5  are going. They 6  will reject 7  me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 8 

Deuteronomy 31:20

31:20 For after I have brought them 9  to the land I promised to their 10  ancestors – one flowing with milk and honey – and they 11  eat their fill 12  and become fat, then they 13  will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant.

1 tc Smr and Lucian add “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” the standard way of rendering this almost stereotypical formula (cf. Deut 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4). The MT’s harder reading presumptively argues for its originality, however.

2 sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.

3 sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.

4 tn Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so NASB); NRSV “ancestors.”

5 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.

6 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

7 tn Or “abandon” (TEV, NLT).

8 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

9 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

10 tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

11 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

12 tn Heb “and are satisfied.”

13 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.