32:26 “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces. 7
I want to make people forget they ever existed.
32:44 Then Moses went with Joshua 8 son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people.
33:5 The Lord 9 was king over Jeshurun, 10
when the leaders of the people assembled,
the tribes of Israel together. 11
1 tn Heb “stiff-necked.” See note on the word “stubborn” in 9:6.
2 tn Heb “if it answers you peace.”
3 tn Heb “become as a vassal and will serve you.” The Hebrew term translated slaves (מַס, mas) refers either to Israelites who were pressed into civil service, especially under Solomon (1 Kgs 5:27; 9:15, 21; 12:18), or (as here) to foreigners forced as prisoners of war to become slaves to Israel. The Gibeonites exemplify this type of servitude (Josh 9:3-27; cf. Josh 16:10; 17:13; Judg 1:28, 30-35; Isa 31:8; Lam 1:1).
4 tn The Levites speak again at this point; throughout this pericope the Levites pronounce the curse and the people respond with “Amen.”
5 tn The Hebrew term קָלָה (qalah) means to treat with disdain or lack of due respect (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “dishonors”; NLT “despises”). It is the opposite of כָּבֵד (kaved, “to be heavy,” that is, to treat with reverence and proper deference). To treat a parent lightly is to dishonor him or her and thus violate the fifth commandment (Deut 5:16; cf. Exod 21:17).
6 tn Or “strikes down” (so NRSV).
7 tc The LXX reads “I said I would scatter them.” This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT, CEV).
8 tn Heb “Hoshea” (so KJV, ASV), another name for the same individual (cf. Num 13:8, 16).
9 tn Heb “he was king.” The present translation avoids the sudden shift in person and the mistaken impression that Moses is the referent by specifying the referent as “the
10 sn Jeshurun is a term of affection referring to Israel, derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, “be upright”). See note on the term in Deut 32:15.
11 sn The following blessing is given to the tribes in order, although the tribe of Simeon is curiously missing from the list.