¹ tn The Hebrew participle indicates imminent future action here, though some English versions treat it as a predictive future (“will go ahead of you,” NCV; cf. also TEV, CEV).

² tn Heb “according to all which he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.”

³ tn Heb “command”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “charge Joshua.”

⁴ tc The LXX and Syriac read “to Baal Peor,” that is, the god worshiped at that place; see note on the name “Beth Peor” in Deut 3:29.

⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁶ tn Or “followed the Baal of Peor” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV), referring to the pagan god Baal.

⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁸ tn Heb “fathers.”

⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.

¹¹ tn Heb “house,” referring to the entire household.

¹² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

¹³ tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive absolute before the finite verb emphasizes the statement. The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here. Cf. ASV “shalt (must NRSV) utterly destroy them”; CEV “must destroy them without mercy.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “covenant” (so NASB, NRSV); TEV “alliance.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “will keep with you the covenant and loyalty.” On the construction used here, see v. 9.

¹⁶ tn Heb “which he swore on oath.” The relative pronoun modifies “covenant,” so one could translate “will keep faithfully the covenant (or promise) he made on oath to your ancestors.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “he will confuse them (with) great confusion.” The verb used here means “shake, stir up” (see Ruth 1:19; 1 Sam 4:5; 1 Kgs 1:45; Ps 55:2); the accompanying cognate noun refers to confusion, unrest, havoc, or panic (1 Sam 5:9, 11; 14:20; 2 Chr 15:5; Prov 15:16; Isa 22:5; Ezek 7:7; 22:5; Amos 3:9; Zech 14:13).

¹⁸ tn Heb “you will destroy their name from under heaven” (cf. KJV); NRSV “blot out their name from under heaven.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “so you will perish.”

²⁰ tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

²¹ tn Heb “the anger and the wrath.” Although many English versions translate as two terms, this construction is a hendiadys which serves to intensify the emotion (cf. NAB, TEV “fierce anger”).

²² tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

²³ tn This collocation of technical terms for elements of the covenant text lends support to its importance and also signals a new section of paraenesis in which Moses will exhort Israel to covenant obedience. The Hebrew term מִשְׁמָרוֹת (mishmarot, “obligations”) sums up the three terms that follow – חֻקֹּת (khuqot), מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim), and מִצְוֹת (mitsot).

²⁴ tn In the Hebrew text vv. 2-7 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the English translation divides the passage into three sentences. To facilitate this stylistic decision the words “They did not see” are supplied at the beginning of both v. 3 and v. 5, and “I am speaking” at the beginning of v. 7.

²⁵ tn Heb “his signs and his deeds which he did” (NRSV similar). The collocation of “signs” and “deeds” indicates that these acts were intended to make an impression on observers and reveal something about God’s power (cf. v. 2b). The word “awesome” has been employed to bring out the force of the word “signs” in this context.

²⁶ tn Heb “seeks.” The statement reflects the ancient belief that God (Baal in Canaanite thinking) directly controlled storms and rainfall.

²⁷ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it” (so NIV); NASB, NRSV “always on it.”

sn Constantly attentive to it. This attention to the land by the Lord is understandable in light of the centrality of the land in the Abrahamic covenant (cf. Gen 12:1, 7; 13:15; 15:7, 16, 18; 17:8; 26:3).

²⁸ sn From the beginning to the end of the year. This refers to the agricultural year that was marked by the onset of the heavy rains, thus the autumn. See note on the phrase “the former and the latter rains” in v. 14.

²⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

³⁰ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

³¹ tc Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11, emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ (shikhno, “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשָׁכֵן (lÿshakhen, “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the 3rd person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ (lÿshakÿno, “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed nounשֵׁכֶן (shekhen) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה (shammah, “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.

³² tn Heb “and your houses,” referring to entire households. The pronouns “you” and “your” are plural in the Hebrew text.

³³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

³⁴ tc After the phrase “the Lord” many mss and versions add “your God” to complete the usual full epithet.

³⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “surely.” Note however, that the use is rhetorical, for the next verse attaches a condition.

³⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

³⁷ tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess.”

³⁸ sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.

³⁹ tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴⁰ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁴¹ tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁴² tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.

⁴³ tn Heb “a man must give according to the gift of his hand.” This has been translated as second person for stylistic reasons, in keeping with the second half of the verse, which is second person rather than third.

⁴⁴ tn Heb “he” (and throughout the verse).

⁴⁵ tn Heb “brothers,” but not referring to actual siblings. Cf. NASB “their countrymen”; NRSV “the other members of the community.”

⁴⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁴⁷ tn Heb “you will burn out” (בִּעַרְתָּ, bi’arta). Like a cancer, unavenged sin would infect the whole community. It must, therefore, be excised by the purging out of its perpetrators who, presumably, remained unrepentant (cf. Deut 13:6; 17:7, 12; 21:21; 22:21-22, 24; 24:7).

⁴⁸ tn Heb “hated.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.

⁴⁹ tn Heb “brother.”

⁵⁰ tn Heb “sojourner.”

⁵¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁵² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”

⁵³ tn Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; NIV, NCV, NLT “be guilty of sin.”

⁵⁴ tn Heb “his pledge.” This refers to something offered as pledge of repayment, i.e., as security for the debt.

⁵⁵ tn Heb “his pledge.”

⁵⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the judge) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵⁷ tn Heb “Forty blows he may strike him”; however, since the judge is to witness the punishment (v. 2) it is unlikely the judge himself administered it.

⁵⁸ tn Heb “your brothers” but not limited only to an actual sibling; cf. NAB) “your kinsman”; NRSV, NLT “your neighbor.”

⁵⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

⁶⁰ 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”).

⁶¹ tn See note at Deut 22:30.

⁶² tn Heb “he uncovers his father’s skirt” (NASB similar). See note at Deut 22:30.

⁶³ tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.

⁶⁴ tn Heb “and walk in his ways” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁶⁵ tn Heb “will cause pestilence to cling to you.”

⁶⁶ tn Heb “did not assign to them”; NASB, NRSV “had not allotted to them.”

⁶⁷ tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּה (shÿmittah), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the procedure whereby debts of all fellow Israelites were to be canceled. Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God’s own deliverance of and provision for his people, this was an appropriate time for Israelites to release one another. See note on this word at Deut 15:1.

⁶⁹ tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] ([khag] hassukot, “[festival of] huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. See note on the name of the festival in Deut 16:13.

sn For the regulations on this annual festival see Deut 16:13-15.

⁷⁰ tn Heb “before all Israel.”

⁷¹ tc The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read 2nd person masculine singular whereas the MT has 2nd person masculine plural. The former is preferred, the latter perhaps being a misreading (בִּינוּ [binu] for בִּינָה [binah]). Both the preceding (“remember”) and following (“ask”) imperatives are singular forms in the Hebrew text.

⁷² tn Heb “generation and generation.” The repetition of the singular noun here singles out each of the successive past generations. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3b.

⁷³ tn Heb “I will hide my face from them.”

⁷⁴ tn Heb “sons” (so NAB, NASB); TEV “unfaithful people.”

⁷⁵ 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.

⁷⁶ 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.

⁷⁷ tn Heb “hands.” For the problem of the pronoun see note on the term “holy ones” earlier in this verse.

⁷⁸ 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.”

⁷⁹ 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.

⁸⁰ tn Heb “from the harvest of the heavens.” The referent appears to be good crops produced by the rain that falls from the sky.

⁸¹ tn Heb “and from under, arms of perpetuity.” The words “you” and “his” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Some have perceived this line to be problematic and have offered alternative translations that differ significantly from the present translation: “He spread out the primeval tent; he extended the ancient canopy” (NAB); “He subdues the ancient gods, shatters the forces of old” (NRSV). These are based on alternate meanings or conjectural emendations rather than textual variants in the mss and versions.

⁸² tc Smr and some LXX mss read “they buried him,” that is, the Israelites. The MT reads “he buried him,” meaning in the context that “the Lord buried him.” This understanding, combined with the statement at the end of the verse that Moses’ burial place is unknown, gave rise to traditions during the intertestamental period that are reflected in the NT in Jude 9 and in OT pseudepigraphic works like the Assumption of Moses.

⁸³ tn Heb “to,” “with respect to.” In the Hebrew text vv. 10-12 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two, using the verb “he did” at the beginning of v. 11 and “he displayed” at the beginning of v. 12.