¹ tn Heb “turn”; NAB “Leave here”; NIV, TEV “Break camp.”

² tn Heb “go (to).”

³ tn Heb “its dwelling places.”

⁴ tn Heb “the Arabah” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

⁵ tn Heb “lowlands” (so TEV) or “steppes”; NIV, CEV, NLT “the western foothills.”

sn The Shephelah is the geographical region between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the Judean hill country.

⁶ sn The Hebrew term Negev means literally “desert” or “south” (so KJV, ASV). It refers to the area south of Beer Sheba and generally west of the Arabah Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.

⁷ sn Ar was a Moabite city on the Arnon River east of the Dead Sea. It is mentioned elsewhere in the “Book of the Wars of Yahweh” (Num 21:15; cf. 21:28; Isa 15:1). Here it is synonymous with the whole land of Moab.

⁸ sn The descendants of Lot. Following the destruction of the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah, as God’s judgment, Lot fathered two sons by his two daughters, namely, Moab and Ammon (Gen 19:30-38). Thus, these descendants of Lot in and around Ar were the Moabites.

⁹ sn Lot’s descendants. See note on this phrase in Deut 2:9.

¹⁰ tn These technical Hebrew terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) occur repeatedly throughout the Book of Deuteronomy to describe the covenant stipulations to which Israel had been called to subscribe (see, in this chapter alone, vv. 1, 5, 6, 8). The word חֻקִּים derives from the verb חֹק (khoq, “to inscribe; to carve”) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) from שָׁפַט (shafat, “to judge”). They are virtually synonymous and are used interchangeably in Deuteronomy.

¹¹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 37).

¹² tn The text begins with “(the) day (in) which.” In the Hebrew text v. 10 is subordinate to v. 11, but for stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 10 as an independent clause, necessitating the omission of the subordinating temporal phrase at the beginning of the verse.

¹³ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 4:3.

¹⁴ tn Heb “my words.” See v. 13; in Hebrew the “ten commandments” are the “ten words.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “lest you lift up your eyes.” In the Hebrew text vv. 16-19 are subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

¹⁶ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

¹⁷ tn Heb “all the host of heaven.”

¹⁸ tn In the Hebrew text the verbal sequence in v. 19 is “lest you look up…and see…and be seduced…and worship them…and serve them.” However, the first two actions are not prohibited in and of themselves. The prohibition pertains to the final three actions. The first two verbs describe actions that are logically subordinate to the following actions and can be treated as temporal or circumstantial: “lest, looking up…and seeing…, you are seduced.” See Joüon 2:635 §168.h.

¹⁹ tn Or “allotted.”

²⁰ tn Or “nations.”

²¹ tn Heb “under all the heaven.”

sn The OT views the heavenly host as God’s council, which surrounds his royal throne ready to do his bidding (see 1 Kgs 22:19). God has given this group, sometimes called the “sons of God” (cf. Job 1:6; 38:7; Ps 89:6), jurisdiction over the nations. See Deut 32:8 (LXX). Some also see this assembly as the addressee in Ps 82. While God delegated his council to rule over the nations, he established a theocratic government over Israel and ruled directly over his chosen people via the Mosaic covenant. See v. 20, as well as Deut 32:9.

²² tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”

²³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁴ tn Heb “may multiply greatly” (so NASB, NRSV); the words “in number” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

²⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 18, 23).

²⁶ tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.

²⁷ tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

²⁸ tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).

²⁹ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

³⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).

³¹ tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”

³² sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).

³³ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.

³⁴ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abhorrent; detestable”) describes anything detestable to the Lord because of its innate evil or inconsistency with his own nature and character. Frequently such things (or even persons) must be condemned to annihilation (חֵרֶם, kherem) lest they become a means of polluting or contaminating others (cf. Deut 13:17; 20:17-18). See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:315.

³⁵ tc Heb “a casting.” The MT reads מַסֵּכָה (massekhah, “a cast thing”) but some mss and Smr add עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”), “a molten calf” or the like (Exod 32:8). Perhaps Moses here omits reference to the calf out of contempt for it.

³⁶ tn Heb “street.”

³⁷ tn Heb “mound”; NAB “a heap of ruins.” The Hebrew word תֵּל (tel) refers to this day to a ruin represented especially by a built-up mound of dirt or debris (cf. Tel Aviv, “mound of grain”).

³⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses the collective singular in this verse: “my God…lest I die.”

³⁹ tn Heb “your brother” (also later in this verse).

⁴⁰ tn Heb “is not.” The idea of “residing” is implied.

⁴¹ tn Heb “and you do not know him.”

⁴² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the ox or sheep mentioned in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴³ tn Heb “they will spread the garment.”

⁴⁴ tn Heb “to return to take her to be his wife.”

⁴⁵ sn The issue here is not divorce and its grounds per se but prohibition of remarriage to a mate whom one has previously divorced.

⁴⁶ tn Heb “cause the land to sin” (so KJV, ASV).

⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “by all means.”

⁴⁸ tn Or “righteous” (so NIV, NLT).

⁴⁹ tn Heb “ the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.”

⁵¹ tn Or “from beneath the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁵² sn This command is fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-33.

⁵³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁵⁴ sn The place where he chooses to locate his name. This is a circumlocution for the central sanctuary, first the tabernacle and later the Jerusalem temple. See Deut 12:1-14 and especially the note on the word “you” in v. 14.

⁵⁵ tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.

⁵⁶ sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).

⁵⁷ tn Heb “father.”

⁵⁸ tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “totally.”

⁶⁰ tn Heb “do the evil.”

⁶¹ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”