¹ tn In the Hebrew text the form is a participle, which is subordinated to what precedes. For the sake of English style, the translation divides this lengthy verse into two sentences.

² tn Heb “who hate” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). Just as “to love” (אָהַב, ’ahav) means in a covenant context “to choose, obey,” so “to hate” (שָׂנֵא, sane’) means “to reject, disobey” (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37; see also 5:10).

³ tn Heb “visiting the sin of fathers upon sons and upon a third (generation) and upon a fourth (generation) of those who hate me.” God sometimes punishes children for the sins of a father (cf. Num 16:27, 32; Josh 7:24-25; 2 Sam 21:1-9). On the principle of corporate solidarity and responsibility in OT thought see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). In the idiom of the text, the father is the first generation and the “sons” the second generation, making grandsons the third and great-grandsons the fourth. The reference to a third and fourth generation is a way of emphasizing that the sinner’s punishment would last throughout his lifetime. In this culture, where men married and fathered children at a relatively young age, it would not be unusual for one to see his great-grandsons. In an Aramaic tomb inscription from Nerab dating to the seventh century b.c., Agbar observes that he was surrounded by “children of the fourth generation” as he lay on his death bed (see ANET 661). The language of the text differs from Exod 34:7, the sons are the first generation, the grandsons (literally, “sons of the sons”) the second, great-grandsons the third, and great-great-grandsons the fourth. One could argue that formulation in Deut 5:9 (see also Exod 20:50) is elliptical/abbreviated or that it suffers from textual corruption (the repetition of the words “sons” would invite accidental omission).

⁴ tn Heb “take up the name of the Lord your God to emptiness”; KJV “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The idea here is not cursing or profanity in the modern sense of these terms but rather the use of the divine Name for unholy, mundane purposes, that is, for meaningless (the Hebrew term is שָׁוְא) and empty ends. In ancient Israel this would include using the Lord’s name as a witness in vows one did not intend to keep.

⁵ tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”

⁶ tn The Hebrew verb used here (חָמַד, khamad) is different from the one translated “crave” (אָוַה, ’avah) in the next line. The former has sexual overtones (“lust” or the like; cf. Song of Sol 2:3) whereas the latter has more the idea of a desire or craving for material things.

⁷ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” See note on the term “fellow man” in v. 19.

⁸ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” The pronoun is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹ tn Heb “or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.

¹¹ tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

¹² tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).

¹³ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).

¹⁴ tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).

¹⁶ tn Heb “fathers.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days which you live in the land.” This adverbial statement modifies “to obey,” not “to possess,” so the order in the translation has been rearranged to make this clear.

¹⁸ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

¹⁹ sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

²⁰ tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”

²¹ tc Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.” The LXX adds “your God” to create the common formula, “the Lord your God.” The MT is preferred precisely because it does not include the stereotyped formula; thus it more likely preserves the original text.

²² tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”

²³ tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.

²⁴ tn Heb “every abomination of the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 27.

²⁵ tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.

²⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

²⁷ tn Heb “all your heart and soul” (so NRSV, CEV, NLT); or “heart and being” (NCV “your whole being”). See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.

²⁸ sn Execution by means of pelting the offender with stones afforded a mechanism whereby the whole community could share in it. In a very real sense it could be done not only in the name of the community and on its behalf but by its members (cf. Lev 24:14; Num 15:35; Deut 21:21; Josh 7:25).

²⁹ tn Or “anything that has been put under the divine curse”; Heb “anything of the ban” (cf. NASB). See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.

³⁰ tn Heb “one of your brothers” (so NASB); NAB “one of your kinsmen”; NRSV “a member of your community.” See the note at v. 2.

³¹ tn Heb “gates.”

³² tn Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. NIV “hardhearted or tightfisted” (NRSV and NLT similar).

³³ tn Heb “from your needy brother.”

³⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”

³⁵ tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.

³⁶ sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.

³⁷ tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”

³⁸ tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.

³⁹ tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”

⁴⁰ tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.”

⁴¹ tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴² tn Heb “the Passover.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English.

⁴³ tc The MT reading אֶל (’el, “unto”) before “the place” should, following Smr, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate, be omitted in favor of ב (bet; בַּמָּקוֹם, bammaqom), “in the place.”

⁴⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

⁴⁵ tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.

⁴⁶ tn Heb “the hand of the witnesses.” This means the two or three witnesses are to throw the first stones (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

⁴⁷ tn Heb “the hand of all the people.”

⁴⁸ tn Heb “between blood and blood.”

⁴⁹ tn Heb “between claim and claim.”

⁵⁰ tn Heb “between blow and blow.”

⁵¹ tn Heb “gates.”

⁵² tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.

⁵³ tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).

⁵⁴ tn Heb “judgment”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “the priest’s due.”

⁵⁵ tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

⁵⁶ tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).

⁵⁷ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”

⁵⁸ sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.

⁵⁹ tn Heb “border.” Cf. NRSV “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker.”

⁶⁰ tn Heb “which they set off from the beginning.”

⁶¹ tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.” This phrase has been left untranslated to avoid redundancy.

⁶² sn This kind of justice is commonly called lex talionis or “measure for measure” (cf. Exod 21:23-25; Lev 24:19-20). It is likely that it is the principle that is important and not always a strict application. That is, the punishment should fit the crime and it may do so by the payment of fines or other suitable and equitable compensation (cf. Exod 22:21; Num 35:31). See T. S. Frymer-Kensky, “Tit for Tat: The Principle of Equal Retribution in Near Eastern and Biblical Law,” BA 43 (1980): 230-34.

⁶³ tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is “cities.”

⁶⁴ tn Heb “any breath.”

⁶⁵ tn Heb “slain [one].”

⁶⁶ tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”

⁶⁷ tn Heb “the hated.”

⁶⁸ tc The LXX and Smr read “to the men,” probably to conform to this phrase in v. 21. However, since judicial cases were the responsibility of the elders in such instances (cf. Deut 19:12; 21:3, 6; 25:7-8) the reading of the MT is likely original and correct here.

⁶⁹ tn The Hebrew term בִּעַרְתָּה (bi’artah), here and elsewhere in such contexts (cf. Deut 13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:9), suggests God’s anger which consumes like fire (thus בָעַר, ba’ar, “to burn”). See H. Ringgren, TDOT 2:203-4.

⁷⁰ tc Some LXX traditions read הַנִּשְׁאָרִים (hannish’arim, “those who remain”) for the MT’s יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”), understandable in light of Deut 19:20. However, the more difficult reading found in the MT is more likely original.

⁷¹ tn Heb “you must not see.” See note at 22:1.

⁷² tn Heb “and (must not) hide yourself from them.”

⁷³ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “be sure.”

⁷⁴ tn Heb “help him to lift them up.” In keeping with English style the singular is used in the translation, and the referent (“the animal”) has been specified for clarity.

⁷⁵ tn Heb “a man’s clothing.”

⁷⁶ tn The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “offense”) speaks of anything that runs counter to ritual or moral order, especially (in the OT) to divine standards. Cross-dressing in this covenant context may suggest homosexuality, fertility cult ritual, or some other forbidden practice.

⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “be sure.”

⁷⁸ tn Heb “set apart.” The verb קָדַשׁ (qadash) in the Qal verbal stem (as here) has the idea of being holy or being treated with special care. Some take the meaning as “be off-limits, forfeited,” i.e., the total produce of the vineyard, both crops and grapes, have to be forfeited to the sanctuary (cf. Exod 29:37; 30:29; Lev 6:18, 27; Num 16:37-38; Hag 2:12).

⁷⁹ tn Heb “lying with” (so KJV, NASB), a Hebrew idiom for sexual relations.

⁸⁰ tn Heb “a woman married to a husband.”

⁸¹ tn Heb “burn.” See note on the phrase “purge out” in Deut 21:21.

⁸² tn Heb “his neighbor.”

⁸³ sn For the continuation of these practices into NT times see Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.

⁸⁴ tn Heb “go out with.”

⁸⁵ tc For the MT’s reading Piel שִׂמַּח (simmakh, “bring joy to”), the Syriac and others read שָׂמַח (samakh, “enjoy”).

⁸⁶ tn Heb “from his brothers, from the sons of Israel.” The terms “brothers” and “sons of Israel” are in apposition; the second defines the first more specifically.

⁸⁷ tn Or “and enslaves him.”

⁸⁸ tn Heb “that thief.”

⁸⁹ tn Heb “burn.” See note on the word “purge” in Deut 19:19.

⁹⁰ tn Heb “your brothers,” but not limited only to actual siblings; cf. NASB “your (+ own NAB) countrymen.”

⁹¹ tn Heb “who are in your land in your gates.” The word “living” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹² tn Or “just”; Heb “righteous.”

⁹³ tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX mss have “my God,” a contextually superior rendition followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, TEV). Perhaps the text reflects dittography of the kaf (כ) at the end of the word with the following preposition כִּי (ki).

⁹⁴ tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.

⁹⁵ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

⁹⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).

⁹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

⁹⁸ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.