Deuteronomy 31:11-13

31:11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must read this law before them ¹  within their hearing. 31:12 Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. 31:13 Then their children, who have not known this law, ²  will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Deuteronomy 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ³  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Deuteronomy 17:7-9

17:7 The witnesses ⁴  must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people ⁵  are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

Appeal to a Higher Court

17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, ⁶  legal claim, ⁷  or assault ⁸  – matters of controversy in your villages ⁹  – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ¹⁰  17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

Acts 15:21

15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ¹¹  because he is read aloud ¹²  in the synagogues ¹³  every Sabbath.”

¹ tn Heb “before all Israel.”

² tn The phrase “this law” is not in the Hebrew text, but English style requires an object for the verb here. Other translations also supply the object which is otherwise implicit (cf. NIV “who do not know this law”; TEV “who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God”).

³ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

⁴ 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).

⁵ tn Heb “the hand of all the people.”

⁶ tn Heb “between blood and blood.”

⁷ tn Heb “between claim and claim.”

⁸ tn Heb “between blow and blow.”

⁹ tn Heb “gates.”

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ tn Grk “from generations of old”; the translation “fr. ancient times” is given by BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 3.b.

¹² tn The translation “read aloud” is used to indicate the actual practice; translating as “read” could be misunderstood to mean private, silent reading.

¹³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.