Deuteronomy 1:13

1:13 Select wise and practical ¹  men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.”

Deuteronomy 20:9

20:9 Then, when the officers have finished speaking, ²  they must appoint unit commanders ³  to lead the troops.

Deuteronomy 21:12

21:12 you may bring her back to your house. She must shave her head, ⁴  trim her nails,

Deuteronomy 28:23

28:23 The ⁵  sky ⁶  above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron.

Deuteronomy 28:44

28:44 They will lend to you but you will not lend to them; they will become the head and you will become the tail!

Deuteronomy 32:42

32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword will devour flesh –

the blood of the slaughtered and captured,

the chief ⁷  of the enemy’s leaders!’”

Deuteronomy 33:5

33:5 The Lord ⁸  was king over Jeshurun, ⁹ 

when the leaders of the people assembled,

the tribes of Israel together. ¹⁰ 

Deuteronomy 33:16

33:16 with the harvest of the earth and its fullness

and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. ¹¹ 

May blessing rest on Joseph’s head,

and on the top of the head of the one set apart ¹²  from his brothers.

¹ tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (nÿvonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).

² tn The Hebrew text includes “to the people,” but this phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Heb “princes of hosts.”

³ sn This requirement for the woman to shave her head may symbolize the putting away of the old life and customs in preparation for being numbered among the people of the Lord. The same is true for the two following requirements.

⁴ tc The MT reads “Your.” The LXX reads “Heaven will be to you.”

⁵ tn Or “heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁵ tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).

⁶ 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 Lord.”

⁷ 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.

⁸ sn The following blessing is given to the tribes in order, although the tribe of Simeon is curiously missing from the list.

⁷ tn The expression “him who resided in the bush” is frequently understood as a reference to the appearance of the Lord to Moses at Sinai from a burning bush (so NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT; cf. Exod 2:2-6; 3:2, 4). To make this reference clear the word “burning” is supplied in the translation.

⁸ sn This apparently refers to Joseph’s special status among his brothers as a result of his being chosen by God to save the family from the famine and to lead Egypt.