22:6 If you happen to notice a bird’s nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs with the mother bird sitting on them, 1 you must not take the mother from the young. 2
21:18 If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail, 5
33:9 He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,” 13
and he did not acknowledge his own brothers
or know his own children,
for they kept your word,
and guarded your covenant.
13:6 Suppose your own full brother, 14 your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods 15 that neither you nor your ancestors 16 have previously known, 17
1 tn Heb “and the mother sitting upon the chicks or the eggs.”
2 tn Heb “sons,” used here in a generic sense for offspring.
3 tn The Levites speak again at this point; throughout this pericope the Levites pronounce the curse and the people respond with “Amen.”
4 tn The Hebrew term קָלָה (qalah) means to treat with disdain or lack of due respect (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “dishonors”; NLT “despises”). It is the opposite of כָּבֵד (kaved, “to be heavy,” that is, to treat with reverence and proper deference). To treat a parent lightly is to dishonor him or her and thus violate the fifth commandment (Deut 5:16; cf. Exod 21:17).
5 tn Heb “and he does not listen to them.”
7 sn In light of v. 17 this would evidently be blood-stained sheets indicative of the first instance of intercourse. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 302-3.
9 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “be sure.”
11 tn The imperative here means, literally, “regard as heavy” (כַּבֵּד, kabbed). The meaning is that great importance must be ascribed to parents by their children.
12 tn Heb “the
13 tn Heb “she is to…remove the clothing of her captivity” (cf. NASB); NRSV “discard her captive’s garb.”
14 tn Heb “sit”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “remain.”
15 tn Heb “go unto,” a common Hebrew euphemism for sexual relations.
15 sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).
17 tn Heb “your brother, the son of your mother.” In a polygamous society it was not rare to have half brothers and sisters by way of a common father and different mothers.
18 tn In the Hebrew text these words are in the form of a brief quotation: “entice you secretly saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods.’”
19 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 17).
20 tn Heb “which you have not known, you or your fathers.” (cf. KJV, ASV; on “fathers” cf. v. 18).
19 tn Heb “gates” (also in vv. 27, 28, 29).
20 sn Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. This strange prohibition – one whose rationale is unclear but probably related to pagan ritual – may seem out of place here but actually is not for the following reasons: (1) the passage as a whole opens with a prohibition against heathen mourning rites (i.e., death, vv. 1-2) and closes with what appear to be birth and infancy rites. (2) In the other two places where the stipulation occurs (Exod 23:19 and Exod 34:26) it similarly concludes major sections. (3) Whatever the practice signified it clearly was abhorrent to the
21 tn Or “a person born of an illegitimate marriage.”
22 tn Heb “enter the assembly of the