18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. 1 Though they had subdued the land, 2
17:8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man 3 from the house of Israel or 4 from the foreigners who reside 5 in their 6 midst, who offers 7 a burnt offering or a sacrifice 17:9 but does not bring it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it 8 to the Lord – that person will be cut off from his people. 9
11:16 Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods! 18 11:17 Then the anger of the Lord will erupt 19 against you and he will close up the sky 20 so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed 21 from the good land that the Lord 22 is about to give you.
1 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”
2 tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”
3 tn Heb “Man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any [or “every”] man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).
4 tn Heb “and.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has an alternative sense (“or”).
5 tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
6 tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”
7 tn Heb “causes to go up.”
8 tn Heb “to make it,” meaning “to make the sacrifice.”
9 tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.
10 tn Heb “the
11 tc Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11, emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ (shikhno, “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשָׁכֵן (lÿshakhen, “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the 3rd person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ (lÿshakÿno, “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed nounשֵׁכֶן (shekhen) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה (shammah, “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.
12 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
13 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.”
14 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.
15 tn Heb “if hearing, you will hear.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute to emphasize the verbal idea. The translation renders this emphasis with the word “close.”
16 tn Again, the Hebrew term אָהַב (’ahav) draws attention to the reciprocation of divine love as a condition or sign of covenant loyalty (cf. Deut 6:5).
17 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
18 tn Heb “Watch yourselves lest your heart turns and you turn aside and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
19 tn Heb “will become hot”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “will be kindled”; NAB “will flare up”; NIV, NLT “will burn.”
20 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
21 tn Or “be destroyed”; NAB, NIV “will soon perish.”
22 tn Heb “the