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Deuteronomy 24:12--31:17

Context
24:12 If the person is poor you may not use what he gives you as security for a covering. 1  24:13 You must by all means 2  return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just 3  deed by the Lord your God.

24:14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites 4  or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. 5  24:15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

24:16 Fathers must not be put to death for what their children 6  do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.

24:17 You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan. 24:18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do all this. 24:19 Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, 7  you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do. 8  24:20 When you beat your olive tree you must not repeat the procedure; 9  the remaining olives belong to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard you must not do so a second time; 10  they should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt; therefore, I am commanding you to do all this.

25:1 If controversy arises between people, 11  they should go to court for judgment. When the judges 12  hear the case, they shall exonerate 13  the innocent but condemn 14  the guilty. 25:2 Then, 15  if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, 16  the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves. 17  25:3 The judge 18  may sentence him to forty blows, 19  but no more. If he is struck with more than these, you might view your fellow Israelite 20  with contempt.

25:4 You must not muzzle your 21  ox when it is treading grain.

Respect for the Sanctity of Others

25:5 If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, 22  and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. 23  25:6 Then 24  the first son 25  she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel. 25:7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she 26  must go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!” 25:8 Then the elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, “I don’t want to marry her,” 25:9 then his sister-in-law must approach him in view of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. 27  She will then respond, “Thus may it be done to any man who does not maintain his brother’s family line!” 28  25:10 His family name will be referred to 29  in Israel as “the family 30  of the one whose sandal was removed.” 31 

25:11 If two men 32  get into a hand-to-hand fight, and the wife of one of them gets involved to help her husband against his attacker, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his genitals, 33  25:12 then you must cut off her hand – do not pity her.

25:13 You must not have in your bag different stone weights, 34  a heavy and a light one. 35  25:14 You must not have in your house different measuring containers, 36  a large and a small one. 25:15 You must have an accurate and correct 37  stone weight and an accurate and correct measuring container, so that your life may be extended in the land the Lord your God is about to give you. 25:16 For anyone who acts dishonestly in these ways is abhorrent 38  to the Lord your God.

Treatment of the Amalekites

25:17 Remember what the Amalekites 39  did to you on your way from Egypt, 25:18 how they met you along the way and cut off all your stragglers in the rear of the march when you were exhausted and tired; they were unafraid of God. 40  25:19 So when the Lord your God gives you relief from all the enemies who surround you in the land he 41  is giving you as an inheritance, 42  you must wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven 43  – do not forget! 44 

Presentation of the First Fruits

26:1 When 45  you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and live in it, 26:2 you must take the first of all the ground’s produce you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you, place it in a basket, and go to the place where he 46  chooses to locate his name. 47  26:3 You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your 48  God that I have come into the land that the Lord 49  promised 50  to our ancestors 51  to give us.” 26:4 The priest will then take the basket from you 52  and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 26:5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering 53  Aramean 54  was my ancestor, 55  and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, 56  but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people. 26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor. 26:7 So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he 57  heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression. 26:8 Therefore the Lord brought us out of Egypt with tremendous strength and power, 58  as well as with great awe-inspiring signs and wonders. 26:9 Then he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 26:10 So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground’s produce that you, Lord, have given me.” Then you must set it down before the Lord your God and worship before him. 59  26:11 You will celebrate all the good things that the Lord your God has given you and your family, 60  along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.

Presentation of the Third-year Tithe

26:12 When you finish tithing all 61  your income in the third year (the year of tithing), you must give it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows 62  so that they may eat to their satisfaction in your villages. 63  26:13 Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the sacred offering 64  from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. 65  I have not violated or forgotten your commandments. 26:14 I have not eaten anything when I was in mourning, or removed any of it while ceremonially unclean, or offered any of it to the dead; 66  I have obeyed you 67  and have done everything you have commanded me. 26:15 Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors – a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Narrative Interlude

26:16 Today the Lord your God is commanding you to keep these statutes and ordinances, something you must do with all your heart and soul. 68  26:17 Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him. 26:18 And today the Lord has declared you to be his special people (as he already promised you) so you may keep all his commandments. 26:19 Then 69  he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. 70  You will 71  be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has said.

The Assembly at Shechem

27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments 72  I am giving 73  you today. 27:2 When you cross the Jordan River 74  to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover 75  them with plaster. 27:3 Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, 76  said to you. 27:4 So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal 77  these stones about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster. 27:5 Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones – do not use an iron tool on them. 27:6 You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 27:7 Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. 27:8 You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear.”

27:9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 27:10 You must obey him 78  and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today.” 27:11 Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day: 27:12 “The following tribes 79  must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 27:13 And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

The Covenant Curses

27:14 “The Levites will call out to every Israelite 80  with a loud voice: 27:15 ‘Cursed is the one 81  who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent 82  to the Lord, the work of the craftsman 83  – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 84  27:16 ‘Cursed 85  is the one who disrespects 86  his father and mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:18 ‘Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:20 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with 87  his father’s former wife, 88  for he dishonors his father.’ 89  Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:21 ‘Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.’ 90  Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:22 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:23 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:24 ‘Cursed is the one who kills 91  his neighbor in private.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

The Covenant Blessings

28:1 “If you indeed 92  obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving 93  you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth. 28:2 All these blessings will come to you in abundance 94  if you obey the Lord your God: 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field. 95  28:4 Your children 96  will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 28:5 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed. 28:6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 97  28:7 The Lord will cause your enemies who attack 98  you to be struck down before you; they will attack you from one direction 99  but flee from you in seven different directions. 28:8 The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do – yes, he will bless you in the land he 100  is giving you. 28:9 The Lord will designate you as his holy people just as he promised you, if you keep his commandments 101  and obey him. 102  28:10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you belong to the Lord, 103  and they will respect you. 28:11 The Lord will greatly multiply your children, 104  the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil in the land which he 105  promised your ancestors 106  he would give you. 28:12 The Lord will open for you his good treasure house, the heavens, to give you rain for the land in its season and to bless all you do; 107  you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow from any. 28:13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always end up at the top and not at the bottom, if you obey his 108  commandments which I am urging 109  you today to be careful to do. 28:14 But you must not turn away from all the commandments I am giving 110  you today, to either the right or left, nor pursue other gods and worship 111  them.

Curses as Reversal of Blessings

28:15 “But if you ignore 112  the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force: 113  28:16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field. 28:17 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed. 28:18 Your children 114  will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 28:19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. 115 

Curses by Disease and Drought

28:20 “The Lord will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing you 116  in everything you undertake 117  until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me. 118  28:21 The Lord will plague you with deadly diseases 119  until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess. 28:22 He 120  will afflict you with weakness, 121  fever, inflammation, infection, 122  sword, 123  blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish. 28:23 The 124  sky 125  above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. 28:24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

Curses by Defeat and Deportation

28:25 “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror 126  to all the kingdoms of the earth. 28:26 Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off. 28:27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed. 28:28 The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind. 127  28:29 You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do; 128  you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you. 28:30 You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape 129  her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it. 28:31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to save you. 28:32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it. 130  28:33 As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives. 28:34 You will go insane from seeing all this. 28:35 The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils – from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. 28:36 The Lord will force you and your king 131  whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there. 28:37 You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you.

The Curse of Reversed Status

28:38 “You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it. 28:39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them. 28:40 You will have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with olive oil, because the olives will drop off the trees while still unripe. 132  28:41 You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity. 28:42 Whirring locusts 133  will take over every tree and all the produce of your soil. 28:43 The foreigners 134  who reside among you will become higher and higher over you and you will become lower and lower. 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!

28:45 All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has given 135  you. 28:46 These curses 136  will be a perpetual sign and wonder with reference to you and your descendants. 137 

The Curse of Military Siege

28:47 “Because you have not served the Lord your God joyfully and wholeheartedly with the abundance of everything you have, 28:48 instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty 138  you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. They 139  will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you. 28:49 The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth 140  as the eagle flies, 141  a nation whose language you will not understand, 28:50 a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young. 28:51 They 142  will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds, 143  or lambs of your flocks 144  until they have destroyed you. 28:52 They will besiege all of your villages 145  until all of your high and fortified walls collapse – those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you. 28:53 You will then eat your own offspring, 146  the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege 147  by which your enemies will constrict you. 28:54 The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children. 28:55 He will withhold from all of them his children’s flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict 148  you in your villages. 28:56 Likewise, the most 149  tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, 150  will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters, 28:57 and will secretly eat her afterbirth 151  and her newborn children 152  (since she has nothing else), 153  because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.

The Curse of Covenant Termination

28:58 “If you refuse to obey 154  all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, 28:59 then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants – great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses. 28:60 He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypt 155  that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you. 156  28:61 Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments, 157  until you have perished. 28:62 There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky, 158  because you will have disobeyed 159  the Lord your God. 28:63 This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, he 160  will take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess. 28:64 The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. 28:65 Among those nations you will have no rest nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair. 28:66 Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next. 161  28:67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ because of the things you will fear and the things you will see. 28:68 Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

Narrative Interlude

29:1 (28:69) 162  These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. 163 

The Exodus, Wandering, and Conquest Reviewed

29:2 Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: “You have seen all that the Lord did 164  in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land. 29:3 Your eyes have seen the great judgments, 165  those signs and mighty wonders. 29:4 But to this very day the Lord has not given you an understanding mind, perceptive eyes, or discerning ears! 166  29:5 I have led you through the desert for forty years. Your clothing has not worn out 167  nor have your sandals 168  deteriorated. 29:6 You have eaten no bread and drunk no wine or beer – all so that you might know that I 169  am the Lord your God! 29:7 When you came to this place King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to make war and we defeated them. 29:8 Then we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

The Present Covenant Setting

29:9 “Therefore, keep the terms 170  of this covenant and obey them so that you may be successful in everything you do. 29:10 You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God – the heads of your tribes, 171  your elders, your officials, every Israelite man, 29:11 your infants, your wives, and the 172  foreigners living in your encampment, those who chop wood and those who carry water – 29:12 so that you may enter by oath into the covenant the Lord your God is making with you today. 173  29:13 Today he will affirm that you are his people and that he is your God, 174  just as he promised you and as he swore by oath to your ancestors 175  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29:14 It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant by oath, 29:15 but with whoever stands with us here today before the Lord our God as well as those not with us here today. 176 

The Results of Disobedience

29:16 “(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled. 29:17 You have seen their detestable things 177  and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.) 178  29:18 Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit. 179  29:19 When such a person 180  hears the words of this oath he secretly 181  blesses himself 182  and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” 183  This will destroy 184  the watered ground with the parched. 185  29:20 The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense anger 186  will rage 187  against that man; all the curses 188  written in this scroll will fall upon him 189  and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory. 190  29:21 The Lord will single him out 191  for judgment 192  from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law. 29:22 The generation to come – your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places – will see 193  the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it. 29:23 The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. 194  29:24 Then all the nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger 195  all about?” 29:25 Then people will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 29:26 They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship. 196  29:27 That is why the Lord’s anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the curses 197  written in this scroll. 29:28 So the Lord has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today.” 29:29 Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants 198  forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses 199  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them 200  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. 30:2 Then if you and your descendants 201  turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being 202  just as 203  I am commanding you today, 30:3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he 204  has scattered you. 30:4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, 205  from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 30:5 Then he 206  will bring you to the land your ancestors 207  possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors. 30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse 208  your heart and the hearts of your descendants 209  so that you may love him 210  with all your mind and being and so that you may live. 30:7 Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate you and persecute you. 30:8 You will return and obey the Lord, keeping all his commandments I am giving 211  you today. 30:9 The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands 212  abundantly successful and multiply your children, 213  the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more 214  rejoice over you to make you prosperous 215  just as he rejoiced over your ancestors, 30:10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him 216  with your whole mind and being.

Exhortation to Covenant Obedience

30:11 “This commandment I am giving 217  you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it too remote. 30:12 It is not in heaven, as though one must say, “Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 30:13 And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, “Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 30:14 For the thing is very near you – it is in your mouth and in your mind 218  so that you can do it.

30:15 “Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. 30:16 What 219  I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are about to possess. 220  30:17 However, if you 221  turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods, 30:18 I declare to you this very day that you will certainly 222  perish! You will not extend your time in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. 223  30:19 Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live! 30:20 I also call on you 224  to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually 225  in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Succession of Moses by Joshua

31:1 Then Moses went 226  and spoke these words 227  to all Israel. 31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, 228  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’ 31:3 As for the Lord your God, he is about to cross over before you; he will destroy these nations before you and dispossess them. As for Joshua, he is about to cross before you just as the Lord has said. 31:4 The Lord will do to them just what he did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and to their land, which he destroyed. 31:5 The Lord will deliver them over to you and you will do to them according to the whole commandment I have given you. 31:6 Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!” 31:7 Then Moses called out to Joshua 229  in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will accompany these people to the land that the Lord promised to give their ancestors, 230  and you will enable them to inherit it. 31:8 The Lord is indeed going before you – he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”

The Deposit of the Covenant Text

31:9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders. 31:10 He 231  commanded them: “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts, 232  at the Feast of Temporary Shelters, 233  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 234  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, 235  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.”

The Commissioning of Joshua

31:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent 236  of meeting 237  so that I can commission him.” 238  So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 31:15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud that 239  stood above the door of the tent. 31:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die, 240  and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they 241  are going. They 242  will reject 243  me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 244  31:17 At that time 245  my anger will erupt against them 246  and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome 247  them 248  so that they 249  will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters 250  overcome us 251  because our 252  God is not among us 253 ?’

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[24:12]  1 tn Heb “may not lie down in his pledge.” What is in view is the use of clothing as guarantee for the repayment of loans, a matter already addressed elsewhere (Deut 23:19-20; 24:6; cf. Exod 22:25-26; Lev 25:35-37). Cf. NAB “you shall not sleep in the mantle he gives as a pledge”; NRSV “in the garment given you as the pledge.”

[24:13]  2 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “by all means.”

[24:13]  3 tn Or “righteous” (so NIV, NLT).

[24:14]  3 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not limited only to actual siblings; cf. NASB “your (+ own NAB) countrymen.”

[24:14]  4 tn Heb “who are in your land in your gates.” The word “living” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:16]  4 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB; twice in this verse). Many English versions, including the KJV, read “children” here.

[24:19]  5 tn Heb “in the field.”

[24:19]  6 tn Heb “of your hands.” This law was later applied in the story of Ruth who, as a poor widow, was allowed by generous Boaz to glean in his fields (Ruth 2:1-13).

[24:20]  6 tn Heb “knock down after you.”

[24:21]  7 tn Heb “glean after you.”

[25:1]  8 tn Heb “men.”

[25:1]  9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:1]  10 tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”

[25:1]  11 tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”

[25:2]  9 tn Heb “and it will be.”

[25:2]  10 tn Heb “if the evil one is a son of smiting.”

[25:2]  11 tn Heb “according to his wickedness, by number.”

[25:3]  10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the judge) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:3]  11 tn Heb “Forty blows he may strike him”; however, since the judge is to witness the punishment (v. 2) it is unlikely the judge himself administered it.

[25:3]  12 tn Heb “your brothers” but not limited only to an actual sibling; cf. NAB) “your kinsman”; NRSV, NLT “your neighbor.”

[25:4]  11 tn Heb “an.” By implication this is one’s own animal.

[25:5]  12 tn Heb “take her as wife”; NRSV “taking her in marriage.”

[25:5]  13 sn This is the so-called “levirate” custom (from the Latin term levir, “brother-in-law”), an ancient provision whereby a man who died without male descendants to carry on his name could have a son by proxy, that is, through a surviving brother who would marry his widow and whose first son would then be attributed to the brother who had died. This is the only reference to this practice in an OT legal text but it is illustrated in the story of Judah and his sons (Gen 38) and possibly in the account of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2:8; 3:12; 4:6).

[25:6]  13 tn Heb “and it will be that.”

[25:6]  14 tn Heb “the firstborn.” This refers to the oldest male child.

[25:7]  14 tn Heb “want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister in law.” In the second instance the pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation to avoid redundancy.

[25:9]  15 sn The removal of the sandal was likely symbolic of the relinquishment by the man of any claim to his dead brother’s estate since the sandal was associated with the soil or land (cf. Ruth 4:7-8). Spitting in the face was a sign of utmost disgust or disdain, an emotion the rejected widow would feel toward her uncooperative brother-in-law (cf. Num 12:14; Lev 15:8). See W. Bailey, NIDOTTE 2:544.

[25:9]  16 tn Heb “build the house of his brother”; TEV “refuses to give his brother a descendant”; NLT “refuses to raise up a son for his brother.”

[25:10]  16 tn Heb “called,” i.e., “known as.”

[25:10]  17 tn Heb “house.”

[25:10]  18 tn Cf. NIV, NCV “The Family of the Unsandaled.”

[25:11]  17 tn Heb “a man and his brother.”

[25:11]  18 tn Heb “shameful parts.” Besides the inherent indelicacy of what she has done, the woman has also threatened the progenitive capacity of the injured man. The level of specificity given this term in modern translations varies: “private parts” (NAB, NIV, CEV); “genitals” (NASB, NRSV, TEV); “sex organs” (NCV); “testicles” (NLT).

[25:13]  18 tn Heb “a stone and a stone.” The repetition of the singular noun here expresses diversity, as the following phrase indicates. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.

[25:13]  19 tn Heb “a large and a small,” but since the issue is the weight, “a heavy and a light one” conveys the idea better in English.

[25:14]  19 tn Heb “an ephah and an ephah.” An ephah refers to a unit of dry measure roughly equivalent to five U.S. gallons (just under 20 liters). On the repetition of the term to indicate diversity, see IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.

[25:15]  20 tn Or “just”; Heb “righteous.”

[25:16]  21 tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, toevah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[25:17]  22 tn Heb “what Amalek” (so NAB, NRSV). Here the individual ancestor, the namesake of the tribe, is cited as representative of the entire tribe at the time Israel was entering Canaan. Consistent with this, singular pronouns are used in v. 18 and the singular name appears again in v. 19. Since readers unfamiliar with the tribe of Amalekites might think this refers to an individual, the term “Amalekites” and the corresponding plural pronouns have been used throughout these verses (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[25:18]  23 sn See Exod 17:8-16.

[25:19]  24 tn Heb “ the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[25:19]  25 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.”

[25:19]  26 tn Or “from beneath the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[25:19]  27 sn This command is fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-33.

[26:1]  25 tn Heb “and it will come to pass that.”

[26:2]  26 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[26:2]  27 sn The place where he chooses to locate his name. This is a circumlocution for the central sanctuary, first the tabernacle and later the Jerusalem temple. See Deut 12:1-14 and especially the note on the word “you” in v. 14.

[26:3]  27 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).

[26:3]  28 tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.

[26:3]  29 tn Heb “swore on oath.”

[26:3]  30 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).

[26:4]  28 tn Heb “your hand.”

[26:5]  29 tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.

[26:5]  30 sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).

[26:5]  31 tn Heb “father.”

[26:5]  32 tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[26:7]  30 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

[26:8]  31 tn Heb “by a powerful hand and an extended arm.” These are anthropomorphisms designed to convey God’s tremendously great power in rescuing Israel from their Egyptian bondage. They are preserved literally in many English versions (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:10]  32 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

[26:11]  33 tn Or “household” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); Heb “house” (so KJV, NRSV).

[26:12]  34 tn Heb includes “the tithes of.” This has not been included in the translation to avoid redundancy.

[26:12]  35 tn The terms “Levite, resident foreigner, orphan, and widow” are collective singulars in the Hebrew text (also in v. 13).

[26:12]  36 tn Heb “gates.”

[26:13]  35 tn Heb “the sacred thing.” The term הַקֹּדֶשׁ (haqqodesh) likely refers to an offering normally set apart for the Lord but, as a third-year tithe, given on this occasion to people in need. Sometimes this is translated as “the sacred portion” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV), but that could sound to a modern reader as if a part of the house were being removed and given away.

[26:13]  36 tn Heb “according to all your commandment that you commanded me.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:14]  36 sn These practices suggest overtones of pagan ritual, all of which the confessor denies having undertaken. In Canaan they were connected with fertility practices associated with harvest time. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 335-36.

[26:14]  37 tn Heb “the Lord my God.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

[26:16]  37 tn Or “mind and being”; cf. NCV “with your whole being”; TEV “obey them faithfully with all your heart.”

[26:19]  38 tn Heb “so that.” Verses 18-19 are one sentence in the Hebrew text, but the translation divides it into three sentences for stylistic reasons. The first clause in verse 19 gives a result of the preceding clause. When Israel keeps God’s law, God will bless them with fame and honor (cf. NAB “he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory”; NLT “And if you do, he will make you greater than any other nation”).

[26:19]  39 tn Heb “for praise and for a name and for glory.”

[26:19]  40 tn Heb “and to be.” A new sentence was started here for stylistic reasons.

[27:1]  39 tn Heb “the whole commandment.” See note at 5:31.

[27:1]  40 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 10).

[27:2]  40 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  41 tn Heb “plaster” (so KJV, ASV; likewise in v. 4). In the translation “cover” has been used for stylistic reasons.

[27:3]  41 tn Heb “fathers.”

[27:4]  42 tc Smr reads “Mount Gerizim” for the MT reading “Mount Ebal” to justify the location of the Samaritan temple there in the postexilic period. This reading is patently self-serving and does not reflect the original. In the NT when the Samaritan woman of Sychar referred to “this mountain” as the place of worship for her community she obviously had Gerizim in mind (cf. John 4:20).

[27:10]  43 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord your God.” Here “listen” (NAB “hearken”) means “obey” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[27:12]  44 tn The word “tribes” has been supplied here and in the following verse in the translation for clarity.

[27:14]  45 tn Heb “Israelite man.”

[27:15]  46 tn Heb “man,” but in a generic sense here.

[27:15]  47 tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, toevah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[27:15]  48 tn Heb “craftsman’s hands.”

[27:15]  49 tn Or “So be it!” The term is an affirmation expressing agreement with the words of the Levites.

[27:16]  47 tn The Levites speak again at this point; throughout this pericope the Levites pronounce the curse and the people respond with “Amen.”

[27:16]  48 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).

[27:20]  48 tn Heb “who lies with” (so NASB, NRSV); also in vv. 22, 23. This is a Hebrew idiom for having sexual relations (cf. NIV “who sleeps with”; NLT “who has sexual intercourse with”).

[27:20]  49 tn See note at Deut 22:30.

[27:20]  50 tn Heb “he uncovers his father’s skirt” (NASB similar). See note at Deut 22:30.

[27:21]  49 tn Heb “lies with any animal” (so NASB, NRSV). “To lie with” is a Hebrew euphemism for having sexual relations with someone (or in this case, some animal).

[27:24]  50 tn Or “strikes down” (so NRSV).

[28:1]  51 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”

[28:1]  52 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).

[28:2]  52 tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”

[28:3]  53 tn Or “in the country” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). This expression also occurs in v. 15.

[28:4]  54 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[28:6]  55 sn Come in…go out. To “come in” and “go out” is a figure of speech (merism) indicating all of life and its activities.

[28:7]  56 tn Heb “who rise up against” (so NIV).

[28:7]  57 tn Heb “way” (also later in this verse and in v. 25).

[28:8]  57 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” Because English would not typically reintroduce the proper name following a relative pronoun (“he will bless…the Lord your God is giving”), the pronoun (“he”) has been employed here in the translation.

[28:9]  58 tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.

[28:9]  59 tn Heb “and walk in his ways” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[28:10]  59 tn Heb “the name of the Lord is called over you.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership; see 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1, as well as BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph. 2.d.(4).

[28:11]  60 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “will give you a lot of children.”

[28:11]  61 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:11]  62 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 36, 64).

[28:12]  61 tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”

[28:13]  62 tn Heb “the Lord your God’s.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:13]  63 tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV); NASB “which I charge you today.”

[28:14]  63 tn Heb “from all the words which I am commanding.”

[28:14]  64 tn Heb “in order to serve.”

[28:15]  64 tn Heb “do not hear the voice of.”

[28:15]  65 tn Heb “and overtake you” (so NIV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “and overwhelm you.”

[28:18]  65 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[28:19]  66 sn See note on the similar expression in v. 6.

[28:20]  67 tn Heb “the curse, the confusion, and the rebuke” (NASB and NIV similar); NRSV “disaster, panic, and frustration.”

[28:20]  68 tn Heb “in all the stretching out of your hand.”

[28:20]  69 tc For the MT first person common singular suffix (“me”), the LXX reads either “Lord” (Lucian) or third person masculine singular suffix (“him”; various codices). The MT’s more difficult reading probably represents the original text.

[28:21]  68 tn Heb “will cause pestilence to cling to you.”

[28:22]  69 tn Heb “The Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:22]  70 tn Or perhaps “consumption” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The term is from a verbal root that indicates a weakening of one’s physical strength (cf. NAB “wasting”; NIV, NLT “wasting disease”).

[28:22]  71 tn Heb “hot fever”; NIV “scorching heat.”

[28:22]  72 tn Or “drought” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[28:23]  70 tc The MT reads “Your.” The LXX reads “Heaven will be to you.”

[28:23]  71 tn Or “heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[28:25]  71 tc The meaningless MT reading זַעֲוָה (zaavah) is clearly a transposition of the more commonly attested Hebrew noun זְוָעָה (zÿvaah, “terror”).

[28:28]  72 tn Heb “heart” (so KJV, NASB).

[28:29]  73 tn Heb “you will not cause your ways to prosper.”

[28:30]  74 tc For MT reading שָׁגַל (shagal, “ravish; violate”), the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate presume the less violent שָׁכַב (shakhav, “lie with”). The unexpected counterpart to betrothal here favors the originality of the MT.

[28:32]  75 tn Heb “and there will be no power in your hand”; NCV “there will be nothing you can do.”

[28:36]  76 tc The LXX reads the plural “kings.”

[28:40]  77 tn Heb “your olives will drop off” (נָשַׁל, nashal), referring to the olives dropping off before they ripen.

[28:42]  78 tn The Hebrew term denotes some sort of buzzing or whirring insect; some have understood this to be a type of locust (KJV, NIV, CEV), but other insects have also been suggested: “buzzing insects” (NAB); “the cricket” (NASB); “the cicada” (NRSV).

[28:43]  79 tn Heb “the foreigner.” This is a collective singular and has therefore been translated as plural; this includes the pronouns in the following verse, which are also singular in the Hebrew text.

[28:45]  80 tn Heb “commanded”; NAB, NIV, TEV “he gave you.”

[28:46]  81 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the curses mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:46]  82 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[28:48]  82 tn Heb “lack of everything.”

[28:48]  83 tn Heb “he” (also later in this verse). The pronoun is a collective singular referring to the enemies (cf. CEV, NLT). Many translations understand the singular pronoun to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV).

[28:49]  83 tn Heb “from the end of the earth.”

[28:49]  84 tn Some translations understand this to mean “like an eagle swoops down” (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), comparing the swift attack of an eagle to the attack of the Israelites’ enemies.

[28:51]  84 tn Heb “it” (so NRSV), a collective singular referring to the invading nation (several times in this verse and v. 52).

[28:51]  85 tn Heb “increase of herds.”

[28:51]  86 tn Heb “growth of flocks.”

[28:52]  85 tn Heb “gates,” also in vv. 55, 57.

[28:53]  86 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NRSV); NASB “the offspring of your own body.”

[28:53]  87 tn Heb “siege and stress.”

[28:55]  87 tn Heb “besiege,” redundant with the noun “siege.”

[28:56]  88 tc The LXX adds σφόδρα (sfodra, “very”) to bring the description into line with v. 54.

[28:56]  89 tn Heb “delicateness and tenderness.”

[28:57]  89 tn Heb includes “that which comes out from between her feet.”

[28:57]  90 tn Heb “her sons that she will bear.”

[28:57]  91 tn Heb includes “in her need for everything.”

[28:58]  90 tn Heb “If you are not careful to do.”

[28:60]  91 sn These are the plagues the Lord inflicted on the Egyptians prior to the exodus which, though they did not fall upon the Israelites, must have caused great terror (cf. Exod 15:26).

[28:60]  92 tn Heb “will cling to you” (so NIV); NLT “will claim you.”

[28:61]  92 tn The Hebrew term תּוֹרָה (torah) can refer either (1) to the whole Pentateuch or, more likely, (2) to the book of Deuteronomy or even (3) only to this curse section of the covenant text. “Scroll” better reflects the actual document, since “book” conveys the notion of a bound book with pages to the modern English reader. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the book of this law”; NIV, NLT “this Book of the Law”; TEV “this book of God’s laws and teachings.”

[28:62]  93 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[28:62]  94 tn Heb “have not listened to the voice of.”

[28:63]  94 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:66]  95 tn Heb “you will not be confident in your life.” The phrase “from one day to the next” is implied by the following verse.

[29:1]  96 sn Beginning with 29:1, the verse numbers through 29:29 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:1 ET = 28:69 HT, 29:2 ET = 29:1 HT, 29:3 ET = 29:2 HT, etc., through 29:29 ET = 29:28 HT. With 30:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[29:1]  97 sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (which some English versions substitute here for clarity, cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[29:2]  97 tn The Hebrew text includes “to your eyes,” but this is redundant in English style (cf. the preceding “you have seen”) and is omitted in the translation.

[29:3]  98 tn Heb “testings.” This is a reference to the plagues; see note at 4:34.

[29:4]  99 tn Heb “a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear” (NASB similar); NAB, NRSV “a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear.”

[29:5]  100 tn The Hebrew text includes “on you.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:5]  101 tn The Hebrew text includes “from on your feet.”

[29:6]  101 tc The LXX reads “that he is the Lord your God.”

[29:9]  102 tn Heb “words.”

[29:10]  103 tc Heb “your heads, your tribes.” The Syriac presupposes either “heads of your tribes” or “your heads, your judges,” etc. (reading שֹׁפְטֵכֶם [shofÿtekhem] for שִׁבְטֵיכֶם [shivtekhem]). Its comparative difficulty favors the originality of the MT reading. Cf. KJV “your captains of your tribes”; NRSV “the leaders of your tribes”; NLT “your tribal leaders.”

[29:11]  104 tn Heb “your.”

[29:12]  105 tn Heb “for you to pass on into the covenant of the Lord your God and into his oath, which the Lord your God is cutting with you today.”

[29:13]  106 tn Heb “in order to establish you today to him for a people and he will be to you for God.” Verses 10-13 are one long sentence in Hebrew. The translation divides this into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[29:13]  107 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).

[29:15]  107 tn This is interpreted by some English versions as a reference to generations not yet born (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[29:17]  108 tn The Hebrew term שִׁקּוּץ (shiquts) refers to anything out of keeping with the nature and character of Yahweh and therefore to be avoided by his people Israel. It is commonly used with or as a synonym for תּוֹעֵבָה (toevah, “detestable, abhorrent”; 2 Kgs 23:13; Jer 16:18; Ezek 5:11; 7:20; 11:18, 21; see note on the term “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25). See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:243-46.

[29:17]  109 tn The Hebrew text includes “which were with them.” Verses 16-17 constitute a parenthetical comment.

[29:18]  109 tn Heb “yielding fruit poisonous and wormwood.” The Hebrew noun לַעֲנָה (laanah) literally means “wormwood” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB), but is used figuratively for anything extremely bitter, thus here “fruit poisonous and bitter.”

[29:19]  110 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the subject of the warning in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:19]  111 tn Heb “in his heart.”

[29:19]  112 tn Or “invokes a blessing on himself.” A formalized word of blessing is in view, the content of which appears later in the verse.

[29:19]  113 tn Heb “heart.”

[29:19]  114 tn Heb “thus destroying.” For stylistic reasons the translation begins a new sentence here.

[29:19]  115 tn Heb “the watered with the parched.” The word “ground” is implied. The exact meaning of the phrase is uncertain although it appears to be figurative. This appears to be a proverbial observation employing a figure of speech (a merism) suggesting totality. That is, the Israelite who violates the letter and even spirit of the covenant will harm not only himself but everything he touches – “the watered and the parched.” Cf. CEV “you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you.”

[29:20]  111 tn Heb “the wrath of the Lord and his zeal.” The expression is a hendiadys, a figure in which the second noun becomes adjectival to the first.

[29:20]  112 tn Heb “smoke,” or “smolder.”

[29:20]  113 tn Heb “the entire oath.”

[29:20]  114 tn Or “will lie in wait against him.”

[29:20]  115 tn Heb “blot out his name from under the sky.”

[29:21]  112 tn Heb “set him apart.”

[29:21]  113 tn Heb “for evil”; NAB “for doom”; NASB “for adversity”; NIV “for disaster”; NRSV “for calamity.”

[29:22]  113 tn Heb “will say and see.” One expects a quotation to appear, but it seems to be omitted. To avoid confusion in the translation, the verb “will say” is omitted.

[29:23]  114 tn Heb “the anger and the wrath.” This construction is a hendiadys intended to intensify the emotion.

[29:24]  115 tn Heb “this great burning of anger”; KJV “the heat of this great anger.”

[29:26]  116 tn Heb “did not assign to them”; NASB, NRSV “had not allotted to them.”

[29:27]  117 tn Heb “the entire curse.”

[29:29]  118 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV “children.”

[30:1]  119 tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”

[30:1]  120 tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[30:2]  120 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “children.”

[30:2]  121 tn Or “heart and soul” (also in vv. 6, 10).

[30:2]  122 tn Heb “according to all.”

[30:3]  121 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[30:4]  122 tn Heb “are at the farthest edge of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[30:5]  123 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:5]  124 tn Heb “fathers” (also later in this verse and in vv. 9, 20).

[30:6]  124 tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.

[30:6]  125 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  126 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:8]  125 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”

[30:9]  126 tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.

[30:9]  127 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”

[30:9]  128 tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.

[30:9]  129 tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”

[30:10]  127 tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:11]  128 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you.”

[30:14]  129 tn Heb “heart.”

[30:16]  130 tc A number of LXX mss insert before this verse, “if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God,” thus translating אֲשֶׁר (’asher) as “which” and the rest as “I am commanding you today, to love,” etc., “then you will live,” etc.

[30:16]  131 tn Heb “which you are going there to possess it.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:17]  131 tn Heb “your heart,” as a metonymy for the person.

[30:18]  132 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”

[30:18]  133 tn Heb “to go there to possess it.”

[30:20]  133 tn The words “I also call on you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20 are one long sentence, which the translation divides into two.

[30:20]  134 tn Heb “he is your life and the length of your days to live.”

[31:1]  134 tc For the MT reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “he went”), the LXX and Qumran have וַיְכַל (vaykhal, “he finished”): “So Moses finished speaking,” etc. The difficult reading of the MT favors its authenticity.

[31:1]  135 tn In the MT this refers to the words that follow (cf. NIV, NCV).

[31:2]  135 tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

[31:7]  136 tn The Hebrew text includes “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:7]  137 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 20).

[31:10]  137 tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:10]  138 tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּה (shÿmittah), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the procedure whereby debts of all fellow Israelites were to be canceled. Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God’s own deliverance of and provision for his people, this was an appropriate time for Israelites to release one another. See note on this word at Deut 15:1.

[31:10]  139 tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] ([khag] hassukot, “[festival of] huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. See note on the name of the festival in Deut 16:13.

[31:11]  138 tn Heb “before all Israel.”

[31:13]  139 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”).

[31:14]  140 tc The LXX reads “by the door of the tent” in line with v. 10 but also, perhaps, as a reflection of its tendency to avoid over-familiarity with Yahweh and his transcendence.

[31:14]  141 tn Heb “tent of assembly” (מוֹעֵד אֹהֶל, ’ohel moed); this is not always the same as the tabernacle, which is usually called מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “dwelling-place”), a reference to its being invested with God’s presence. The “tent of meeting” was erected earlier than the tabernacle and was the place where Yahweh occasionally appeared, especially to Moses (cf. Exod 18:7-16; 33:7-11; Num 11:16, 24, 26; 12:4).

[31:14]  142 tn Heb “I will command him.”

[31:15]  141 tn Heb “and the pillar of cloud.” This phrase was not repeated in the translation; a relative clause was used instead.

[31:16]  142 tn Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so NASB); NRSV “ancestors.”

[31:16]  143 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.

[31:16]  144 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:16]  145 tn Or “abandon” (TEV, NLT).

[31:16]  146 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:17]  143 tn Heb “on that day.” This same expression also appears later in the verse and in v. 18.

[31:17]  144 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:17]  145 tn Heb “find,” “encounter.”

[31:17]  146 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:17]  147 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:17]  148 tn Heb “evils.”

[31:17]  149 tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.

[31:17]  150 tn Heb “my.”

[31:17]  151 tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.



TIP #14: Use the Discovery Box to further explore word(s) and verse(s). [ALL]
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