Deuteronomy 9:14

9:14 Stand aside ¹  and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory, ²  and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are.”

Deuteronomy 12:32

Idolatry and False Prophets

12:32 (13:1) ³  You ⁴  must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 22:3

22:3 You shall do the same to his donkey, his clothes, or anything else your neighbor ⁶  has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 22:8

22:8 If you build a new house, you must construct a guard rail ⁸  around your roof to avoid being culpable ⁹  in the event someone should fall from it.

Deuteronomy 28:31

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.

[9:14]  ¹ tn Heb “leave me alone.”

[9:14]  ² tn Heb “from under heaven.”

[12:32]  ³ sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[12:32]  ⁴ tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr mss propose plural for the last two. What both ancient and modern scholars tend to overlook, however, is the covenantal theological tone of the Book of Deuteronomy, one that views Israel as a collective body (singular) made up of many individuals (plural). See M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1–11 (AB), 15-16; J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy (TOTC), 21-23.

[12:32]  ⁵ sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).

[22:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “your brother” (also in v. 4).

[22:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “you must not hide yourself.”

[22:8]  ⁷ tn Or “a parapet” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “a battlement”; NLT “a barrier.”

[22:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “that you not place bloodshed in your house.”