Ulangan 1:1

The Covenant Setting

1:1 This is what ¹  Moses said to the assembly of Israel ²  in the Transjordanian ³  wastelands, the arid country opposite ⁴  Suph, ⁵  between ⁶  Paran ⁷  and Tophel, ⁸  Laban, ⁹  Hazeroth, ¹⁰  and Di Zahab ¹¹ 

Ulangan 1:22

1:22 So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.”

Ulangan 2:8

2:8 So we turned away from our relatives ¹²  the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route, ¹³  from Elat ¹⁴  and Ezion Geber, ¹⁵  and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands.

Ulangan 4:32

The Uniqueness of Israel’s God

4:32 Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind ¹⁶  on the earth, and ask ¹⁷  from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it.

Ulangan 5:14

5:14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath ¹⁸  of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, ¹⁹  so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest.

Ulangan 5:22

The Narrative of the Sinai Revelation and Israel’s Response

5:22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said. ²⁰  Then he inscribed the words ²¹  on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

Ulangan 9:3

9:3 Understand today that the Lord your God who goes before you is a devouring fire; he will defeat and subdue them before you. You will dispossess and destroy them quickly just as he ²²  has told you.

Ulangan 11:17

11:17 Then the anger of the Lord will erupt ²³  against you and he will close up the sky ²⁴  so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed ²⁵  from the good land that the Lord ²⁶  is about to give you.

Ulangan 12:15

Regulations for Profane Slaughter

12:15 On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please when the Lord your God blesses you ²⁷  in all your villages. ²⁸  Both the ritually pure and impure may eat it, whether it is a gazelle or an ibex.

Ulangan 12:17

12:17 You will not be allowed to eat in your villages your tithe of grain, new wine, olive oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock, any votive offerings you have vowed, or your freewill and personal offerings.

Ulangan 12:21

12:21 If the place he ²⁹  chooses to locate his name is too far for you, you may slaughter any of your herd and flock he ³⁰  has given you just as I have stipulated; you may eat them in your villages ³¹  just as you wish.

Ulangan 13:6

False Prophets in the Family

13:6 Suppose your own full brother, ³²  your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods ³³  that neither you nor your ancestors ³⁴  have previously known, ³⁵ 

Ulangan 15:9

15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ³⁶  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ³⁷  and you do not lend ³⁸  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ³⁹ 

Ulangan 16:15

16:15 You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the Lord your God in the place he ⁴⁰  chooses, for he ⁴¹  will bless you in all your productivity and in whatever you do; ⁴²  so you will indeed rejoice!

Ulangan 17:12

17:12 The person who pays no attention ⁴³  to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict – that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel.

Ulangan 19:6

19:6 Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, ⁴⁴  and kill him, ⁴⁵  though this is not a capital case ⁴⁶  since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.

Ulangan 19:9

19:9 and then you are careful to observe all these commandments ⁴⁷  I am giving ⁴⁸  you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities ⁴⁹  to these three.

Ulangan 22:17

22:17 Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out ⁵⁰  before the city’s elders.

Ulangan 23:4

23:4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired ⁵¹  Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.

Ulangan 24:19

24:19 Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, ⁵²  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. ⁵³ 

Ulangan 25:7

25:7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she ⁵⁴  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!”

Ulangan 26:5

26:5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering ⁵⁵  Aramean ⁵⁶  was my ancestor, ⁵⁷  and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, ⁵⁸  but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people.

Ulangan 28:36

28:36 The Lord will force you and your king ⁵⁹  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.

Ulangan 29:18

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. ⁶⁰ 

Ulangan 30:9

30:9 The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands ⁶¹  abundantly successful and multiply your children, ⁶²  the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more ⁶³  rejoice over you to make you prosperous ⁶⁴  just as he rejoiced over your ancestors,

Ulangan 30:16

30:16 What ⁶⁵  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. ⁶⁶ 

Ulangan 31:17

31:17 At that time ⁶⁷  my anger will erupt against them ⁶⁸  and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome ⁶⁹  them ⁷⁰  so that they ⁷¹  will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters ⁷²  overcome us ⁷³  because our ⁷⁴  God is not among us ⁷⁵ ?’

Ulangan 32:21

32:21 They have made me jealous ⁷⁶  with false gods, ⁷⁷ 

enraging me with their worthless gods; ⁷⁸ 

so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, ⁷⁹ 

with a nation slow to learn ⁸⁰  I will enrage them.

Ulangan 33:29

33:29 You have joy, Israel! Who is like you?

You are a people delivered by the Lord,

your protective shield

and your exalted sword.

May your enemies cringe before you;

may you trample on their backs.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “These are the words.”

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “on the other side of the Jordan.” This would appear to favor authorship by someone living on the west side of the Jordan, that is, in Canaan, whereas the biblical tradition locates Moses on the east side (cf. v. 5). However the Hebrew phrase בְּעֵבֶר הַיּרְדֵּן (bÿ’ever hayyrÿden) is a frozen form meaning “Transjordan,” a name appropriate from any geographical vantage point. To this day, one standing east of the Jordan can describe himself as being in Transjordan.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ⁵ sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.

[1:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”

[1:1]  ⁷ sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).

[1:1]  ⁸ sn Tophel refers possibly to et£-T£afîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Da‚bîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.

[1:1]  ⁹ sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).

[1:1]  ¹⁰ sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.

[2:8]  ¹² tn Or “brothers”; NRSV “our kin.”

[2:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “the way of the Arabah” (so ASV); NASB, NIV “the Arabah road.”

[2:8]  ¹⁴ sn Elat was a port city at the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, that is, the Gulf of Aqaba (or Gulf of Eilat). Solomon (1 Kgs 9:28), Uzziah (2 Kgs 14:22), and Ahaz (2 Kgs 16:5-6) used it as a port but eventually it became permanently part of Edom. It may be what is known today as Tell el-Kheleifeh. Modern Eilat is located further west along the northern coast. See G. Pratico, “Nelson Glueck’s 1938-1940 Excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh: A Reappraisal,” BASOR 259 (1985): 1-32.

[2:8]  ¹⁵ sn Ezion Geber. A place near the Gulf of Aqaba, Ezion-geber must be distinguished from Elat (cf. 1 Kgs 9:26-28; 2 Chr 8:17-18). It was, however, also a port city (1 Kgs 22:48-49). It may be the same as the modern site Gezirat al-Fauran, 15 mi (24 km) south-southwest from Tell el-Kheleifah.

[4:32]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term אָדָם (’adam) may refer either to Adam or, more likely, to “man” in the sense of the human race (“mankind,” “humankind”). The idea here seems more universal in scope than reference to Adam alone would suggest.

[4:32]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is not present in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification. The challenge has both temporal and geographical dimensions. The people are challenged to (1) inquire about the entire scope of past history and (2) conduct their investigation on a worldwide scale.

[5:14]  ¹⁸ tn There is some degree of paronomasia (wordplay) here: “the seventh (הַשְּׁבִיעִי, hashÿvi’i) day is the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת, shabbat).” Otherwise, the words have nothing in common, since “Sabbath” is derived from the verb שָׁבַת (shavat, “to cease”).

[5:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in your gates”; NRSV, CEV “in your towns”; TEV “in your country.”

[5:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”

[5:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:3]  ²² tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style to avoid redundancy.

[11:17]  ²³ tn Heb “will become hot”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “will be kindled”; NAB “will flare up”; NIV, NLT “will burn.”

[11:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[11:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “be destroyed”; NAB, NIV “will soon perish.”

[11:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 11:4.

[12:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “only in all the desire of your soul you may sacrifice and eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given to you.”

[12:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB; likewise in vv. 17, 18).

[12:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

[12:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

[12:21]  ³¹ tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in your own community.”

[13:6]  ³² 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.

[13:6]  ³³ 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.’”

[13:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 17).

[13:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “which you have not known, you or your fathers.” (cf. KJV, ASV; on “fathers” cf. v. 18).

[15:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “your eye.”

[15:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “your needy brother.”

[15:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

[15:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

[16:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “in all the work of your hands” (so NASB, NIV); NAB, NRSV “in all your undertakings.”

[17:12]  ⁴³ tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).

[19:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and overtake him, for the road is long.”

[19:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “smite with respect to life,” that is, fatally.

[19:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “no judgment of death.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).

[19:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁹ sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.

[22:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “they will spread the garment.”

[23:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “hired against you.”

[24:19]  ⁵² tn Heb “in the field.”

[24:19]  ⁵³ 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).

[25:7]  ⁵⁴ 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.

[26:5]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “father.”

[26:5]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[28:36]  ⁵⁹ tc The LXX reads the plural “kings.”

[29:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “yielding fruit poisonous and wormwood.” The Hebrew noun לַעֲנָה (la’anah) literally means “wormwood” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB), but is used figuratively for anything extremely bitter, thus here “fruit poisonous and bitter.”

[30:9]  ⁶¹ tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.

[30:9]  ⁶² tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”

[30:9]  ⁶³ tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.

[30:9]  ⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”

[30:16]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “which you are going there to possess it.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:17]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “on that day.” This same expression also appears later in the verse and in v. 18.

[31:17]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “find,” “encounter.”

[31:17]  ⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² tn Heb “evils.”

[31:17]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “my.”

[31:17]  ⁷⁵ 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.

[32:21]  ⁷⁶ sn They have made me jealous. The “jealousy” of God is not a spirit of pettiness prompted by his insecurity, but righteous indignation caused by the disloyalty of his people to his covenant grace (see note on the word “God” in Deut 4:24). The jealousy of Israel, however (see next line), will be envy because of God’s lavish attention to another nation. This is an ironic wordplay. See H. Peels, NIDOTTE 3:938-39.

[32:21]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “what is not a god,” or a “nondeity.”

[32:21]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “their empty (things).” The Hebrew term used here to refer pejoratively to the false gods is הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile” or “futility”), used frequently in Ecclesiastes (e.g., Eccl 1:1, “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”).

[32:21]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “what is not a people,” or a “nonpeople.” The “nonpeople” (לֹא־עָם, lo’-’am) referred to here are Gentiles who someday would become God’s people in the fullest sense (cf. Hos 1:9; 2:23).

[32:21]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “a foolish nation” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NIV “a nation that has no understanding”; NLT “I will provoke their fury by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”