16:21 You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole 2 near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself.
1 tn Heb “justice, justice.” The repetition is emphatic; one might translate as “pure justice” or “unadulterated justice” (cf. NLT “true justice”).
2 tn Heb “an Asherah, any tree.”
sn Sacred Asherah pole. This refers to a tree (or wooden pole) dedicated to the worship of Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. See also Deut 7:5.