The Revised Standard Version text carries on this verse as a continuation of the question that starts in verse 37. In some languages this may be difficult to do, and it will be better to start this verse as a new sentence.

Who ate the fat of their sacrifices: the fat was considered the choicest part of the animal offered in sacrifice. Instead of “who ate the fat of your sacrifices,” Good News Translation and Bible en français courant have “You fed them the fat of your sacrifices,” which may be easier to follow.

Drank the wine of their offerings: this means they drank the wine of the drink offerings; these also are sacrifices. Good News Translation has “and offered them wine to drink.”

Let them rise up and help you: this is a sarcastic suggestion, not a request. It may be expressed as “They ought to get up and help you now.” As elsewhere rise up functions as an auxiliary verb indicating the beginning of the action expressed in the main verb: “Let them help you now!”

Let them be your protectors: this is parallel to the previous line; the Hebrew word translated protectors appears only here in the Old Testament. So the final two lines may be translated:

• They ought to get up and help you now
or come and protect you.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .