These you shall offer to the LORD at your appointed feasts …: This verse closes and summarizes the whole series of sacrificial regulations in chapters 28–29. Some languages may have a special transitional word, conjunction, or phrase to signal that this verse is a summary, which should be set off as a separate paragraph; for example, Bijbel in Gewone Taal uses the conjunction “so.” Another possible connector is “Thus.” The demonstrative pronoun These points backward to the sacrifices mentioned in chapters 28–29. A model for the beginning of this verse that makes this clear is “These sacrifices, then, you shall offer….” The Hebrew pronouns for you and your are plural, referring to the Israelites. As in 28.4, the Hebrew verb rendered offer is the more general one meaning “do” or “make,” so a specific verb such as “sacrifice” is not needed here. At your appointed feasts renders a plural form of the same Hebrew expression translated “in its due season” in 28.2 (see the comments there), chapters 28–29 are framed by these two phrases. For consistency NET Bible says “at your appointed time” here and “at its appointed time” in 28.2.

In addition to your votive offerings and your freewill offerings: For votive offerings and freewill offerings, see the comments on 15.3. Good News Translation has a separate sentence here, saying “These are in addition to the offerings you give in fulfillment of a vow or as freewill offerings,” which other languages may find helpful.

For your burnt offerings, and for your cereal offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings: For burnt offerings, see 6.11; for cereal offerings, see 4.16; for drink offerings, see 4.7; and for peace offerings, see 6.14. How is this long phrase related to the rest of the verse? Good News Translation and a number of other translations connect it to the beginning of the verse, that is, to These you shall offer to the LORD at your appointed feasts. In this way the offerings in this long phrase are the same as all the offerings in chapters 28–29. It is according to this interpretation that Good News Translation has moved this phrase forward by beginning this verse with “These are the regulations concerning the burnt offerings, grain offerings, wine offerings, and fellowship offerings that you are to make to the LORD at your appointed festivals.” Cole (page 481) says, “The animal, grain and oil, and drink offerings were to be submitted in addition to any other vow, freewill or thanksgiving offerings brought by individuals, families, or the community.” Buber and a number of other translations are based on the same interpretation even though they restructure the verse in different ways as follows:

– These things you must present to the LORD at your appointed times, in addition to your vows and your freewill offerings, as your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your drink offerings, and your peace offerings (NET Bible; similarly New Revised Standard Version).
– This you will prepare for the LORD at your feasts as your burnt offerings, your food offerings, your libation offerings and your peace offerings, besides your vow offerings and your freewill offerings (Bijbel: Vertaling in opdracht van het Nederlandsch Bijbelgenootschap).
– In addition to what you vow and your freewill offerings, prepare these for the LORD at your appointed feasts: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings (New International Version).
– These are the burnt offerings, grain offerings, wine offerings and peace offerings which you must offer to the LORD on your festive days. They fall outside your votive offerings and your voluntary gifts (De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling; similarly Good News Translation, Bijbel in Gewone Taal).

However, a similar number of translations connect these offerings to the votive and freewill offerings as follows:

– You shall do these for YHWH at your appointed times, aside from your vows and your contributions for your burnt offerings and for your grain offerings and for your libations and for your peace offerings (Friedman).
– These offerings you must present to the LORD on your feasts, besides the burnt offerings, flour offerings, libation offerings and slaughter offerings which you offer because of a vow or as voluntary gifts (Willibrordvertaling; similarly Nije Fryske Bibeloersetting).

The same interpretation is followed in New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, La Bible de Jérusalem Nouvelle, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Die Bibel: Einheitsübersetzung der Heiligen Schrift, Zürcher Bibel, and Luther. Both interpretations fit with chapter 15, where the votive and freewill offerings are regulated (15.3). However, the first interpretation (followed by Good News Translation and others) does more justice to the grammatical construction of 29.39 in the Hebrew text with the specific use of the preposition l (for).

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .