Instead of continuing the long and complex sentence, as Revised Standard Version does, it is better to follow Good News Translation and begin a new sentence at the end of verse 9: “Tell your children and grandchildren about the day…,” or we may bring verse 9 to a full stop and begin a new sentence at verse 10: “Tell them about the day….”

On the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb: this refers to Exo 19–20. Here before means “in the presence of” (Good News Translation). Good News Translation consistently uses “Sinai” as the name of the mountain, in keeping with its practice of using the better-known name when there are two names (or more) for the same person or place. Translators are urged to do the same.

Gather the people to me: “Bring all the people together in my presence,” “Assemble all the people in front of me.” In some languages this clause will be expressed as “Call the people of Israel to come and gather in front of me,” or even “Bring the people here to….”

That I may let them hear my words: “so that I can speak to them,” “so that they will hear what I will say to them.” The words are the Ten Commandments (see verse 13), but there is no reason for the translation to say that here.

So that they may learn to fear me: the translation of the phrase “to fear God” may be difficult (see also 5.29; 6.2, 13, 24). The basic idea is that of reverence or awe, as befits God’s transcendence and holiness. A word that means simply “be afraid of” should not be used. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and New International Version have “revere”; Bible en français courant “respect”; “obey” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) is not satisfactory here. Translators should, if possible, use a term that refers to “great respect” or “awe.” In cultures that are ruled by kings or chiefs, such a term should be readily available. A possible solution in English is to use two words; for example, “respect and obey.” If no suitable term is found, we may follow the solution of Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje. It uses the normal verb “to fear” (temer) and marks it with an asterisk, with the following explanation in the Glossary: “Fear God: Show respect or reverence for God, in acknowledgment of his greatness and holiness. It does not mean simply to be afraid of God, but to show him respect, love, obedience, and worship.”

All the days that they live upon the earth: “all their lives,” “as long as they live.”

And that they may teach their children so: that is, “teach their children to fear God.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Tell them about the day when you all stood at the foot of Mount Sinai in the presence of Yahweh your [or, our] God. Yahweh said, “Moses, call the people of Israel to come here before me. I want to speak to them so that they will learn to respect and obey me as long as they live. I want them also to teach their children to respect and obey me.”

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 .

Moses is speaking to the people.

You came near: that is, near to where Yahweh was.

Stood at the foot of the mountain: Mount Sinai (see Exo 19.17).

The mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven: this sounds like the description of a volcanic eruption, with the flames leaping high in the sky. New Jerusalem Bible has “the mountain flamed to the very sky,” New Revised Standard Version translates “the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens,” and Contemporary English Version has “the fire went up to the sky.”

The mountain was wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom (see Exo 19.18); the Hebrew text says “… the heart of heaven, darkness, cloud, and gloom” (without a verb). Some translations do not take the three words to represent three different phenomena, but a way of saying “dark cloud and thick mist” (Revised English Bible), “black clouds and deep darkness” (New International Version), “deep dark clouds” (Contemporary English Version). The Hebrew word translated gloom is translated in the Septuagint by a Greek word that means “storm,” or “whirlwind” (see its use in Heb 12.18). The Septuagint adds, at the end, “a loud voice” (see 5.22), but this should not appear in the translation.

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 .

The people heard the sound of Yahweh’s voice, as he spoke to them out of the midst of the fire that blazed on top of Mount Sinai. The verse stresses the fact that there was no visible manifestation of Yahweh; only the sound of his voice was heard.

Good News Translation essentially combines this clause and the final one with “there was only a voice”; but this is not emphatic enough. The text avoids saying “You did not see Yahweh”; it says “you saw no form.” (It is interesting to notice that in Num 12.8 Yahweh says that Moses does see “the form” of Yahweh when Yahweh talks to him.) The Hebrew noun (also verse 15) means here the “visible form” of a living being; in other contexts it means an artifact, the representation in wood or metal of a god (see 4.16, 23, 25; 5.8).

If in a given language there is no word to express the notion of “visible form,” a translation may say “You saw nothing”; “You didn’t see a thing [or, anyone].”

There was only a voice: “you only heard a voice”; “you only heard someone speaking.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Tell them how the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You heard him speaking, but you didn’t see anyone. All you heard was someone speaking.

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 .

And he declared to you: “And he announced to you,” “And he told you about…,” or “He told you what you must do to keep….”

His covenant: “the covenant he was about to make with you.” The very important word covenant appears first in Gen 6.18 and occurs twenty-nine times in Deuteronomy. A translation should use the same word to translate the Hebrew berith and the Greek diathēkē used in the New Testament; by the time Deuteronomy is translated in a given language, it is most likely that a satisfactory word will have been found that can be used throughout the Bible. Covenant means, generally, an alliance, agreement, pact, treaty, or often a contract in writing. The translator must be aware of the different senses of the word when used in a context of commercial enterprises or military alliances; these other senses may very well make an otherwise satisfactory word unsuitable for its use of the covenant that God describes and offers to his people, the focus being on God’s promise.

In places where the Bible has already been translated, and the word for covenant is already part of the religious vocabulary of church people, it may be that a different word will not be accepted. In such a case it will be helpful to include a Glossary note, like the one in Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje:
A treaty made by God with his people. This treaty (alliance, pact, contract) was the following: the Eternal was the God of Israel, and Israel was the people of the Eternal God. God blessed the people, and they, in turn, obeyed God.

Another way to render this clause is “He told you that he was making an agreement [or, contract] with you.”

Which he commanded us to perform: the Hebrew verb “to do” governs both his covenant and the ten commandments, since “the ten words” are the covenant. But in many languages two different verbs will have to be used for the two objects: “keep the covenant” and “obey the ten words.” It is also possible to express this as “He told you that in order for you to keep the agreement you must obey [or, follow] the Ten Commandments.”

The ten commandments: as the Revised Standard Version note indicates, the Hebrew noun normally means “words.” But in this context translators are urged to use “Ten Commandments,” as there were actually more than ten Hebrew words.

And he wrote them upon two tables of stone: better, “… two stone tablets” (New Revised Standard Version), or even “two flat stones” (Contemporary English Version). The verb wrote may have to be translated “carved,” “cut into,” or “inscribed.” All the “ten words” were inscribed on each of the two tablets, in keeping with the customs of the time. (Each party to a treaty received one tablet, which would be kept in their sanctuary.) In the case of Israel, the sanctuary of Yahweh and that of the people was one and the same, so both tablets were kept there together in the sacred box. (Exo 40.20).

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 .

All the words and phrases of this verse have been dealt with in 4.1, 5. The only difference here is the use of the verb “go over” (instead of “go in”). This means crossing the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. Contemporary English Version brings this out with “the land that you will conquer west of the Jordan River.”

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 .

Beware lest you act corruptly: Revised Standard Version beware is required by the construction of the English sentence, referring back to “take good heed to yourselves” in verse 15. As already mentioned, it is better to restructure verses 15-16, using Good News Translation or Contemporary English Version as a model. The verb act corruptly means to sin, do wrong. This is a religious or moral offense, not a crime as such. The Hebrew carries the idea of going to ruin, rottenness, spoiling something that is good—in this case, the sacred relationship between Yahweh and his people. Beware lest you act corruptly may also be expressed as “Be careful that you do not disobey Yahweh by…,” or “… that you do not ruin your relationship with Yahweh by…,” or even “… that you do not defile yourselves by….”

A graven image: this is essentially an image or an idol, made of stone (10.1, 3) or wood (1 Kgs 5.18) that was carved into the shape of an animal, human being, or some object. In languages where there is no term for graven image or “idol,” it will be necessary to translate the underlying meaning and connect it to the rest of the verse. For example, “that you do not disobey Yahweh by carving out the likeness of any living thing, whether a person [or, people] or….” In this context “likeness” means “the image of” or “what looks like.”

The form of any figure: as the rest of the verse shows, the prohibition is against making such images, figures, or statues resembling a human being or an animal as a representation of the God of Israel, to be used in worship. Bible en français courant follows Traduction œcuménique de la Bible by translating the Hebrew semel (Revised Standard Version figure) by “divinity.” The meaning of the word is uncertain; see its use in Ezek 8.3, 5, and in 2 Chr 33.7, where Revised Standard Version renders “the image of the idol.” It seems better not to use the word “divinity” or “god” here, but to follow Revised Standard Version figure or likeness.

The likeness of a male or female: “that looks like a man or a woman.”

An alternative translation model for verses 15-16 is:

• Moses said to the people of Israel: “When Yahweh spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you didn’t see him. So make certain [or, be careful] that you do not disobey him by carving out the likeness of [or, what looks like] a man or a woman, ….”

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 .

This verse prohibits the Israelites from worshiping any of the heavenly bodies; they were regarded by many peoples as representing various gods or being controlled by different gods. Only the other nations should worship them; and that is by the decision of Yahweh (see 32.8-9).

And beware lest: “and be careful not to….”

You lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see: this is not a prohibition against looking at the sun and the other heavenly bodies, but of worshiping them as gods.

All the host of heaven: a collective term including all heavenly bodies; that is, the sun, the moon, and the stars (Gen 1.16). It is possible to reorder the clauses at the beginning of this verse as follows: “when you look at the sun or moon or stars, don’t be tempted to….”

You be drawn away: the verb means “to lead astray,” “to entice,” “to tempt.” This is spiritual apostasy, and we may express this as “Don’t let your heart lead you astray to….”

Worship and serve them: these are not two separate actions, but the one action of devoted worship. Revised English Bible and Contemporary English Version have “bow down and worship”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “don’t fall into the temptation to worship.”

Things which: this translates the Hebrew relative pronoun “that,” “which.”

For the LORD your God see 1.16.

Has allotted: “has assigned,” “has designated”; Bible en français courant “has reserved for,” and Contemporary English Version has “The LORD put them there for….” God has reserved these heavenly bodies to be worshiped by all the peoples under the whole heaven, a wordy way of saying “all the other peoples on earth,” “everybody else in the world.” The text clearly states that Yahweh provided these heavenly bodies as objects of worship for all people, except his own people, Israel.

An alternative translation model reordering the clauses of this verse is:

• When you look at the sun or moon or stars, don’t be tempted [or, let your heart cause you] to bow down and worship them. The LORD your God has designated them for everybody else in the world to worship.

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 .