Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:14

This verse offers no problems for translators. New Revised Standard Version is clearer than Revised Standard Version; it has “The plan you have proposed is a good one.” New Jerusalem Bible is even more concise, “Your plan is good.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Revised English Bible are alike: “What you propose to do is good.” Contemporary English Version has “That’s a good idea!”

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:15

So I took the heads of your tribes: the text does not say that the people picked these men out; this may be understood from the narrative, but there is no account of it. It would not do for the translation to go beyond the Hebrew text and say that the people picked out the leaders. By the verb took, the text means that Moses summoned them to come to him.

Wise and experienced men: using two of the three terms in verse 13. We assume that in verse 13 “men” refers to males, and here in verse 15 they are also males. The “leaders” (Good News Translation) of tribes would always have been men.

And set them as heads over you: this seems to suggest an installation ceremony.

Commanders: since this is primarily a military position, the equivalent of “captains” or “chiefs” may be used. In descending order of authority these men were placed in charge of groups of one thousand men, one hundred men, fifty men, and ten men. Languages lacking terms for these quantities will have to use other means to display the difference in the number of men in each of the four groups referred to.

Officers: it is difficult to determine what was the precise responsibility of these men; they appear with the elders (Num 11.16) and with judges (Deut 16.18; Josh 8.33), and also in military contexts (Deut 20.5, 8, 9; Josh 1.10; 3.2). Dhorme translates “scribes,” but this does not seem appropriate here. The English word “officers” will be understood by most readers in a military sense; New Revised Standard Version is better with “officials.” It seems better to choose some more general term; Bible en français courant has “the task of overseeing.” An alternative translation model for this sentence is “I also appointed other officials as overseers of your people.”

Throughout your tribes: this modifies all the actions in the earlier part of the verse. Again, the translator must be aware of the possible misunderstanding of the possessive “your.” Contemporary English Version avoids this problem with “your official leaders,” also leaving tribes implicit.

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:16

And I charged your judges at that time: unlike Good News Translation, a translation should represent the Hebrew text and use the appropriate word for “judges,” as distinct from “commanders” and “officers.” The verb “charge” means to command, order, or instruct. The word translated judges is used elsewhere in the general sense of “leaders,” but here it means those who settle legal disputes among the people. Contemporary English Version makes it clear that those judges were not the same people as in the previous verse: “and others became judges.” We may also express this as “and I appointed other men as judges. I gave them the following instructions….”

At that time: as in verse 9.

Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien that is with him: the formal equivalence of the Hebrew text in Revised Standard Version makes for very unnatural English. New Revised Standard Version is much better: “Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien.” And Revised English Bible has “Hear the cases that arise among your kinsmen and judge fairly between one person and another, whether fellow-countryman or resident alien.” Good News Translation likewise has reconstructed the text in order to make sense.

Hear the cases means to listen, as judge, to what two (or more) people claim about their dispute with each other; your brethren means “your fellow-Israelites” or more generally “your people” (Good News Translation). To judge righteously means to judge in a fair and impartial way; a man and his brother in this context means a man (or, person) and another Israelite, or “between two Israelites” (Contemporary English Version); while the alien that is with him means the non-Jew that the Israelite is having a legal dispute with. The Hebrew word translated alien (or, “resident alien”) means a foreigner who lived permanently in an Israelite community; not being able to own land, he had little influence and could be the object of discrimination and exploitation. The Israelites knew what it was to live as resident aliens in a foreign land (see 10.29). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “… and decide justly between any man and a fellow Israelite or a stranger.”

Contemporary English Version has a radical reordering of the clauses of this verse. In some languages this will be a helpful model to follow:

• and others became judges. I gave these judges the following instructions: When you settle legal cases, your decisions must be fair. It doesn’t matter if the case is between two Israelites, or between an Israelite and a foreigner living in your community.

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:17

This verse includes three separate instructions:
(1) You shall not be partial in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. New Revised Standard Version rightly places a colon instead of a semicolon after “judgment,” since what follows is a further elaboration of the first item. By small and great is meant the lowly, poor, powerless people, as opposed to the important, wealthy, influential members of the community. It is possible to reverse the order of these two clauses: “It doesn’t matter if one person is poor [or, helpless] and the other is powerful [or, wealthy], you must judge impartially.”
(2) You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. Again, New Revised Standard Version is much clearer in English: “You shall not be intimidated by anyone”; this is more simply “Don’t be afraid of anyone” (Contemporary English Version). And the reason for this instruction is that judgment is given in God’s name and with God’s authority. In this community in which God’s laws ruled the people, any enforcement of the law was an application of God’s will. So Good News Translation has “for the decision you make comes from God.” Another way to express this is “For God will help you to make the right [or, correct] decision.”
(3) And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring it to me, and I will hear it. The meaning here is quite clear; Moses will hear—that is, decide, settle, judge—any dispute that is too difficult for the appointed judge to handle. The clause you shall bring it to me can be taken to mean “bring the people to me” (Contemporary English Version), as it is two people who are having a dispute. And this final sentence may thus be expressed as “If any dispute is too difficult for you to decide, bring the people who are involved to me and I will make the decision.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:18

I commanded: as in verse 16. New Jerusalem Bible has “I gave you instructions.”

At that time: as in verse 9, at Mount Sinai.

All the things that you should do: Moses was talking to Israelites, giving them instructions about their duties and responsibilities as the people of God.

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:20 - 1:21

For country of the Amorites see verse 7 and elsewhere. You have come may also be expressed as “We have reached” (Contemporary English Version), as Moses would have been including himself here.

Gives: this is better translated “is giving” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation) or “is about to give.”

What follows in the rest of the chapter describes what took place at Kadesh Barnea.

Behold: see verse 8.

Has set the land before you: see verse 8.

Go up: this verb does not always mean to go from a lower to a higher elevation, but may have the more general sense of “go,” “go into,” or “proceed.” Here, however, go up makes sense, since Kadesh Barnea was at a lower level than the hill country.

Take possession: see verse 8.

The LORD, the God of your fathers: see verse 11.

Has told you: that is, “has ordered you,” “has commanded you.”

Do not fear or be dismayed: the use of two verbs that mean almost the same thing makes the command even stronger; the Israelites are to be completely fearless as they begin to invade the land that Yahweh, their God, is giving them. In some languages do not fear or be dismayed may be translated as “Don’t have any fear in your hearts at all,” or figuratively, for example, “Don’t let your hearts fall [or, melt].”

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:22

Then all of you came near me: or, “Then all of you came to me” (Contemporary English Version). Instead of the word Then, The New English Bible [New English Bible], Revised English Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch begin with “But,” which better suits the context. Instead of immediately obeying the order to invade the land and take possession of it, the Israelites propose a delaying course of action; this may be seen as the first indication of their lack of faith.

Let us send men before us: in Num 13.1-2 it is God who orders that the twelve spies be sent out. Contemporary English Version prefaces this sentence with “Before we go into the land, let’s send….” This may be helpful.

That they may explore the land for us, and bring us word again: New Revised Standard Version “bring back a report to us” is an improvement over the literal rendering “bring us word again.” A simpler way of expressing this is “and can tell us about….”

Of the way by which we must go up: the purpose of the spies’ exploration of the land would be to decide which would be the best route to take in their invasion of the land, and to find out how strong and heavily defended were the cities that they would have to conquer. Again, go up does not necessarily mean to go to a higher elevation (see verse 21).

The cities into which …: in today’s world cities are usually much larger than most of the communities named in the Bible, and “towns” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) is a more accurate term. For a comment on the translation of “towns,” see verse 1.

Into which we shall come: the translator must be aware of the point of view of the narrative. As they attacked the cities, the Israelites were “going” into them; from the point of view of the cities they would be “coming” into them. In most languages “going” will be the more natural point of view. However, in certain languages all directional information depends on where the speaker is located. In such a case translators should generally place the writer of Deuteronomy in the area of Canaan.

Contemporary English Version has a helpful alternative model for this verse:

• Then all of you came to me and said, “Before we go into the land, let’s send some men to explore it. When they come back, they can tell us about the towns we will find and what roads we should take to get there.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:23

The thing seemed good to me: this is more clearly translated “I thought the plan was a good one,” or even “I gave my approval to your plan.” See verse 14.

And I took: see the same use of the verb in verse 15.

One man for each tribe: this is better rendered “one man from each tribe [or, from each of the twelve tribes].”

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 .