Verses 16-17 are one sentence, with verse 16 providing the setting for the action described in verse 17. Good News Translation offers one model of how this long sentence may be broken into more manageable units.

If he says … because he loves … since: these circumstantial clauses may be placed first, in the order in which they happen; for example, “But the slave who has been well-treated by you may love you and your family. So he may say to you, ‘I don’t want to leave you.’ ”

I will not go out from you: that is, “I don’t want to leave you.”

He loves you and your household: see 14.26.

He fares well with you: this can be represented by “he is well-off with you” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible) or “you have treated him well.”

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 .

An awl: the word appears only here and in Exo 21.6. It is a sharp, pointed tool, made of wood, bone, flint, or metal. Some conjecture that a metal tag was affixed to the pierced ear lobe of the slave.

Ear: the actual part referred to is the ear lobe.

Into the door: apparently the door of the master’s house (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). In some languages it will be necessary to make it clear that the slave must stand against or beside the door to provide a hard flat area for the owner to punch a clear hole through the ear (see a similar passage in Exo 21.6). So the first part of this verse may be expressed as follows:

• Then make him stand against [or, beside] the door of your house, and punch a hole through one of his ear lobes with an awl [or, a sharp piece of metal].

Bondman … bondwoman: better “male slave … female slave.”

Contemporary English Version combines the final two clauses in the following way: “such slaves will belong to you for life, whether they are men or women.”

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 refers to the other case, of the slave who did leave the household, and is now a free person. Good News Translation shows this, with “when you set slaves free.” We may also say something like “In the case of slaves you set free, do not be resentful [or, complain].”

It shall not seem hard to you: this is not a statement of fact but an exhortation: “Do not feel aggrieved” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “Do not think it hard on you” (New Jerusalem Bible), “Do not consider it a hardship” (New Revised Standard Version). Good News Translation has “Do not be resentful….” The phrase to you translates what is literally “in your eyes,” meaning from your point of view.

At half the cost of a hired servant: the meaning of the text, as translated by Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version, is that the cost of maintaining a slave was half the cost of paying a hired servant. But there are other ways in which this text is understood: (1) “He has given you double the service of a hired man” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; Dhorme and Driver); (2) “The six years of service was equivalent to the wages of a hired man” (Craigie). It is recommended that the Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version understanding of the text be followed.

So the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do: see verse 10.

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 .

These animals were to be eaten in the central sanctuary, perhaps during the Festival of Booths, when the tithes were offered (see 14.23).

It will be helpful to begin this verse with a word such as “Instead”; for example, “Instead, each year you must eat the first-born….”

You and your household: see 14.26.

Before the LORD your God: in the sanctuary (see 14.26).

At the place which the LORD will choose: see 14.23.

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 .

No defective animal could be offered to God (see 17.1).

Any blemish: any serious “defect” (New Revised Standard Version), such as blindness or lameness, disqualified the animal from being offered to God.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• But if the animal is lame or blind, or has some other physical defect, you must not slaughter it and offer it to the LORD your 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 .

Defective first-born males would be eaten in the homes of the owners (see similar instructions in 12.15-16).

The unclean and the clean: both ritually clean and unclean people could share in the meal (see 12.15).

A gazelle or a hart: see 12.15.

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 .

See 12.16.

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 .

With the beginning of a new section, translators are advised to reintroduce Moses as the speaker.

Abib was the first month of the year in the Hebrew calendar, equivalent to modern March-April. It was later called “Nisan.”

Keep the Passover to the LORD your God: the whole command may be stated “Celebrate the Passover Festival in honor of the LORD your God” (as in Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). The origin of the name Passover is given in Exo 12.13, 27, where it is derived from the verb “to pass over,” in the statement that the angel of the LORD “passed over” the homes of the Hebrews in the destruction and death he brought to the land of Egypt. Alternative ways to translate this term are “The Festival [or, Fiesta] of Deliverance [or, Redemption],” “The Festival of Passing Over,” or even “The Festival Celebrating when the Angel Passed Over.” For the LORD your God see 1.6.

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

• Moses said: People of Israel, you must celebrate Passover in the month of Abib, because one night in that month years ago, the LORD your God rescued you from Egypt.

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 .