Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 20:16

The cities of these peoples that the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance: this is the familiar language, the way of speaking of the land of Canaan, which was the inheritance (see “inherit” in 1.38), that is, the Promised Land that Yahweh gave the Israelites. Another way of rendering this clause is “But whenever you capture towns in that land that the LORD your God is giving you, ….”

You shall save alive nothing that breathes: the Hebrew is literally “You shall not allow to live all [or, every] breathing being.” It seems clear that this includes all living beings, not simply human beings, and this is the meaning that should be expressed; so “anything that breathes” (New Revised Standard Version), or “all the people and animals” (Contemporary English Version). See Josh 10.40; 11.11, 14.

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 20:17 - 20:18

You shall utterly destroy them: the Hebrew is emphatic, using the expression which is literally “destroying, you shall destroy them.” See 2.34.

For the list of the peoples living in Canaan, see 7.1, where seven groups are listed (here the “Girgashites” are not included).

The single sentence of verses 17 and 18 may be too long. It may be a good idea to begin a new sentence at verse 18, as Good News Translation does, by repeating the verb of the previous verse: “Kill them so that…” or “If you allow them to live [or, don’t kill them], they will cause you to….”

As the LORD your God has commanded: see 9.3.

They may not teach you … their abominable practices: see the same reason in 7.25; 8.18-19; 18.9.

In the service of their gods: the Hebrew is simply “for their gods,” meaning “in the worship of their gods” (Good News Translation).

And so to sin: it should be clear that the subject here is the Israelites, not the Canaanites: “And so you will sin against the LORD your God.” Here, not as elsewhere, your is plural, not singular.

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 20:19

Verses 19-20 add another instruction with regard to the siege of a city (verses 10-15).

The Hebrew text of verse 19 is not altogether clear, but the meaning given by Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version represents the most common interpretation of the text.

When you besiege a city for a long time: or “When your fighting men surround a town for a long time.” For besiege see verse 12.

You shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them: these are fruit trees that grow outside the city, and they are not to be cut down. Good News Translation reduces the number of words considerably, with “do not cut down its fruit trees.” The model of Revised Standard Version is not recommended, as it gives the idea that as long as you don’t use an axe, you may cut the trees down. The sentence means that under no condition may anyone cut down the trees.

It is also possible to reorder the first clauses of the verse as follows: “When you are attacking a town, even though you surround the town for a long time, don’t chop down its fruit trees.”

You may eat of them, but you shall not cut them down: the Israelites were allowed to eat the fruits of the trees, but they were not to destroy the trees. New Revised Standard Version “Although you may take food from them…” is not much better than Revised Standard Version, since in English people hardly speak of taking “food” from a tree. Good News Translation is more natural with “Eat the fruit, but do not destroy the trees.”

Are the trees in the field men that they should be besieged by you? The rhetorical question is a way of saying vividly that the trees are not human beings and so pose no threat to the Israelites. If the rhetorical question (expecting the answer “No”) will be understood by the reader, it may be retained. Otherwise a negative statement should be used: “Trees are not men…” or “Fruit trees aren’t your enemies” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

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 20:20

Only the trees which … are not trees for food: trees that don’t bear fruit may be cut down and the wood used to build siegeworks against the town. Siegeworks included ladders, battering rams, platforms, or towers. In some languages there will not be a single word available like siegeworks, but translators will need to list the objects used to capture the town; for example, “You may cut down other trees and make ladders and towers [or, platforms] to help you get over the walls of the town and capture it” (similarly Contemporary English Version). Good News Translation “siege mounds,” namely mounds made from earth, is misleading because there were also all the other wooden objects listed above that were included in siegeworks.

You may destroy and cut down: one verb will be enough; the most natural way is to say “You may cut them down” or “You may cut down the trees that aren’t fruit trees.”

The city that makes war with you: it should be clear that the Israelites are the aggressors, so something like “the town you are fighting [or, besieging].”

Falls: this verb is used of a town that surrenders to the enemy; see the same verb used in the same context in 28.52. In some languages it will be necessary to talk about the people of the city surrendering, rather than a city “falling.” So alternative models for translation may be “the people of the town you are fighting surrender to you,” or “you capture the people of the town you are fighting.”

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 21:1

With the beginning of a new section, translators should reintroduce Moses as the speaker.

The land which the LORD your God gives you to possess: a phrase recurring throughout the book (see 3.18).

Any one is found slain: this is most probably a case of murder; but it could be manslaughter (19.4-6), since the circumstances of the slaying are unknown. In many languages the passive clause must be transformed into an active one; for example, “and someone happens to find [or, comes upon] the body of a person whom they [persons unknown] have killed.”

Lying in the open country: that is, outside the town. In a village, or even a city, it would be unusual for a murder to take place undetected. Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have “in a field,” but a more general translation such as “away from where people live” is probably more accurate.

It is not known who killed him: the killer is unknown. The Hebrew uses the masculine pronoun him, but obviously the same instructions apply if the murdered person is a woman. Contemporary English Version and New Revised Standard Version are able to avoid exclusive language; Contemporary English Version has “Suppose the body of a murder victim is found … and no one knows who the murderer is,” and New Revised Standard Version “If … a body is found … and it is not known who struck the person down….”

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 21:2

Your elders and your judges: see 5.23 and 1.16. The possessive your refers to the people of Israel as a whole.

Come forth: translators need to pay attention to the point of view; what this means is that the elders and judges are to “go out” (Good News Translation) to the place where the body was discovered. In certain languages it will be necessary to state where they go or come out from. It is evident that the passage means that they would come from all the nearby towns. So we may translate “Your leaders and judges must go out [or, come out] from the nearby towns and measure….”

Measure the distance: the purpose of this is to determine which is the closest town to the dead body. Instead of Revised Standard Version cities it is better to say “towns” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version; also New Revised Standard Version). It is assumed here that the early Hebrews did have practical means for measuring long distances such as this. However, the term used by a translator should be a general one and not refer to a measuring stick or tape that would be employed today. If a general term cannot be found, we may say something like “estimate” or “find out,” and measure the distance may be expressed as “estimate the distance from the place where the body was found to each of the nearby towns.”

Which are around him that is slain: this is a literal rendering of the Hebrew text. New Revised Standard Version has “the towns that are near the body”; more natural translations in English are New International Version “the neighboring towns” or New Jerusalem Bible “the surrounding towns.”

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 21:3

The elders of the city which is nearest: once it has been determined which is the closest town, the elders of that town are to handle the matter.

A heifer which has never been worked and which has not pulled in the yoke: this is a typical case of repetition, in which the general statement about work is followed by a statement referring to the particular type of work.

In the yoke: in English, the preposition in here means that the “young cow” (Good News Translation) has not had a yoke placed around its neck so that it could pull the plow (see Num 19.2). Good News Translation has “select a young cow that has never been used for work.” In languages that do not use the passive voice, we may say “select a young cow that they have never used for work.”

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 21:4

Bring the heifer down: the place where the heifer is to be killed is, like the animal itself, a place that has not been used for any purpose. It is still wild, it has never been farmed, neither plowed nor sown, or “where they [people in general] have never plowed the ground or sown crops.”

A valley with running water: this is not a stream that appears and disappears with the seasonal rains, but an ever flowing stream fed by a spring. Good News Translation has “a stream that never runs dry.” We may also express this as “a stream that flows all year.”

Break the heifer’s neck: presumably by means of a blow with a pole, or an ax. This animal is not being sacrificed to God (see Exo 13.13; 34.20). This is not a sacrifice to take away sin.

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 .