Verses 20-21 state the punishment that Yahweh will send on such a person. It is described in vivid and repetitious detail. Moses is still the speaker.

The LORD would not pardon him: as long as he continues in his stubborn ways, he cannot be forgiven. Him refers to anyone who acts like this. So we may say “Yahweh will not pardon that person.” For a comment on pardon or “forgive,” see 21.8.

The anger of the LORD and his jealousy: for jealousy see 4.24; 6.15. Here, as often, the two nouns anger and jealousy can be translated as one phrase, a noun modified by an adjective: “the intense [or, furious] anger” (see in 1.27, where there are more than two terms).

Would smoke against that man: God’s anger is compared to a fire that flames out and burns and destroys. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “[the LORD’s] anger and passion [will] rage against that man.” Good News Translation has “will flame up against.” It is also possible to use a simile; for example, “The LORD will become furiously angry with that person, just like a flame that leaps up and burns him.”

The curses written in this book: see 28.58. The Septuagint expands considerably: “all the curses of this covenant written in this book of the law.” Contemporary English Version is similar, with “all the curses in The Book of God’s Law.”

Would settle upon him: that is, they would be applied to him, be laid upon him, or “fall upon him” (Good News Translation); or we may say “piling on him all the curses in….”

The LORD would blot out his name from under heaven: God will destroy the man and his family, so that there are no descendants left to carry on the family name (see 9.14; 25.19).

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 .

Single him out from all the tribes of Israel: the LORD will concentrate all his punishments on that one person. Good News Translation has “The LORD will make an example of him before all….”

Calamity: from what follows, this is total and irreversible destruction. So we may say “and will destroy him [or, that person] completely.”

In accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law: in Hebrew the passive participle written modifies the covenant; the Septuagint has “all the curses of the covenant that are written….” See a similar expression in verse 20. For law see 1.5.

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 .

A sentence begins here that ends at verse 24, with verse 23 inserted as a vivid description of the ravaged land. The structure of Revised Standard Version should not be imitated here; see Good News Translation for a good model.

The generation to come, your children who rise up after you: this is repetitious, the two phrases saying the same thing, that is, “your descendants.” For a comment on descendants see 1.8.

The foreigner who comes from a far land: as in other similar instances, the plural should be used, “the foreigners who come….” It is also possible to render this as “people from all lands [or, countries].” Care should be taken not to give the impression that “your descendants” (Good News Translation) are also from “distant lands,” as Good News Translation seems to suggest (so also Contemporary English Version).

Would say: this is picked up at the beginning of verse 24, where their statement appears. In Hebrew say here in verse 22 is third person singular, agreeing with the singular generation; in verse 24 it is plural, agreeing with “all the nations.”

When they see the afflictions of that land: beginning here and extending to the end of verse 23, there is the description of the ravages inflicted on the land of Israel. The Hebrew noun translated afflictions is the same one that in 25.3 is used of the blows of a whip; see also 28.61. New Revised Standard Version translates “the devastation of that land.”

The sicknesses with which the LORD has made it sick: this clause is parallel to the previous expression and has the same meaning. Good News Translation has “the disasters and sufferings”; Contemporary English Version has “diseases and disasters”; New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “the plagues and diseases,” New International Version “calamities and diseases.”

Translators should be careful that that land is understood by the reader to mean the land of Canaan (“your land” Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), which at the time of these terrible events had been the land of Israel for many years.

It is possible to reorder the clauses of this verse, putting the final sentence at the beginning as a preface to verses 22-24 as follows (Moses speaking):

• The LORD will cause your land to have all sorts of diseases and calamities. Your descendants and the foreigners who will later come from faraway countries will see that your land has become….

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 description is detailed and vivid. For the devastation that befell Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, see Gen 19.24-25.

The whole land brimstone and salt, and a burnt-out waste: brimstone is an obsolete term; the proper word in modern English is “sulfur.” Sulfur is a yellow substance that burns with great heat. It was sometimes sprinkled on fields along with salt to make them infertile and thus unable to produce crops. Sulfur was often thought of as accompanied by fire when biblical writers described God’s punishment. In cultures where sulfur is unknown, a translator may say, for example, “yellow rocks called sulfur,” or “yellow rocks that burn hot called sulfur.” As a translation New Revised Standard Version is more natural English: “all its soil burned out by sulfur and salt.” New International Version has “a burning waste of sulfur and salt,” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “all its soil devastated by sulfur and salt.” The idea of burnt-out [waste] is that the soil has been completely denuded of all vegetation, and nothing will ever grow there again (unsown, and growing nothing). New Revised Standard Version is good: “nothing planted, nothing sprouting.”

If translators follow the model in verse 22, reordering the clauses, they may begin this verse as follows: “ … that your land has become a scorching desert, covered by sulfur and salt” (Contemporary English Version).

No grass can sprout: no plants can grow there. New Revised Standard Version has “unable to support any vegetation.” Good News Translation has “nothing will be planted, and not even weeds will grow there”; Contemporary English Version translates “nothing is planted, nothing sprouts, and nothing grows.”

An overthrow: the object of overthrow is that land (verse 22), the whole land (verse 23). The verb that is chosen must match the object; to “overthrow” a land or country is not a natural way to speak in English; something like “devastate” or “destroy” is better. In the case of the four cities, however, overthrow is alright. New International Version has handled this well: “It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew….” Contemporary English Version is even better, with “It will be as lifeless as the land around the cities of….” This catches the idea of land made “lifeless” by sulfur and salt.

His anger and wrath: two similar terms again, which may be rendered “his furious anger.”

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 .

Yea, all the nations would say: this picks up from verse 22.

Why has the LORD done thus to this land? This presents a picture of all the nations, that is, people everywhere in the world, hearing about the total destruction of the land of Israel.

What means the heat of this great anger? This may be expressed as in Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, “Why did he get so angry and furious?” or simply “Why was he so furious?” Translators need to find a term that describes extreme or fierce anger. Some languages will have figurative expressions like the Hebrew, and talk about God’s heart being hot with anger, or his nostrils flaring with anger.

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 .

Then men would say: the conditional would construction continues, because of its use at the beginning, from verse 19 on. For men say “people,” or else say “And the answer will be” (as in Good News Translation, New International Version, and Revised English Bible); or we may say “Then people will answer like this.” Or in some languages a translator may use the passive, “And they will be told” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “They will be given the answer” (Contemporary English Version).

They forsook the covenant: some suggest that here covenant refers to the Ten Commandments (see 4.13); but such a limitation of the word should not appear in the text itself. It is better to have a general statement such as “broke the covenant that he had made with them” or “they rejected the agreement Yahweh had made with them.” Good News Translation “the covenant they had made with him” is wrong; it was Yahweh who made the covenant.

The LORD, the God of their fathers: as always, fathers means ancestors.

Which he made with them: that is, “with the Israelites.”

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 .

Went … served … worshiped: this does not mean that they went to another country in order to worship idols; went here serves simply as an auxiliary, introducing an action that follows. See a similar statement in 28.14. In some languages one expression will cover the idea of served and worshiped (see Good News Translation). However, in other languages the sentence may be expressed by something like “they served other gods and bowed down before them.”

Gods whom they had not known: see 11.28; 28.64. These were gods “that they had never worshiped before” (Good News Translation).

Whom he had not allotted to them: the idea behind this is that Yahweh, the high God, had allotted each people their own god (see 4.19; 32.8-9). Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje expresses the idea well: “… gods that God had not chosen to be worshiped by his people.”

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 anger of the LORD was kindled: this is a common figure of speech; anger is spoken of as fire. In a number of languages it will be possible to use similar figurative expressions to describe God’s anger becoming hot. An example is “Yahweh’s heart [or, liver] became hot with anger, just like burning with fire.”

Against this land: in Revised Standard Version the foreigners who are saying all this are pictured as being on or near the devastated land of Israel. But the Hebrew does not necessarily mean that, and New Revised Standard Version renders it “against that land,” as does Revised English Bible.

All the curses: in Hebrew this is the same noun used in 27.13; 28.15.

Written in this book: this is strange, because the foreigners are talking about this book, that is, Deuteronomy (see 28.58), which they could hardly be expected to know about. Contemporary English Version attempts to deal with the difficulty by saying “The Book of God’s Law.”

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 .