So take care not to become at all like the foreigners: Good News Translation has “You must be careful never to imitate those Gentiles.” The Greek is unusual here and is surely translating the Hebrew equivalent of a very emphatic imperative. Perhaps we should say something like “You must take great care never to imitate [or, act like] these people.” For foreigners see the comments on “heathen” in verse 4.

Let fear for these gods possess you is literally “let fear for them possess you” (see Revised Standard Version footnote). But the word “them” most likely refers to the gods of the Babylonians, not to the people. Good News Translation says “Don’t let their gods fill you with fear.” As in verse 4 (see the comments there), fear is not an appropriate word in this context. The idea is awe, reverence, veneration. We recommend something like “Don’t be overcome by reverence when you see their idols” or “Don’t let yourself want to worship these idols when you see them.”

When you see the multitude before and behind them worshiping them: This expression seems to indicate a sacred procession. Good News Translation makes this clear by saying “when you see them being carried in procession and being worshiped.” An even better approach may be “when you see people carry them in procession, with people on all sides worshiping them.” (The procession and the worship are happening at the same time.) New English Bible is a good model: “when you see them in the midst of a procession of worshippers.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.