translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: DEU

label: NET translator note

text: Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.


text: Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “according to the former writing.” See note on the phrase “the same words” in v. 2 .


text: Heb “ten words.” The “Ten Commandments” are known in Hebrew as the “Ten Words,” which in Greek became the “Decalogue.”


text: Heb “the Lord .” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.


text: Heb “the Lord .” See note on “he” earlier in this verse.


text: That is, among the other Israelite tribes.


text: Heb “the Lord .” See note on “he” in 10:4 .


text: Heb “before” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “at the head of.”


text: After the imperative these subordinated jussive forms (with prefixed vav ) indicate purpose or result.


text: Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 15, 22 ).


text: Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 10:4 .


text: Heb “to walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “follow his ways exactly”; NLT “to live according to his will.”


text: Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being”; NCV “with your whole being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5 .


text: Heb “commanding” (so NASB, NRSV). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.


text: Heb “take delight to love.” Here again the verb אָהַב (’ ahav , “love”), juxtaposed with בָחַר ( bakhar , “choose”), is a term in covenant contexts that describes the Lord ’s initiative in calling the patriarchal ancestors to be the founders of a people special to him (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37 ).


text: The Hebrew text includes “after them,” but it is redundant in English style and has not been included in the translation.


text: Heb “circumcise the foreskin of” (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV). Reference to the Abrahamic covenant prompts Moses to recall the sign of that covenant, namely, physical circumcision ( Gen 17:9-14 ). Just as that act signified total covenant obedience, so spiritual circumcision (cleansing of the heart) signifies more internally a commitment to be pliable and obedient to the will of God (cf. Deut 30:6 ; Jer 4:4; 9:26 ).


text: Heb “your neck do not harden again.” See note on the word “stubborn” in Deut 9:6 .


text: Or “who executes justice for” (so NAB, NRSV); NLT “gives justice to.”


text: Heb “your praise.” The pronoun is subjective and the noun “praise” is used here metonymically for the object of their praise (the Lord).


text: Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם ( shamayim ) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.