translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: DEU

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “fathers.”


text: Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the Lord , the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days which you live in the land.” This adverbial statement modifies “to obey,” not “to possess,” so the order in the translation has been rearranged to make this clear.


text: Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”


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


label: NET textual note

text: Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11 , emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ ( shikhno , “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשָׁכֵן ( lÿshakhen , “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the 3rd person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ ( lÿshakÿno , “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed noun שֵׁכֶן ( shekhen ) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה ( shammah , “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.


text: Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”


text: Heb “and your houses,” referring to entire households. The pronouns “you” and “your” are plural in the Hebrew text.


text: Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5 .


text: Heb “a man.”


text: Heb “rest.”


text: The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.


text: In the Hebrew text vv. 10-11 are one long, complex sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two sentences.


text: Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”


text: Heb “the Lord. ” See note on “he” in 12:5 .


text: Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”


text: Heb “offer burnt offerings.” The expression “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.


text: Heb “only in all the desire of your soul you may sacrifice and eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given to you.”


text: Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB; likewise in vv. 17, 18 ).


text: See note at Deut 12:12 .


text: Heb “in all the sending forth of your hands.”


text: Heb “for my soul desires to eat meat.”


text: Heb “according to all the desire of your soul you may eat meat.”


text: Heb “the Lord .” See note on “he” in 12:5 .


text: Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in your own community.”


text: Heb “in the eyes of the Lord .” The LXX adds “your God” to create the common formula, “the Lord your God.” The MT is preferred precisely because it does not include the stereotyped formula; thus it more likely preserves the original text.


text: Again, to complete a commonly attested wording the LXX adds after “choose” the phrase “to place his name there.” This shows insensitivity to deliberate departures from literary stereotypes. The MT reading is to be preferred.


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


text: Heb “dwell in their land” (so NASB). In the Hebrew text vv. 29-30 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides it into two.


text: Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”


text: See note on this term at Deut 7:25 .


text: Heb “every abomination of the Lord .” See note on the word “his” in v. 27 .


text: This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. , namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr mss propose plural for the last two. What both ancient and modern scholars tend to overlook, however, is the covenantal theological tone of the Book of Deuteronomy, one that views Israel as a collective body (singular) made up of many individuals (plural). See M. Weinfeld, –11 (AB), 15-16; J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy (TOTC), 21-23.