1tn Heb “fathers.”

2tn 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.

3tn 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.”

4sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

5sn Sacred pillars. These are the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.

6sn Sacred Asherah poles. The Hebrew term (plural) is אֲשֵׁרִים (’asherim). See note on the word “(leafy) tree” in v. 2, and also Deut 7:5.

7tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

8tc Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11, emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ (shikhno, “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשָׁכֵן (l˙shakhen, “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the 3rd person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ (l˙shak˙no, “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed nounשֵׁכֶן (shekhen) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה (shammah, “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.

9tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”

10tn Heb “and your houses,” referring to entire households. The pronouns “you” and “your” are plural in the Hebrew text.

11tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

12tn Heb “a man.”

13tn Heb “rest.”

14tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

15tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

16tn In the Hebrew text vv. 10-11 are one long, complex sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two sentences.

17tn Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”

18tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”

19tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

20tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”

21sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.

22tn Heb “offer burnt offerings.” The expression “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

23sn This injunction to worship in a single and central sanctuary – one limited and appropriate to the thrice-annual festival celebrations (see Exod 23:14-17; 34:22-24; Lev 23:4-36; Deut 16:16-17) – marks a departure from previous times when worship was carried out at local shrines (cf. Gen 8:20; 12:7; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1, 3, 7; Exod 17:15). Apart from the corporate worship of the whole theocratic community, however, worship at local altars would still be permitted as in the past (Deut 16:21; Judg 6:24-27; 13:19-20; 1 Sam 7:17; 10:5, 13; 2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Kgs 18:30).

24tn 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.”

25tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB; likewise in vv. 17, 18).

26tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

27tn See note at Deut 12:12.

28tn Heb “in all the sending forth of your hands.”

29tn Heb “for my soul desires to eat meat.”

30tn Heb “according to all the desire of your soul you may eat meat.”

31tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

32tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

33tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in your own community.”

34sn The blood is life itself. This is a figure of speech (metonymy) in which the cause or means (the blood) stands for the result or effect (life). That is, life depends upon the existence and circulation of blood, a truth known empirically but not scientifically tested and proved until the 17th century a.d. (cf. Lev 17:11).

35tc 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.

36tc 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.

37sn These other sacrifices would be so-called peace or fellowship offerings whose ritual required a different use of the blood from that of burnt (sin and trespass) offerings (cf. Lev 3; 7:11-14, 19-21).

38tn Heb “on the altar of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

39tn 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.

40tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”

41tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.

42tn Heb “every abomination of the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 27.