2sn Anakites. See note on this term in Deut 1:28.

3tn Heb “great and tall.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “strong,” NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

4tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style to avoid redundancy.

5tn Heb “uprightness of your heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hebrew word צְדָקָה (ts˙daqah, “righteousness”), though essentially synonymous here with יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”), carries the idea of conformity to an objective standard. The term יֹשֶׁר has more to do with an inner, moral quality (cf. NAB, NIV “integrity”). Neither, however, was grounds for the Lord’s favor. As he states in both vv. 4-5, the main reason he allowed Israel to take this land was the sinfulness of the Canaanites who lived there (cf. Gen 15:16).

6tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

7tn Heb “fathers.”

8tn Heb “stiff-necked” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).

sn The Hebrew word translated stubborn means “stiff-necked.” The image is that of a draft animal that is unsubmissive to the rein or yoke and refuses to bend its neck to draw the load. This is an apt description of OT Israel (Exod 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9; Deut 9:13).

9tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tish˙kakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.

10tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise in the following verse with both “him” and “he”). See note on “he” in 9:3.

11tn Heb “in the mountain.” The demonstrative pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

12sn The very finger of God. This is a double figure of speech (1) in which God is ascribed human features (anthropomorphism) and (2) in which a part stands for the whole (synecdoche). That is, God, as Spirit, has no literal finger nor, if he had, would he write with his finger. Rather, the sense is that God himself – not Moses in any way – was responsible for the composition of the Ten Commandments (cf. Exod 31:18; 32:16; 34:1).

13tn Heb “according to all the words.”

14tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise at the beginning of vv. 12, 13). See note on “he” in 9:3.

15tc Heb “a casting.” The MT reads מַסֵּכָה (massekhah, “a cast thing”) but some mss and Smr add עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”), “a molten calf” or the like (Exod 32:8). Perhaps Moses here omits reference to the calf out of contempt for it.

16tn Heb “stiff-necked.” See note on the word “stubborn” in 9:6.

17tn Heb “leave me alone.”

18tn Heb “from under heaven.”

19tn Heb “the mountain.” The translation uses a pronoun for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

20tn On the phrase “metal calf,” see note on the term “metal image” in v. 12.

21tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

22tn The Hebrew text includes “from upon my two hands,” but as this seems somewhat obvious and redundant, it has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

23tn Heb “the anger and the wrath.” Although many English versions translate as two terms, this construction is a hendiadys which serves to intensify the emotion (cf. NAB, TEV “fierce anger”).

24tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

25tn Heb “Aaron.” The pronoun is used in the translation to avoid redundancy.

26tn Heb “your sin.” This is a metonymy in which the effect (sin) stands for the cause (the metal calf).

27tn Heb “burned it with fire.”

28sn Taberah. By popular etymology this derives from the Hebrew verb בָעַר (ba’ar, “to burn”), thus, here, “burning.” The reference is to the Lord’s fiery wrath against Israel because of their constant complaints against him (Num 11:1-3).

29sn Massah. See note on this term in Deut 6:16.

30sn Kibroth-Hattaavah. This place name means in Hebrew “burial places of appetite,” that is, graves that resulted from overindulgence. The reference is to the Israelites stuffing themselves with the quail God had provided and doing so with thanklessness (Num 11:31-35).

31tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

32tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God,” that is, against the commandment that he had spoken.

33tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

34tn The Hebrew text includes “when I prostrated myself.” Since this is redundant, it has been left untranslated.

35tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

36tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

37tn Heb “Lord Lord” (אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה, ’adonay y˙hvih). The phrase is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God” (אֲדֹנָי אֱלֹהִים, ’adonay ’elohim). See also the note on the phrase “Lord God” in Deut 3:24.

38tn Heb “your inheritance”; NLT “your special (very own NRSV) possession.” Israel is compared to landed property that one would inherit from his ancestors and pass on to his descendants.

39tn Heb “you have redeemed in your greatness.”

40tn Heb “by your strong hand.”

41tc The MT reads only “the land.” Smr supplies עַם (’am, “people”) and LXX and its dependents supply “the inhabitants of the land.” The truncated form found in the MT is adequate to communicate the intended meaning; the words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

42tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

43tn Heb “your inheritance.” See note at v. 26.

44tn Heb “an outstretched arm.”