Sedra 7, Ki Tavo: Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8
Chapter 26
Chapter 26
26:1 VE HAYAH KI TAVO EL HA ARETS ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA NOTEN LECHA NACHALAH
וְהָיָה כִּי תָבוֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בָּהּ
BN (BibleNet translation): And it shall be, when you have come into the land which YHVH your god is giving you for an inheritance, and you have taken possession of it, and you dwell in it...
26:2 VE LAKACHTA ME RE'SHIT KOL PERI HA ADAMAH ASHER TAVI ME ARTSECHA ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA NOTEN LACH VE SAMTA VA TEN'E VE HALACHTA ET HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA LESHAKEN SHAM
BN: That you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that YHVH your god is giving you; and you shall place it in a basket, and you shall go to the place where YHVH your god shall choose to cause his name to dwell.
RE'SHIT: The "first fruits" would normally be associated with Chag ha Bikurim ("the Festival of the First Fruits"), which is the other name for the feast of Shavu'ot, which falls on the 6th of Sivan, fifty days after Passover; but this verse, and the several that follow, are not part of the Shavu'ot liturgy, they are the very opening of the Haggadah, the text that is used for the feast of Passover itself - click here. So it is somewhat surprising to find them here; was the text perhaps originally part of the Shavu'ot liturgy, but found itself moved when the Haggadah was created?
HA MAKOM: Which will later be understood to mean Yeru-Shala'im, after Shelomoh has built the Temple there and centralised the cult around the capital; but prior to that, the deity was present in any dedicated shrine, anywhere.
26:3 U VATA EL HA KOHEN ASHER YIHEYEH BA YAMIM HA HEM VE AMARTA ELAV HIGADETI HAYOM LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA KI VATI EL HA ARETS ASHER NISHBA YHVH LA AVOTEYNU LATET LANU
וּבָאתָ אֶל הַכֹּהֵן אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו הִגַּדְתִּי הַיּוֹם לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כִּי בָאתִי אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ לָתֶת לָנוּ
BN: And you shall come to whoever is the Kohen at that time, and say to him: I profess this day to YHVH your god, that I have come to the land which YHVH promised our ancestors that he would give us.
YHVH ELOHEYCHA: Odd that he uses the 2nd person ("your god") and not the 1st ("my god"); but see verse 14, where he does egotise it, and the next verse, and also verse 10, where the response personalises it.
26:4 VE LAKACH HA KOHEN HA TEN'E MI YADECHA VE HINIYCHO LIPHNEY MIZBACH YHVH ELOHEYCHA
וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן הַטֶּנֶא מִיָּדֶךָ וְהִנִּיחוֹ לִפְנֵי מִזְבַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
KJ: And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
BN: And the Kohen shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before the altar of YHVH your god.
This constitutes a free-will thanksgiving offering (the technical term is "oblation") - click here for the full list of sacrifices.
26:5 VE ANIYTA VE AMARTA LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA ARAMI OVED AVI VA YIRED MITSRAYIMAH VA YAGAR SHAM BI METEY ME'AT VA YEHI SHAM LE GOY GADOL ATSUR VE RAV
וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט וַיְהִי שָׁם לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל עָצוּם וָרָב
KJ: And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
BN: And you shall respond, and say before YHVH your god: "My ancestor was a nomad from Aram, and he went down into Mitsrayim, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous...
ANIYTA: Literally "to answer", not "to speak", though obviously it involves speaking. But the intention is liturgical: as he places your basket, the Kohen will recite a blessing, and either you will echo it, or simply affirm it by saying "amen". And presumably he will then hand you the next piece of text in script form, so that you can read it (or recite it for you if you can't read, and again you "respond" word by word).
HOWEVER: it is a most historically interesting piece of text, and one that raises all manner of questions.
OVED: Yes, Oved, but with an Aleph (א), not an Ayin (ע), so he wasn't a slave, as his people would become in Mitsrayim. He was IBUD - wiped out, destroyed, perished (cf Psalm 37:20, Job 4:11)... or perhaps he wasn't, perhaps it was IBUD as used in Psalm 119:176, Jeremiah 50:6, or more specifically Isaiah 27:13, and he was a nomad, wandering in the land of Nod... and if he was, then we need to go back to Genesis and add Av-Ram to our list of first-borns, every one of whom, from Adam himself, who was kicked out of Eden, to Kayin, who was expelled from civilisation altogether, to Yishma-El after Yitschak was born, and Esav after he gave up his birthright... every first-born son yields to ultimogeniture, and is forced to leave home, to LECH LECHA, as it states when Av-Ram leaves Charan, to go and make his own way in the world.
Or perhaps he was after all, because the Shomronim, who came from Padan Aram as captives under Nebuchadnezzar, to be settled as exiles in the northern part of Yisra-El, just as the Yehudim from the southern part of Yisra-El were taken as captives to exile in Babylon... and there is a very strong case to be made that Av-Ram coming from Padan Aram, as opposed to Av-Raham coming from Ur Kasdim in Kesed (Chaldea), was a convenient pragmatism for the Ezraic Redactors, enabling all the residents of the land to root their identities in harmony.
So we can say that OVED may well reflect the destruction of Aram by Nebuchadnezzar, or we can refer to Genesis 11:28-32, where the same thing happened to Ur Kasdim, and was the reason given for Av-Ram's family moving to Charan; and therefore the reason why most translators assume that Av-Ram is intended here.
But, after all that, look again at the words, and maybe this is not about Av-Ram or Av-Raham at all, but Ya'akov, who likewise spent a long period of his life in Padan Aram, who likewise was a wanderer, and who was "ready to perish" in Genesis 43:1, when the famine was so severe that he could no longer procrastinate about sending Bin-Yamin with his brothers to buy corn in Mitsrayim. Ya'akov, whose name was changed to Yisra-El. And everything we have said above about the Shomronim still applies, only doubled now, by having both Av-Ram and Ya'akov come from there as well - so we are all really the same people, from the same place, says the Ezraic Redactor, so let's put aside our differences and make this a united kingdom; and we'll even use your language, Aramaic, as our first tongue, rather than our own Yehudit...
Which obviously puts a date on this text as well - about a thousand years after Mosheh!
26:6 VA YARE'U OTANU HA MITSRIM VE YE'ANUNU VA YITNU ALEYNU AVODAH KASHAH
KJ: And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
BN: "And the Mitsrim treated us very badly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage...
26:7 VE NITS'AK EL YHVH ELOHEY AVOTEYNU VA YISHMA YHVH ET KOLEYNU VA YAR ET ANYEYNU VE ET AMALEYNU VE ET LACHATSEYNU
וַנִּצְעַק אֶל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה אֶת קֹלֵנוּ וַיַּרְא אֶת עָנְיֵנוּ וְאֶת עֲמָלֵנוּ וְאֶת לַחֲצֵנוּ
KJ: And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:
BN: "And we cried to YHVH the god of our ancestors, and YHVH heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression...
26:8 VA YOTSI'ENU YHVH MI MITSRAYIM BE YAD CHAZAKAH U VI ZERO'A NETUYAH U VE MOR'A GADOL VE OTOT U VE MOPHTIM
KJ: And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
BN: "And YHVH brought us out of Mitsrayim by the power of his hand, and by the strength of his outstretched arm, and by performing extraordinary deeds, and with signs, and with wonders...
26:9 VA YEVI'EYNU EL HA MAKOM HA ZEH VA YITEN LANU ET HA ARETS HA ZOT ERETS ZAVAT CHALAV U DVASH
KJ: And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
BN: And he brought us to this place, and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
HA MAKOM: See my note to this at verse 2. According to the text, Mosheh is giving these instructions to his people, before they cross over into the land; they are in the Mo-Avi hills, east of Dead Sea, latitudinally roughtly parallel to Yericho. So "this place" cannot mean "that place", the one that flows with milk and honey. So this is either a text with errors, or it isn't Mosheh. HA ARETS in this verse ditto. As per my note above, this reads to me like Temple liturgy, from a much later period, and the proofreader simply needed to change HA ZEH (this) to HA ZOT (that) and there would have been no issue.
26:6 VA YARE'U OTANU HA MITSRIM VE YE'ANUNU VA YITNU ALEYNU AVODAH KASHAH
וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים וַיְעַנּוּנוּ וַיִּתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה
KJ: And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
BN: "And the Mitsrim treated us very badly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage...
26:7 VE NITS'AK EL YHVH ELOHEY AVOTEYNU VA YISHMA YHVH ET KOLEYNU VA YAR ET ANYEYNU VE ET AMALEYNU VE ET LACHATSEYNU
KJ: And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:
BN: "And we cried to YHVH the god of our ancestors, and YHVH heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression...
26:8 VA YOTSI'ENU YHVH MI MITSRAYIM BE YAD CHAZAKAH U VI ZERO'A NETUYAH U VE MOR'A GADOL VE OTOT U VE MOPHTIM
וַיּוֹצִאֵנוּ יְהוָה מִמִּצְרַיִם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבְמֹרָא גָּדֹל בְאֹתוֹת וּבְמֹפְתִים
BN: "And YHVH brought us out of Mitsrayim by the power of his hand, and by the strength of his outstretched arm, and by performing extraordinary deeds, and with signs, and with wonders...
26:9 VA YEVI'EYNU EL HA MAKOM HA ZEH VA YITEN LANU ET HA ARETS HA ZOT ERETS ZAVAT CHALAV U DVASH
וַיְבִאֵנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וַיִּתֶּן לָנוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ
BN: And he brought us to this place, and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
HA MAKOM: See my note to this at verse 2. According to the text, Mosheh is giving these instructions to his people, before they cross over into the land; they are in the Mo-Avi hills, east of Dead Sea, latitudinally roughtly parallel to Yericho. So "this place" cannot mean "that place", the one that flows with milk and honey. So this is either a text with errors, or it isn't Mosheh. HA ARETS in this verse ditto. As per my note above, this reads to me like Temple liturgy, from a much later period, and the proofreader simply needed to change HA ZEH (this) to HA ZOT (that) and there would have been no issue.
Of course, any land that has sheep, goats or cows, and bees flying around, is a land of milk and honey - I guess the real issue, for a people accustomed to the desert, is the "flowing".
26:10 VE ATAH HINEH HEVE'TI ET RESHIT PERI HA ADAMAH ASHER NATATAH LI YHVH VE HINACHTO LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA VE HISTACHAVITA LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA
וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה הֵבֵאתִי אֶת רֵאשִׁית פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לִּי יְהוָה וְהִנַּחְתּוֹ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתָ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
KJ: And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:
BN: "And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which you, YHVH, have given me." And you shall set it down before YHVH your god, and worship before YHVH your god.
26:11 VE SAMACHTA VE CHOL HA TOV ASHER NATAN LECHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA U LE VEITECHA ATAH VE HA LEVI VE HA GER ASHER BE KIRBECHA
KJ: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
BN: And you shall rejoice in all the good which YHVH your god has given you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger who lives among you.
I haven't counted the number of times the phrase 'YHVH your god' has appeared in this book, but it must run to the hundreds, once every other verse. It becomes infuriatingly repetitive, but has the intentional function of embedding the concept deep in the mind of the listener/reader, because that is the functionality of subliminalisation - a process of brain-washing, in layman's language. But it is also very odd - as I noted at the top of this page. If I were addressing my students at school assembly, and wanted to say these things, surely I would say "our god", not "your god", or the students would think I was somehow separating myself, not among the believers, even perhaps a believer in an altogether different deity.
samech break
26:10 VE ATAH HINEH HEVE'TI ET RESHIT PERI HA ADAMAH ASHER NATATAH LI YHVH VE HINACHTO LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA VE HISTACHAVITA LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA
וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה הֵבֵאתִי אֶת רֵאשִׁית פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לִּי יְהוָה וְהִנַּחְתּוֹ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתָ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
BN: "And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which you, YHVH, have given me." And you shall set it down before YHVH your god, and worship before YHVH your god.
26:11 VE SAMACHTA VE CHOL HA TOV ASHER NATAN LECHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA U LE VEITECHA ATAH VE HA LEVI VE HA GER ASHER BE KIRBECHA
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל הַטּוֹב אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּלְבֵיתֶךָ אַתָּה וְהַלֵּוִי וְהַגֵּר אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבֶּךָ
BN: And you shall rejoice in all the good which YHVH your god has given you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger who lives among you.
I haven't counted the number of times the phrase 'YHVH your god' has appeared in this book, but it must run to the hundreds, once every other verse. It becomes infuriatingly repetitive, but has the intentional function of embedding the concept deep in the mind of the listener/reader, because that is the functionality of subliminalisation - a process of brain-washing, in layman's language. But it is also very odd - as I noted at the top of this page. If I were addressing my students at school assembly, and wanted to say these things, surely I would say "our god", not "your god", or the students would think I was somehow separating myself, not among the believers, even perhaps a believer in an altogether different deity.
samech break
26:12 KI TECHALEH LA ASHER ET KOL MA'SAR TEVU'AT'CHA BA SHANAH HA SHLIYSHIT SHENAT HA MA'ASER VE NATATA LA LEVI LA GER LA YATOM VE LA ALMANAH VE ACHLU VI SHE'AREYCHA VE SAVEYU
כִּי תְכַלֶּה לַעְשֵׂר אֶת כָּל מַעְשַׂר תְּבוּאָתְךָ בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁלִישִׁת שְׁנַת הַמַּעֲשֵׂר וְנָתַתָּה לַלֵּוִי לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה וְאָכְלוּ בִשְׁעָרֶיךָ וְשָׂבֵעוּ
BN: When you have made an end of tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be satisfied...
We have already been told about the Yovel, the Jubilee in the 7th year (Leviticus 25), as well as this tithing in the 3rd year (Deuteronomy 14:28); each is explained in some detail, but one key aspect is left unclear: do they overlap, or do they run separately? Is the third year continuous threes, regardless of the Jubilee, or does it start again, 3-3-1-1, or 3-3-2, when the Jubilee occcurs? To a person living on milk and honey (milk = pastureland, honey = any fruit, flower or vegetable dependent on the bees for pollenation), this matters.
26:13 VE AMARTA LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA BI'ARTI HA KODESH MIN HA BAYIT VE GAM NETATIV LA LEVI VE LA GER LA YATOM BE LA ALMANAH KE CHOL MITSVAT'CHA ASHER TSIVITANI LO AVARTI MI MITSVOTEYCHA VE LO SHACHACHTI
וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בִּעַרְתִּי הַקֹּדֶשׁ מִן הַבַּיִת וְגַם נְתַתִּיו לַלֵּוִי וְלַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה כְּכָל מִצְוָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָנִי לֹא עָבַרְתִּי מִמִּצְוֹתֶיךָ וְלֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי
KJ: Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:
BN: Then you shall say before YHVH your god: "Not only have I removed what is set apart as holy from my house, but I have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to each of the instructions which you have given me; I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them...
HA KODESH: "That which is set apart" on this occasion being both the tithe and the gleaning.
Once again, Mosheh is creating liturgy.
26:14 LO ACHALTI VE ONI MIMENU VE LO VI'ARTI MIMENU BE TAM'E VE LO NATATI MIMENU LE MET SHAMATI BE KOL YHVH ELOHAY ASIYTI KE CHOL ASHER TSIVITANI
לֹא אָכַלְתִּי בְאֹנִי מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא בִעַרְתִּי מִמֶּנּוּ בְּטָמֵא וְלֹא נָתַתִּי מִמֶּנּוּ לְמֵת שָׁמַעְתִּי בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהָי עָשִׂיתִי כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָנִי
KJ: I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
BN: "I have not eaten any of them to support me when I was in mourning, nor have I hidden any of them away because they were unclean, nor have I given any of them for the dead; I have listened to the voice of YHVH my god, I have done according to all that you have instructed me...
The instructions being the ones in verse 2.
26:15 HASHKIPHAH MI ME'ON KADSHECHA MIN HA SHAMAYIM U VARECH ET AMCHA ET YISRA-EL VE ET HA ADAMAH ASHER NATATAH LANU KA ASHER NISHBATA LA AVOTEYNU ERETS ZAVAT CHALAV U DVASH
KJ: Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
BN: "Look forth from your holy habitation, from the heavens, and bless your people Yisra-El, and the land which you have given us, as you promised to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey."
26:14 LO ACHALTI VE ONI MIMENU VE LO VI'ARTI MIMENU BE TAM'E VE LO NATATI MIMENU LE MET SHAMATI BE KOL YHVH ELOHAY ASIYTI KE CHOL ASHER TSIVITANI
לֹא אָכַלְתִּי בְאֹנִי מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא בִעַרְתִּי מִמֶּנּוּ בְּטָמֵא וְלֹא נָתַתִּי מִמֶּנּוּ לְמֵת שָׁמַעְתִּי בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהָי עָשִׂיתִי כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָנִי
BN: "I have not eaten any of them to support me when I was in mourning, nor have I hidden any of them away because they were unclean, nor have I given any of them for the dead; I have listened to the voice of YHVH my god, I have done according to all that you have instructed me...
The instructions being the ones in verse 2.
26:15 HASHKIPHAH MI ME'ON KADSHECHA MIN HA SHAMAYIM U VARECH ET AMCHA ET YISRA-EL VE ET HA ADAMAH ASHER NATATAH LANU KA ASHER NISHBATA LA AVOTEYNU ERETS ZAVAT CHALAV U DVASH
הַשְׁקִיפָה מִמְּעוֹן קָדְשְׁךָ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמְּךָ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֵת הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לָנוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתָּ לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ
BN: "Look forth from your holy habitation, from the heavens, and bless your people Yisra-El, and the land which you have given us, as you promised to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey."
Though I have identified several others, before this chapter and earlier in it, it is this passage, and especially this verse, that has become one of the principal exemplars used by the scholars of Bible Criticism, and in particular the "Documentary Hypothesis", to argue that Deuteronomy is a Second Temple era text, and not Mosaic in any way. The key is the concept of Shamayim; in the Mosaic stories until now, YHVH has inhabited earthly mountains, and the sun and sky gods have been amongst the rejected as second-tier and therefore unnecesary, in "You shall have no other gods before me". But this is YHVH become the sun and sky gods himself, inhabiting their realm - which is a post 6th century BCE Abstract-Metaphysical construct.
And with this, a secondary reason: the bringing of first-fruits and other sacrifices to the Temple previously was to obtain YHVH's permission to eat his creation; here the eating is taken for granted (verse 14), but verse 15 adds a new dimension, that of Thanksgiving.
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26:16 HA YOM HA ZEH YHVH ELOHEYCHA METSAVCHA LA'ASOT ET HA CHUKIM HA ELEH VE ET HA MISHPATIM VE SHAMARTA VE ASITA OTAM BE CHOL LEVAVECHA U VE CHOL NAPHSHECHA
הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מְצַוְּךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת הַחֻקִּים הָאֵלֶּה וְאֶת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וְשָׁמַרְתָּ וְעָשִׂיתָ אוֹתָם בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשֶׁךָ
KJ: This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
BN: This day YHVH your god is instructing you to carry out these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore observe and do them with all your heart, and with all your soul.
Not for the first time Mosheh repeats the phrasing of the Shema, but leaves out the third part, BE CHOL ME'ODECHA. The original is in Deuteronomy 6:5, but it is worth looking at the preceding verses as well, because they echo what is in the latter verses here, but also with modifications. We cannot read Deuteronomy 26 as a reiteration of Deuteronomy 6, even though orthodoxy does: there are simply too many small differences.
26:17 ET YHVH HE'EMARTA HAYOM LIHEYOT LECHA LE ELOHIM VE LALECHET BI DERACHAV VE LISHMOR CHUKAV U MITSVOTAV U MISHPATAV VE LISHMO'A BE KOLO
אֶת יְהוָה הֶאֱמַרְתָּ הַיּוֹם לִהְיוֹת לְךָ לֵאלֹהִים וְלָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו וְלִשְׁמֹר חֻקָּיו וּמִצְוֹתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו וְלִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקֹלוֹ
KJ: Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:
BN: You have avouched YHVH this day to be your god, and that you would walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and hearken to his voice.
26:18 VA YHVH HE'EMIRCHA HAYOM LIHEYOT LO LE AM SEGULAH KA ASHER DIBER LACH VE LISHMOR KOL MITSVOTAV
וַיהוָה הֶאֱמִירְךָ הַיּוֹם לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם סְגֻלָּה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְלִשְׁמֹר כָּל מִצְוֹתָיו
KJ: And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
BN: And YHVH has avouched you this day to be his own treasure, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments...
These two verses confirm that Mosheh's entire "speech" is in fact the centrepiece of a covenant renewal ceremony.
26:19 U LETIT'CHA ELYON AL KOL HA GOYIM ASHER ASAH LIT'HILA U LE SHEM U LE TIPHARET VE LIHEYOT'CHA AM KADOSH LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA KA ASHER DIBER
BN: And YHVH has avouched you this day to be his own treasure, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments...
These two verses confirm that Mosheh's entire "speech" is in fact the centrepiece of a covenant renewal ceremony.
26:19 U LETIT'CHA ELYON AL KOL HA GOYIM ASHER ASAH LIT'HILA U LE SHEM U LE TIPHARET VE LIHEYOT'CHA AM KADOSH LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA KA ASHER DIBER
וּלְתִתְּךָ עֶלְיוֹן עַל כָּל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לִתְהִלָּה וּלְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאָרֶת וְלִהְיֹתְךָ עַם קָדֹשׁ לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּר
BN: And to set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, and in name, and in glory; and that you may be a holy people to YHVH your god, as he has spoken.
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