Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
Deuteronomy 31:1 – 30
31:1 VA YELECH MOSHEH VA YEDABER ET HA DEVARIM HA ELEH EL KOL YISRA-EL
וַיֵּלֶךְ מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל
BN (BibleNet translattion): And Mosheh went and spoke these words to all Yisra-El.
VA YELECH: Strange phrasing. Why not simply "Then Mosheh spoke...".? Where did he "go" to, given that he was already there? And if there was a change of location, why not YAVO, "he came"? If you are telling the tale at the time, you would use the latter; if you are telling it as historical narrative later on, you would use the one that is used here.
31:2 VA YOMER ALEYHEM BEN ME'AH VE ESRIM SHANAH ANOCHI HAYOM LO UCHAL OD LATSET VE LAVO VA YHVH AMAR ELAY LO TA'AVOR ET HA YARDEN HA ZEH
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם בֶּן מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה אָנֹכִי הַיּוֹם לֹא אוּכַל עוֹד לָצֵאת וְלָבוֹא וַיהוָה אָמַר אֵלַי לֹא תַעֲבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה
BN: And he said to them: I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I can no longer go out and come in; and YHVH has said to me: You shall not cross over this Yarden.
ME'AH VE ESRIM: The mythological give-away, because we know that, in human time, he cannot possibly be a hundred and twenty. Even if he was forty when he returned to Mitsrayim (Egypt) from Midyan - the way the story is told in Exodus we see him as younger than that - and then forty years of journeying in the wilderness, can only make him eighty. Or is the Egyptian counting system different? Much speculation and archeology around this subject in my essays on Age and Time and Calendar; click the links.
HAYOM: Have they then brought him here for a birthday celebration?
LATSET VE LAVO: If that is the case, when he "went" to make this speech, did they carry him in some kind of litter?
LO TA'AVOR: He makes it sounds as though LATSET VE LAVO is the reason, when we know perfectly well he has been forbidden because of the "sin of Merivah". Or is this simply the narrator looking for yet one more opportunity to use the verb LA'AVOR, and thereby reclaim the word from its Egyptian derogation (click here) and make "Hebrew" acceptable?
31:3 YHVH ELOHEYCHA HU OVER LEPHANEYCHA HU YASHMID ET HA GOYIM HA ELEH MI LEPHANEYCHA VIY'RISHTAM YEHOSHU'A HU OVER LEPHANEYCHA KA ASHER DIBER YHVH
יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא עֹבֵר לְפָנֶיךָ הוּא יַשְׁמִיד אֶת הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וִירִשְׁתָּם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ הוּא עֹבֵר לְפָנֶיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה
BN: YHVH your god, he will go over before you; he will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them; and Yehoshu'a, he shall go over before you, as YHVH has spoken.
LA'AVOR, three times in this verse. If you use a word with a changed meaning often enough, it will eventually become the meaning, and the old one will become obsolete, even if it isn't actually lost.
31:4 VE ASAH YHVH LAHEM KA ASHER ASAH LE SICHON U LE OG MALCHEY HA EMORI U LE ARTSAM ASHER HISHMID OTAM
וְעָשָׂה יְהוָה לָהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְסִיחוֹן וּלְעוֹג מַלְכֵי הָאֱמֹרִי וּלְאַרְצָם אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁמִיד אֹתָם
BN: And YHVH will do to them as he did to Sichon and to Og, the kings of the Emori, and to their land, whom he destroyed.
And in doing so, on your behalf, but using you as his mere automatons, you will not have to deal with any guilt at all, because you did not do it, YHVH did. The contemporary term for this is "Polish Death Camps".
31:5 U NETANAM YHVH LIPHNEYCHEM VA ASITEM LAHEM KE CHOL HA MITSVAH ASHER TSIVITI ET'CHEM
KJ: And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.
BN: And YHVH will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the instructions that I have given you.
The instructions are given lengthily in several earlier chapters of this book; but to save you the trouble, the contemporary term is "ethnic cleansing".
וּנְתָנָם יְהוָה לִפְנֵיכֶם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם לָהֶם כְּכָל הַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי אֶתְכֶם
BN: And YHVH will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the instructions that I have given you.
The instructions are given lengthily in several earlier chapters of this book; but to save you the trouble, the contemporary term is "ethnic cleansing".
31:6 HIZKU VE IMTSU AL TIYRU VE AL TA'ARTSU MI PENEYHEM KI YHVH ELOHEYCHA HU HA HOLECH IMACH LO YARPECHA VE LO YA'AZVECHA
חִזְקוּ וְאִמְצוּ אַל תִּירְאוּ וְאַל תַּעַרְצוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּךְ לֹא יַרְפְּךָ וְלֹא יַעַזְבֶךָּ
KJ: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
BN: Be strong and of good courage, do not fear them, nor let them frighten you; for YHVH hour god, he it is who is going with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you.
samech break
31:7 VA YIKRA MOSHEH LI YEHOSHU'A VA YOMER ELAV LE EYNEY CHOL YISRA-EL CHAZAK VE EMATS KI ATAH TAVO ET HA AM HA ZEH EL HA ARETS ASHER NISHB'A YHVH LA AVOTAM LATET LAHEM TANCHILEYNAH OTAM
וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו לְעֵינֵי כָל יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ כִּי אַתָּה תָּבוֹא אֶת הָעָם הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה לַאֲבֹתָם לָתֵת לָהֶם וְאַתָּה תַּנְחִילֶנָּה אוֹתָם
BN: Then Mosheh summoned Yehoshu'a, and said to him in the sight of all Yisra-El: Be strong and of good courage; for you shall go with this people into the land which YHVH has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
Yehoshu'a was actually installed as successor, in a formal ceremony, as long ago as Numbers 27:18.
31:8 VA YHVH HU HA HOLECH LEPHANEYCHA HU YIHEYEH IMACH LO YARPECHA VE LO YA'AZVECHA LO TIYRA VE LO TECHAT
וַיהוָה הוּא הַהֹלֵךְ לְפָנֶיךָ הוּא יִהְיֶה עִמָּךְ לֹא יַרְפְּךָ וְלֹא יַעַזְבֶךָּ לֹא תִירָא וְלֹא תֵחָת
BN: And YHVH, he it is who is going before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, nor forsake you; have no fear; let nothing discourage you.
31:9 VA YICHTOV MOSHEH ET HA TORAH HA ZOT VA YITNAH EL HA KOHANIM BENEY LEVI HA NOSIM ET ARON BRIT YHVH VE EL KOL ZIKNEY YISRA-EL
וַיִּכְתֹּב מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת וַיִּתְּנָהּ אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי לֵוִי הַנֹּשְׂאִים אֶת אֲרוֹן בְּרִית יְהוָה וְאֶל כָּל זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ: And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.
BN: And Mosheh wrote this Torah, and delivered it to the Kohanim, the Beney Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of YHVH, and to all the elders of Yisra-El.
Wrote it now? All five books of it? In the third person for his own parts? In what language? Using what materials?
31:10 VA YETSAV MOSHEH OTAM LEMOR MI KETS SHEVA SHANIM BE MO'ED SHENAT HA SHEMITAH BE CHAG HA SUKOT
וַיְצַו מֹשֶׁה אוֹתָם לֵאמֹר מִקֵּץ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים בְּמֹעֵד שְׁנַת הַשְּׁמִטָּה בְּחַג הַסֻּכּוֹת
BN: And Mosheh instructed them, saying: At the end of every seven years, at the set time of the Year of Release, at the Feast of Tabernacles...
What has been taking place in the Book of Deuteronomy, as we have observed repeatedly, is a covenant renewal ceremony; and in the next verses Mosheh is instructing the people to repeat this ceremony as part of the Jubilee (SHENAT HA SHEMITAH) celebrations, every seven years; and yet it has not become a part of Jewish custom; nor indeed the Jubilee itself. Why not?
One of the problems is the sheer length of it; if by "the whole law" is meant the whole Torah, it is not readable on a single day.
And today the celebration of the giving of the Law is linked with Sukot (the Feast of Tabernacles), but only afterwards, on the day following, at Simchat Torah.
31:11 BE VO CHOL YISRA-EL LERA'OT ET PENEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA BA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR TIKRA ET HA TORAH HA ZOT NEGED KOL YISRA-EL BE AZNEYHEM
KJ: When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
BN: When all Yisra-El comes to appear before YHVH your god in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this law before all Yisra-El in their hearing.
In Nehemiah 8, we are given a description of Ezra the Scribe doing this, on Rosh Ha Shanah as it happens, not Sukot or Simchat Torah:
31:11 BE VO CHOL YISRA-EL LERA'OT ET PENEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA BA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR TIKRA ET HA TORAH HA ZOT NEGED KOL YISRA-EL BE AZNEYHEM
בְּבוֹא כָל יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵרָאוֹת אֶת פְּנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחָר תִּקְרָא אֶת הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת נֶגֶד כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאָזְנֵיהֶם
KJ: When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
BN: When all Yisra-El comes to appear before YHVH your god in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this law before all Yisra-El in their hearing.
In Nehemiah 8, we are given a description of Ezra the Scribe doing this, on Rosh Ha Shanah as it happens, not Sukot or Simchat Torah:
1. And all the people gathered together as one man in the open plaza opposite the Water Gate. And they called on Ezra the Scribe to bring the Scroll of the Law of Mosheh, which YHVH had instructed Yisra-El. 2. And Ezra the priest brought out the Torah before the assembled populace, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it in the market-square inside the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of both men and the women, and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Scroll of the Law.
Even if Nechem-Yah started at the crack of dawn, seven hours is not enough to read the whole of Deuteronomy (though it would be an appropriate number of hours, symbolically), let alone the other three books that contains laws - I am assuming it would have been Deuteronomy, rather than any of the others, because this is the one most obviously written at that period.
31:12 HAK'HAL ET HA AM HA ANASHIM VE HA NASHIM VE HA TAPH VE GERCHA ASHER BI SHE'AREYCHA LEMA'AN YISHME'U U LEMA'AN YILMEDU VE YAR'U ET YHVH ELOHEYCHEM VE SHAMRU LA'ASOT ET KOL DIVREY HA TORAH HA ZOT
הַקְהֵל אֶת הָעָם הָאֲנָשִׁים וְהַנָּשִׁים וְהַטַּף וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ לְמַעַן יִשְׁמְעוּ וּלְמַעַן יִלְמְדוּ וְיָרְאוּ אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְשָׁמְרוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת
BN: Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear YHVH your god, and commit to carrying out all the words of this law.
31:13 U VENEYHEM ASHER LO YADU YISHME'U VE LAMDU LE YIR'AH ET YHVH ELOHEYCHEM KOL HA YAMIM ASHER ATEM CHAYIM AL HA ADAMAH ASHER ATEM OVRIM ET HA YARDEN SHAMAH LERISHTAH
וּבְנֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדְעוּ יִשְׁמְעוּ וְלָמְדוּ לְיִרְאָה אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם כָּל הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם חַיִּים עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ
BN: And that their children, who do not know this, may hear it, and learn to fear YHVH your god, as long as you live in the land to which you are going across the Yarden to possess it.
ELOHEYCHEM: Yet again Mosheh puts the deity into the second person - "your" god, rather than "our" god.
pey break
31:14 VA YOMER YHVH EL MOSHEH HEN KARVU YAMEYCHA LAMUT KERA ET YEHOSHU'A VE HITYATSVU BE OHEL MO'ED VA ATSAVEYNU VA YELECH MOSHEH VI YEHOSHU'A VA YITYATSVU BE OHEL MO'ED
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה הֵן קָרְבוּ יָמֶיךָ לָמוּת קְרָא אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְהִתְיַצְּבוּ בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַאֲצַוֶּנּוּ וַיֵּלֶךְ מֹשֶׁה וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד
BN: Then YHVH said to Mosheh: Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Yehoshu'a, and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may formally appoint him. And Mosheh and Yehoshu'a went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.
Must we now assume that the Book of Deuteronomy in fact needs to be inserted at around the end of Numbers 26, that Mosheh made this lengthy farewell speech then, and led the covenant renewal ceremony, and then, in Numbers 27, what is being instructed here, and then what takes place here? So we should read: as far as Numbers 26, then Deuteronomy, then Numbers 27 to the end of that book, which is the end of the Torah.
31:15 VA YERA YHVH BA OHEL BE AMUD ANAN VA YA'AMOD AMUD HE ANAN AL PETACH HA OHEL
וַיֵּרָא יְהוָה בָּאֹהֶל בְּעַמּוּד עָנָן וַיַּעֲמֹד עַמּוּד הֶעָנָן עַל פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל
BN: Then YHVH appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud; and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.
31:16 VA YOMER YHVH EL MOSHEH HIN'CHA SHOCHEV IM AVOTEYCHA VE KAM HA AM HA ZEH VE ZANAH ACHAREY ELOHEY NECHAR HA ARETS ASHER HU VA SHAMAH BE KIRBO VA AZAVANI VE HEPHER ET BRITI ASHER KARTI ITO
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה הִנְּךָ שֹׁכֵב עִם אֲבֹתֶיךָ וְקָם הָעָם הַזֶּה וְזָנָה אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהֵי נֵכַר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הוּא בָא שָׁמָּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ וַעֲזָבַנִי וְהֵפֵר אֶת בְּרִיתִי אֲשֶׁר כָּרַתִּי אִתּוֹ
BN: Then YHVH said to Mosheh: Behold, you are about to sleep with your ancestors; and this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land to which they are going to live among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
We spend a lot of time wondering about Man's faith in the deity; the deity's faith in Man, as witnessed yet again in this verse, is hardly encouraging.
31:17 VE CHARAH API VO VA YOM HA HU VA AZAVTIM VE HISTARTI PHANAY MEY HEM VE HAYAH LE'ECHOL U METSA'UHU RA'OT RABOT VE TSAROT VE AMAR BA YOM HA HU HA LO AL KI EYN ELOHEY BE KIRBI METSA'UNI HA RA'OT HA ELEH
וְחָרָה אַפִּי בוֹ בַיּוֹם הַהוּא וַעֲזַבְתִּים וְהִסְתַּרְתִּי פָנַי מֵהֶם וְהָיָה לֶאֱכֹל וּמְצָאֻהוּ רָעוֹת רַבּוֹת וְצָרוֹת וְאָמַר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא הֲלֹא עַל כִּי אֵין אֱלֹהַי בְּקִרְבִּי מְצָאוּנִי הָרָעוֹת הָאֵלֶּה
BN: Then my anger shall be kindled against them on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day: Have these evils not come upon us because our god is not among us?
CHARAH: "anger", as opposed to the somewhat more excremental definition that it has today.
31:18 VE ANOCHI HASTER ASTIR PANAI BA YOM HA HU AL KOL HA RA'AH ASHER ASAH KI PHANAH EL ELOHIM ACHERIM
וְאָנֹכִי הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא עַל כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה כִּי פָנָה אֶל אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים
BN: And I will surely hide my face on that day from all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they have turned to other gods.
HASTER ASTIR PANAI: the normal understanding of HISTIR PANAV is that "evil"can only happen when the deity "turns his face aside", and in that blinking of a blind eye... but here there is a sense of the deity wilfully and consciously inflicting the evil on them... or is the deity offering his own version of "Polish death camps"?
31:19 VE ATAH KITVU LACHEM ET HA SHIRAH HA ZOT VE LAMDAH ET BENEY YISRA-EL SIMAH BE PHIHEM LEMA'AN TIHEYEH LI HA SHIRAH HA ZOT LE ED BI VENEY YISRA-EL
וְעַתָּה כִּתְבוּ לָכֶם אֶת הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת וְלַמְּדָהּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׂימָהּ בְּפִיהֶם לְמַעַן תִּהְיֶה לִּי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לְעֵד בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
BN: Now therefore write this song for yourself, and teach it to the Beney Yisra-El; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the Beney Yisra-El.
This is just so bizarre! At this moment, to have Mosheh write a song! And such a song (be patient, we do get the song eventually): negative, all about YHVH's ego, still more destruction... Clearly the Redactor had this among the documents, and had to put it somewhere...
31:20 KI AVIY'ENU EL HA ADAMAH ASHER NISHBATI LA AVOTAV ZAVAT CHALAV U DVASH VE ACHAL VE SAVA VE DASHEN U PHANAH EL ELOHIM ACHERIM VA AVADUM VE NI'ATSUNI VE HEPHER ET BRITI
כִּי אֲבִיאֶנּוּ אֶל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לַאֲבֹתָיו זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ וְאָכַל וְשָׂבַע וְדָשֵׁן וּפָנָה אֶל אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וַעֲבָדוּם וְנִאֲצוּנִי וְהֵפֵר אֶת בְּרִיתִי
BN: For when I will have brought them into the land which I swore to their ancestors, flowing with milk and honey; and they will have eaten their fill, and grown fat; and turned to other gods, and served them, and despised me, and broken my covenant...
The eternal bloody pessimist! You created them, mate, in your own image and likeness; you get what you get.
31:21 VA HAYAH KI TIMTSENA OTO RA'OT RABOT VE TSAROT VE ANTAH HA SHIRAH HA ZOT LEPHANAV LE ED KI LO TISHKACH MI PI ZARO KI YADATI ET YITSRO ASHER HU OSEH HAYOM BE TEREM AVI'EYNU EL HA ARETS ASHER NISHBATI
וְהָיָה כִּי תִמְצֶאןָ אֹתוֹ רָעוֹת רַבּוֹת וְצָרוֹת וְעָנְתָה הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לְפָנָיו לְעֵד כִּי לֹא תִשָּׁכַח מִפִּי זַרְעוֹ כִּי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת יִצְרוֹ אֲשֶׁר הוּא עֹשֶׂה הַיּוֹם בְּטֶרֶם אֲבִיאֶנּוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי
KJ: And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
BN: Then it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants; for I know their inclinations, and what they would be doing even now, even before I have brought them into the land which I swore.
YITSRO: The other Judaic concept of good v evil, the Yetser ha Tov and the Yetser ha Ra, both in the same passage.
31:22 YA YICHTOV MOSHEH ET HA SHIRAH HA ZOT BA YOM HA HU VA YELAMDAH ET BENEY YISRA-EL
וַיִּכְתֹּב מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וַיְלַמְּדָהּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
BN: So Mosheh wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the Beney Yisra-El.
31:23 VA YETSAV ET YEHOSHU'A BIN NUN VA YOMER CHAZAK VE EMATS KI ATAH TAVI ET BENEY YISRA-EL EL H ARETS ASHER NISHBATI LAHEM VE ANOCHI EHEYEH IMACH
יְצַו אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן וַיֹּאמֶר חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ כִּי אַתָּה תָּבִיא אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לָהֶם וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ
BN: And he set Yehoshu'a bin Nun in charge, and said: Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the Beney Yisra-El into the land which I have sworn to them; and I will be with you.
31:24 VA YEHI KE CHALOT MOSHEH LICHTOV ET DIVREY HA TORAH HA ZOT AL SEPHER AD TUMAM
וַיְהִי כְּכַלּוֹת מֹשֶׁה לִכְתֹּב אֶת דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת עַל סֵפֶר עַד תֻּמָּם
BN: And it came to pass, when Mosheh had finished writing the words of this law on a scroll, until they were complete ...
31:25 VA YETSAV MOSHEH ET HE LEVIYIM NOSEY ARON BRIT YHVH LEMOR
וַיְצַו מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַלְוִיִּם נֹשְׂאֵי אֲרוֹן בְּרִית יְהוָה לֵאמֹר
BN: That Mosheh commanded the Leviyim who bore the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH, saying:
31:26 LAKACH ET SEPHER HA TORAH HA ZEH VE SAMTEM OTO MI TSAD ARON BRIT YHVH ELOHEYCHEM VE HAYAH BECHA LE ED
לָקֹחַ אֵת סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה וְשַׂמְתֶּם אֹתוֹ מִצַּד אֲרוֹן בְּרִית יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְהָיָה שָׁם בְּךָ לְעֵד
KJ: Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
BN: Take this Scroll of the Law, and put it by the side of the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH your god, that it may be there to bear witness for you.
LAKACH: Which is singular, though addressed to several; as opposed to SAMTEM, which is grammatically correct. Sloppy editing.
BECHA: Why does KJ translate this as "against"? Surely the point is that this is testimony, and called by that name, because it is the witness "for".
31:27 KI ANOCHI YADATI ET MERYECHA VE ET ARPECHA HA KADESH HEN BE'ODENI CHAY IMACHEM HAYOM MAMRIM HEYITEM IM YHVH VE APH KI ACHAREY MOTI
KJ: For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
BN: For I know your rebelliousness, and how stiff-necked you are; behold, even while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against YHVH; and how much more so after my death?
Why? What did they do? Boo your tedious and insulting speech? Why are we not told the detail?
31:27 KI ANOCHI YADATI ET MERYECHA VE ET ARPECHA HA KADESH HEN BE'ODENI CHAY IMACHEM HAYOM MAMRIM HEYITEM IM YHVH VE APH KI ACHAREY MOTI
כִּי אָנֹכִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת מֶרְיְךָ וְאֶת עָרְפְּךָ הַקָּשֶׁה הֵן בְּעוֹדֶנִּי חַי עִמָּכֶם הַיּוֹם מַמְרִים הֱיִתֶם עִם יְהוָה וְאַף כִּי אַחֲרֵי מוֹתִי
BN: For I know your rebelliousness, and how stiff-necked you are; behold, even while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against YHVH; and how much more so after my death?
Why? What did they do? Boo your tedious and insulting speech? Why are we not told the detail?
The Torah of Misanthropy - a much better title for this book than Deuteronomy.
31:28 HAK'HILU ELAI ET KOL ZIKNEY SHIVTEYCHEM VE SHOTREYCHEM VA ADABRAH VE AZNEYHEM ET HA DEVARIM HA ELEH VE A'IDAH BAM ET HA SHAMAYIM VE ET HA ARETS
KJ: Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
BN: Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call the heavens and the Earth to witness against them.
31:28 HAK'HILU ELAI ET KOL ZIKNEY SHIVTEYCHEM VE SHOTREYCHEM VA ADABRAH VE AZNEYHEM ET HA DEVARIM HA ELEH VE A'IDAH BAM ET HA SHAMAYIM VE ET HA ARETS
הַקְהִילוּ אֵלַי אֶת כָּל זִקְנֵי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם וַאֲדַבְּרָה בְאָזְנֵיהֶם אֵת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְאָעִידָה בָּם אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ
BN: Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call the heavens and the Earth to witness against them.
Which conflicts with the very clear statement in the previous chapter, that the deity does not inhabit the Heavens or the Earth, but the human mind and heart and soul (Deuteronomy 30:12).
31:29 KI YADATI ACHAREY MOTI KI HASH'CHET TASHCHITUN VE SARTEM MIN HA DERECH ASHER TSIVITI ET'CHEM VE KARAT ET'CHEM HA RA'AH BE ACHARIT HA YAMIM KI TA'ASU ET HA RA BE EYNEY YHVH LEHACHISO BE MA'ASEH YEDEYCHEM
KJ: For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
BN: For I know that after my death you will act in any corrupt manner that you can, and turn aside from the way which I have instructed you; and evil will befall you till the end of days; because you will do what is evil in the sight of YHVH, to provoke him through the work of your hands.
31:30 VA YEDABER MOSHEH BE AZNEY KOL KEHAL YISRA-EL ET DIVREY HA SHIRAH HA ZOT AD TUMAM
KJ: And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
BN: And Mosheh spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Yisra-El the words of this song, until they were finished.
VA YEDABER: If it was a "song", why did he "speak" it, and not "sing" it? Are me misunderstanding SHIR, and really it should be translated as "poem", in which case he "recited" it?
31:29 KI YADATI ACHAREY MOTI KI HASH'CHET TASHCHITUN VE SARTEM MIN HA DERECH ASHER TSIVITI ET'CHEM VE KARAT ET'CHEM HA RA'AH BE ACHARIT HA YAMIM KI TA'ASU ET HA RA BE EYNEY YHVH LEHACHISO BE MA'ASEH YEDEYCHEM
כִּי יָדַעְתִּי אַחֲרֵי מוֹתִי כִּי הַשְׁחֵת תַּשְׁחִתוּן וְסַרְתֶּם מִן הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי אֶתְכֶם וְקָרָאת אֶתְכֶם הָרָעָה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים כִּי תַעֲשׂוּ אֶת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה לְהַכְעִיסוֹ בְּמַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵיכֶם
BN: For I know that after my death you will act in any corrupt manner that you can, and turn aside from the way which I have instructed you; and evil will befall you till the end of days; because you will do what is evil in the sight of YHVH, to provoke him through the work of your hands.
31:30 VA YEDABER MOSHEH BE AZNEY KOL KEHAL YISRA-EL ET DIVREY HA SHIRAH HA ZOT AD TUMAM
וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה בְּאָזְנֵי כָּל קְהַל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת דִּבְרֵי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת עַד תֻּמָּם
BN: And Mosheh spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Yisra-El the words of this song, until they were finished.
VA YEDABER: If it was a "song", why did he "speak" it, and not "sing" it? Are me misunderstanding SHIR, and really it should be translated as "poem", in which case he "recited" it?
No comments:
Post a Comment