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
Some versions of this chapter only go to verse 29; others, like the King James, go to verse 33. This is because the shorter versions combine several of the Commandments into a single verse (see verses 6 & 16), where other versions give each a verse of its own. I have followed the combined model, but have also marked the King James verse numbers accordingly.
5:1 VA YIKRA MOSHEH EL KOL YISRA-EL VA YOMER ALEYHEM SHEMA YISRA-EL ET HA CHUKIM VE ET HA MISHPATIM ASHER ANOCHI DOVER BE AZNEYCHEM HAYOM U LEMADETEM OTAM U SHEMARTEM LA'ASOTAM
וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַחֻקִּים וְאֶת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי דֹּבֵר בְּאָזְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם וּלְמַדְתֶּם אֹתָם וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם לַעֲשֹׂתָם
KJ (King James translation): And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
BN (BibleNet translation): And Mosheh called to all Yisra-El, and said to them: Listen, Yisra-El, to the statutes and the ordinances which I shall speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and observe them, and carry them out.
ANOCHI DOVER: Another of those sophisticated literary terms that we do not recognise from the Mosheh of the previous books.
SHEMA YISRA-EL: This is a literary device of similar sophistication. Imagine a biography of Shakespeare that began "To be - or indeed, not to be - Shakespeare was a labour of love not lost on one for whom all turned out well enough in the end...." or one of Tolstoy sub-titled "the story of an equally happy and unhappy family", or... writers in a literary civilisation play these games; not the clan-chiefs of desert nomads brought up in slavery.
5:2 YHVH ELOHEYNU KARAT IMANU BRIT BE CHOREV
KJ: The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
BN: YHVH our god made a covenant with us at Chorev.
And again: we are accustomed to a literary level in which this would be rendered with the Vav Consecutive: Va Yikrat.
5:3 LO ET AVOTEYNU KARAT YHVH ET HA BRIT HA ZOT KI ITANU ANACHNU ELEH POH HAYOM KULANU CHAYIM
KJ: The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
BN: YHVH did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, yes us, all of us who are here, alive, this day.
If Nechem-Yah were saying this to the returnees re-rebuilding the walls of Yeru-Shala'im, we would understand it as a rhetorical device, as we today understand that "Avadim Hayinu" is only pretending that "we" were "ourselves" slaves in Mitsrayim (Egypt), an empathetic allegory or analogy to make history personal and thereby meaningful. But when Mosheh says it, to these people whose parents and grandparents were the very fathers being denied here, it is not only a lie, but an insult, because it includes what he has just told them in the previous chapters, that all their parents and grandparents were so wicked that they, like himself, were prohibited from entry into Kena'an - his own inclusion in that being its one redeeming factor.
5:4 PANIM BE PANIM DIBER YHVH IMACHEM BA HAR MITOCH HA ESH
KJ: The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
BN: YHVH spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the midst of the fire.
SHEMA YISRA-EL: This is a literary device of similar sophistication. Imagine a biography of Shakespeare that began "To be - or indeed, not to be - Shakespeare was a labour of love not lost on one for whom all turned out well enough in the end...." or one of Tolstoy sub-titled "the story of an equally happy and unhappy family", or... writers in a literary civilisation play these games; not the clan-chiefs of desert nomads brought up in slavery.
5:2 YHVH ELOHEYNU KARAT IMANU BRIT BE CHOREV
יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ כָּרַת עִמָּנוּ בְּרִית בְּחֹרֵב
KJ: The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
BN: YHVH our god made a covenant with us at Chorev.
And again: we are accustomed to a literary level in which this would be rendered with the Vav Consecutive: Va Yikrat.
5:3 LO ET AVOTEYNU KARAT YHVH ET HA BRIT HA ZOT KI ITANU ANACHNU ELEH POH HAYOM KULANU CHAYIM
לֹא אֶת אֲבֹתֵינוּ כָּרַת יְהוָה אֶת הַבְּרִית הַזֹּאת כִּי אִתָּנוּ אֲנַחְנוּ אֵלֶּה פֹה הַיּוֹם כֻּלָּנוּ חַיִּים
KJ: The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
BN: YHVH did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, yes us, all of us who are here, alive, this day.
If Nechem-Yah were saying this to the returnees re-rebuilding the walls of Yeru-Shala'im, we would understand it as a rhetorical device, as we today understand that "Avadim Hayinu" is only pretending that "we" were "ourselves" slaves in Mitsrayim (Egypt), an empathetic allegory or analogy to make history personal and thereby meaningful. But when Mosheh says it, to these people whose parents and grandparents were the very fathers being denied here, it is not only a lie, but an insult, because it includes what he has just told them in the previous chapters, that all their parents and grandparents were so wicked that they, like himself, were prohibited from entry into Kena'an - his own inclusion in that being its one redeeming factor.
5:4 PANIM BE PANIM DIBER YHVH IMACHEM BA HAR MITOCH HA ESH
פָּנִים בְּפָנִים דִּבֶּר יְהוָה עִמָּכֶם בָּהָר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ
KJ: The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
BN: YHVH spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the midst of the fire.
No, he didn't. He spoke with their parents and grandparents, all of whom are now dead as a punishment for supporting the ten spies (Numbers 14), and through the medium of Mosheh, who may or may not have been permitted to see him face to face (the texts vary; cf Exodus 33:11 with Exodus 33:23 for example). The only face they saw was the volcanic one, spewing dust and fire and lava, and they were specifically told not to look.
PANIM BE PANIM: And when he did speak to them, it was quite specifically NOT panim be panim, because anyone who saw his face would die; even Mosheh only got to see his backside, in shadow, en passant.
5:5 ANOCHI OMED BEYN YHVH U VEYNEYCHEM BA ET HA HI LEHAGID LACHEM ET DEVAR YHVH KI YEREYTEM MI PENEY HA ESH VE LO ALITEM BA HAR LEMOR
KJ: (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
BN: I stood between YHVH and you at that time, to declare to you the word of YHVH, because you were afraid because of the fire, and did not go up onto the mountain, saying:
PANIM BE PANIM: And when he did speak to them, it was quite specifically NOT panim be panim, because anyone who saw his face would die; even Mosheh only got to see his backside, in shadow, en passant.
5:5 ANOCHI OMED BEYN YHVH U VEYNEYCHEM BA ET HA HI LEHAGID LACHEM ET DEVAR YHVH KI YEREYTEM MI PENEY HA ESH VE LO ALITEM BA HAR LEMOR
אָנֹכִי עֹמֵד בֵּין יְהוָה וּבֵינֵיכֶם בָּעֵת הַהִוא לְהַגִּיד לָכֶם אֶת דְּבַר יְהוָה כִּי יְרֵאתֶם מִפְּנֵי הָאֵשׁ וְלֹא עֲלִיתֶם בָּהָר לֵאמֹר
KJ: (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
BN: I stood between YHVH and you at that time, to declare to you the word of YHVH, because you were afraid because of the fire, and did not go up onto the mountain, saying:
Memory tells me that it was cordoned off and the people prohibited from crossing the defined line, on pain of death - Exodus 19:12 - and not this way around. So, yet again, Mosheh exalts himself, and insults his own people, and manipulates the truth to do so.
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5:6 ANOCHI YHVH ELOHEYCHA ASHER HOTSEYTICHA ME ERETS MITSRAYIM MI BEIT AVADIM LO YIHEYEH LECHA ELOHIM ACHERIM AL PANAI
KJ (5:8): Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
BN: You shall not make for yourselves any graven image, or any manner of representation, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is on the Earth beneath, or that is in the waters underneath the earth.
Hints in the Aleynu of this verse (the difference between this and the previous version is simply a conjunction before KOL).
5:8 LO TISHTACHAVEH LAHEM VE LO TA'AVDEM KI ANOCHI YHVH ELOHEYCHA EL KANA POKED AVON AVOT AL BANIM VE AL SHILESHIM VE AL RIBEYIM LE SONAI
KJ (5:9): Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
BN: You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I YHVH your god am a jealous god, who will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those who hate me...
The more I think about this, the more vile and despotic and bullying this law appears to be, and very much in the manner of a Stalin. "Obey me. If you don't, you risk punishment." Which is bad enough. But then. "And be aware that you will be responsible for anything I may do to your children, your grand-children, even your great-grandchildren. It will be your own fault. You should have obeyed me."
But yet again it is an acknowledgement by YHVH that there are other gods; he is not the ONLY, only the SUPREME. Further evidence that those earlier chapters were a later addition, and that really this book began, either as a continuation of Numbers at Deuteronomy 4:41, or as a new book at Deuteronomy 4:44.
5:9 VE OSEH CHESED LA ALAPHIM LE OHAVAI U LE SHOMREY MITSVOTAI
KJ (5:10) And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
BN: And showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
How long is 1000 generations? One every 20 years shall we say? Five per century = 2000 years. And the evidence of that continuing mercy is to be found where precisely?
Hints in the Thirteen Atttibutes of this line.
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5:10 LO TISA ET SHEM YHVH ELOHEYCHA LA SHAV KI LO YENAKEH YHVH ET ASHER YISA ET SHEMO LA SHAV
KJ (5:11): Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
BN: You shall not take the name of YHVH your god in vain; for YHVH will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
A covenant is a mutual agreement between two parties; but this is written by only one of the parties, and its opening verses are all about the position and status of the covenant-writer: me: YHVH, and about the subordinate position of you, Yisra-El. It is not really a covenant at all, but an accepted charter of vassaldom and subordination; an Oath of Allegiance to a tyrannical dictator (literally dictator), a spiritual equivalent of a Zero-Hours employment contract.
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5:11 SHAMOR ET YOM HA SHABAT LE KADSHO KA ASHER TSIVCHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA
KJ (5:12): Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
BN: Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as YHVH your god has instructed you.
The first occasion when there is a significant difference in the text; Exodus 20:7 (KJ 20:8) ends at KADSHO = holy.
5:12 SHESHET YAMIM TA'AVOD VA ASIYTA KOL MELACHTECHA
KJ (5:13): Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
BN: For six days you shall labour, and do all your work...
Labour. Specifically labour. This is about employment, and nothing else. And if you are in doubt, the next verse could not make it more precise and clear.
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5:6 ANOCHI YHVH ELOHEYCHA ASHER HOTSEYTICHA ME ERETS MITSRAYIM MI BEIT AVADIM LO YIHEYEH LECHA ELOHIM ACHERIM AL PANAI
אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנָי
KJ (5:6&7): I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
BN: I am YHVH your god, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.
For teachers: compare this giving of the Ten Commandments to the previous version (Exodus 20). Include the question: has Mosheh added, modified or removed anything in this second version? The first after all was given to him, this one by him.
AL PANAI is not the same as LIPHNEY, which is the normal phrasing; this literally reads "in my face", a slang expression today that probably means exactly what YHVH intends here: don't insult me by following those lesser gods - whose existence I acknowledge, but who are so inferior to me - in my face.
5:7 LO TA'ASEH LECHA PESEL KOL TEMUNAH ASHER BA SHAMAYIM MI MA'AL VA ASHER BA ARETS MI TACHAT VA ASHER BA MAYIM MI TACHAT LA ARETS
BN: I am YHVH your god, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.
For teachers: compare this giving of the Ten Commandments to the previous version (Exodus 20). Include the question: has Mosheh added, modified or removed anything in this second version? The first after all was given to him, this one by him.
AL PANAI is not the same as LIPHNEY, which is the normal phrasing; this literally reads "in my face", a slang expression today that probably means exactly what YHVH intends here: don't insult me by following those lesser gods - whose existence I acknowledge, but who are so inferior to me - in my face.
5:7 LO TA'ASEH LECHA PESEL KOL TEMUNAH ASHER BA SHAMAYIM MI MA'AL VA ASHER BA ARETS MI TACHAT VA ASHER BA MAYIM MI TACHAT LA ARETS
לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה לְךָ פֶסֶל כָּל תְּמוּנָה אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וַאֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת וַאֲשֶׁר בַּמַּיִם מִתַּחַת לָאָרֶץ
KJ (5:8): Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
BN: You shall not make for yourselves any graven image, or any manner of representation, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is on the Earth beneath, or that is in the waters underneath the earth.
Hints in the Aleynu of this verse (the difference between this and the previous version is simply a conjunction before KOL).
5:8 LO TISHTACHAVEH LAHEM VE LO TA'AVDEM KI ANOCHI YHVH ELOHEYCHA EL KANA POKED AVON AVOT AL BANIM VE AL SHILESHIM VE AL RIBEYIM LE SONAI
לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָהֶם וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם כִּי אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵל קַנָּא פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וְעַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל רִבֵּעִים לְשֹׂנְאָי
BN: You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I YHVH your god am a jealous god, who will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those who hate me...
The more I think about this, the more vile and despotic and bullying this law appears to be, and very much in the manner of a Stalin. "Obey me. If you don't, you risk punishment." Which is bad enough. But then. "And be aware that you will be responsible for anything I may do to your children, your grand-children, even your great-grandchildren. It will be your own fault. You should have obeyed me."
But yet again it is an acknowledgement by YHVH that there are other gods; he is not the ONLY, only the SUPREME. Further evidence that those earlier chapters were a later addition, and that really this book began, either as a continuation of Numbers at Deuteronomy 4:41, or as a new book at Deuteronomy 4:44.
5:9 VE OSEH CHESED LA ALAPHIM LE OHAVAI U LE SHOMREY MITSVOTAI
(וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים לְאֹהֲבַי וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מצותו (מִצְוֹתָי
KJ (5:10) And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
BN: And showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
How long is 1000 generations? One every 20 years shall we say? Five per century = 2000 years. And the evidence of that continuing mercy is to be found where precisely?
Hints in the Thirteen Atttibutes of this line.
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5:10 LO TISA ET SHEM YHVH ELOHEYCHA LA SHAV KI LO YENAKEH YHVH ET ASHER YISA ET SHEMO LA SHAV
לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת שֵׁם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַשָּׁוְא כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה יְהוָה אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא אֶת שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא
BN: You shall not take the name of YHVH your god in vain; for YHVH will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
A covenant is a mutual agreement between two parties; but this is written by only one of the parties, and its opening verses are all about the position and status of the covenant-writer: me: YHVH, and about the subordinate position of you, Yisra-El. It is not really a covenant at all, but an accepted charter of vassaldom and subordination; an Oath of Allegiance to a tyrannical dictator (literally dictator), a spiritual equivalent of a Zero-Hours employment contract.
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5:11 SHAMOR ET YOM HA SHABAT LE KADSHO KA ASHER TSIVCHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA
שָׁמוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
KJ (5:12): Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
BN: Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as YHVH your god has instructed you.
The first occasion when there is a significant difference in the text; Exodus 20:7 (KJ 20:8) ends at KADSHO = holy.
5:12 SHESHET YAMIM TA'AVOD VA ASIYTA KOL MELACHTECHA
שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ כָּל מְלַאכְתֶּךָ
KJ (5:13): Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
BN: For six days you shall labour, and do all your work...
Labour. Specifically labour. This is about employment, and nothing else. And if you are in doubt, the next verse could not make it more precise and clear.
5:13 VE YOM HA SHEVIYI SHABAT LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA LO TA'ASEH CHOL MELACHAH ATAH U VINCHA U VITECHA VE AVDECHA VA AMATECHA VE SHORECHA VA CHAMRECHA VE CHOL BEHEMTECHA VE GERCHA ASHER BI SHE'AREYCHA LEMA'AN YANU'ACH AVDECHA VA AMAT'CHA KAMOCHA
וְיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה אַתָּה וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ וְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתֶךָ וְשׁוֹרְךָ וַחֲמֹרְךָ וְכָל בְּהֶמְתֶּךָ וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ עַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ כָּמוֹךָ
KJ (5:14): But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
BN: But the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHVH your god, on it you shall not do any form of work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of your cattle, nor the stranger who is within your gates; that your man-servant and your maid-servant may rest as well as you.
Minor variation: Exodus 20 has AMAT'CHA, but here it is AMATECHA - the difference between, say, "can't" and "cannot" in English? Or is one of them grammatically incorrect?
Major variation: Exodus 20 ended this verse at SHE'AREYCHA, where this version adds the final clarifying clause (and definitely prohibits the "shobbas goy"). But this is very clearly a day off for workers, including non-Jewish workers, an opportunity to rest - best achieved by getting in your car and driving to the amusement arcade, or watching movies, or television, or playing computer games - all of which are prohibited by the Talmudic interpretation of these lines: click here.
5:14 VE ZACHARTA KI EVED HAYITA BE ERETS MITSRAYIM VA YOTSI'ACHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA MI SHAM BE YAD CHAZAKAH U VI ZERO'A NETUYAH AL KEN TSIVCHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA LA'ASOT ET YOM HA SHABAT
וְזָכַרְתָּ כִּי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וַיֹּצִאֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה עַל כֵּן צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת
BN: And you shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Mitsrayim, and YHVH your god brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore YHVH your god instructed you to keep the Sabbath day.
EVED: Why does KJ translated this as "servant" and not "slave" on this occasion? "Convenient variation", if I may be permitted to coin a phrase.
This is radically different from the equivalent in Exodus 20:10; there the Shabat is a commemoration of the six days of creation, here it is a commemoration of the Exodus itself. But in doing that it also emphasises that this is employment law: we wereslaves in Egypt, and never had a single day off; now we are free people, and can award ourselves a rest day
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כַּבֵּד אֶתאָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיכֻן יָמֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ
KJ (5:16): Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
BN: Honour your father and your mother, as YHVH your god instructed you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you, upon the land which YHVH your god is giving you.
KABED: From the same root that means "heavy"? If so, an interesting word - I guess it's the idea of "giving weight" to something, as we might honour "heavy literature", over "lightweight fiction", because the former is densely packed with ideas.
See Exodus 20:11 (KJ 12); phrases added here, the first, yet again, has Mosheh emphasising that "you must do it because YHVH has told you to", the second not only offering long life as a reward but also a happy, rich and successful one - Mosheh Madoff!
samech break
5:16 LO TIRTSACH VE LO TINAPH VE LO TIGNOV VE LO TA'ANEH VE REYACHA ED SHAV
{לֹא תִרְצָח {ס} וְלֹא תִנְאָף {ס} וְלֹא תִגְנֹב {ס} וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה בְרֵעֲךָ עֵד שָׁוְא {ס
BN: Do not commit murder. {S} Do not commit adultery. {S} Do not steal. {S} Do not bear false witness against your neighbour. {S}
LO TIRTSACH: Usually translated as "Thou Shalt Not Kill", and as such it has entered the universal consciousness; but alas incorrectly. It is quite specifically "You shall not murder"; killing for self-defense or for food are both perfectly acceptable.
ED SHAV here, but ED SHAKER in Exodus 20:12 (KJ 20:16).
Job 7:3 and 11:11, Isaiah 5:18, 30:28, Psalm 12:3, 41:7 - all use SHAV to mean something wilfully destructive, whereas occurrences of SHEKER (Genesis 21:23, Exodus 5:9, 1 Samuel 15:29) suggest no motive for the lie beyond an intention to deceive; this is the only obvious difference between the two words. So again Mosheh is emphasising, underlining, even extending, rather than simply repeating the words he was given the first time around (and if we accept the Rabbinic insistence that the Ten Commandments were literally written down, and carried in the Ark of the Testimony, as described in multiple previous chapters, then Mosheh only needed to take them out and read them, and thereby have done as YHVH instructed, without adding his own ex temporisations in order to instil fear and obedience in his listeners.
The multiple samech breaks inside this verse are essentially line-dividers, added by the Masoretes; and for the same reason that KJ breaks the chapter down into verses in the way it does: the original Yehudit, like the Torah scrolls used in synagogues, is a single, continuous text, broken only by pey breaks, to indicate paragraphs, or at the ends of sidrot - click here.
5:17 VE LO TACHMOD ESHET RE'ECHA VE LO TITAVEH BEIT RE'ECHA SADEYHU VA AVDO VA AMATO SHORO VA CHAMORO VE CHOL ASHER LE RE'ECHA
וְלֹא תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ {ס} וְלֹא תִתְאַוֶּה בֵּית רֵעֶךָ שָׂדֵהוּ וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ {ס
KJ (5:21): Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.
BN: Do not covet your neighbour's wife; {S} do not desire your neighbour's house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is your neighbour's. {S}
TACHMOD...TITAVEH: the distinction between "envy" and "lust"; but also note that Mosheh has switched the order (see Exodus 20:13), placing the wife before the house here, and TITAVEH is not in the original, where TACHMOD is used for both. TITAVEH yet again "strengthens" the commandment.
I do not usually include the samech breaks in either the Yehudit or my translation, but simply note them in English in my notes; here, because they are unusually complex and define how text should properly be laid out, which is rather more in the form of a legal document than a prose narrative, I am including them.
5:18 ET HA DEVARIM HA ELEH DIBER YHVH EL KOL KEHALCHEM BA HAR MITOCH HA ESH HE ANAN VE HA ARAPHEL KOL GADOL VE LO YASAPH VA YICHTEVEM AL SHENEY LUCHOT AVANIM VA YITNEM ELAY
אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֶל כָּל קְהַלְכֶם בָּהָר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ הֶעָנָן וְהָעֲרָפֶל קוֹל גָּדוֹל וְלֹא יָסָף וַיִּכְתְּבֵם עַל שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת אֲבָנִים וַיִּתְּנֵם אֵלָי
KJ (5:22): These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
BN: These words YHVH spoke to all of you assembled on the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice, and it went on no more. And he wrote them upon two tables of stone, and gave them to me.
VA YICHTEVEM: Somehow tradition has Mosheh himself writing down these Commandments. But Exodus 24:10 ff is very clear that YHVH has written them himself, and Exodus 31:18 has him do this with his finger. Exodus 34:1 has Mosheh hewing the stones, but again it is YHVH who does the writing (and no, there is no further explanation given of how a metaphorical deity manifesting as a volcanic eruption can do this, nor in what language, given that alphabetic Yehudit will not exist for at least another four hundred years).
5:19 VA YEHI KE SHAMACHEM ET HA KOL MITOCH HA CHOSHECH VE HA HAR BO'ER BA EYSH VA TIKREVUN ELAY KOL RASHEY SHIVTEYCHEM VE ZIKNEYCHEM
וַיְהִי כְּשָׁמְעֲכֶם אֶת הַקּוֹל מִתּוֹךְ הַחֹשֶׁךְ וְהָהָר בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כָּל רָאשֵׁי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם וְזִקְנֵיכֶם
BN: And it came to pass, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain burned with fire, that you came near to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders.
And yet again the description can only be of a volcanic eruption.
5:20 VA TOMRU HEN HERANU YHVH ELOHEYNU ET KEVODO VE ET GADLO VE ET KOLO SHAMANU MITOCH HA ESH HAYOM HAZEH RA'INU KI YEDABER ELOHEYNU ET HA ADAM VE CHAI
וַתֹּאמְרוּ הֵן הֶרְאָנוּ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶת כְּבֹדוֹ וְאֶת גָּדְלוֹ וְאֶת קֹלוֹ שָׁמַעְנוּ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה רָאִינוּ כִּי יְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם וָחָי
KJ (5:24): And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.
BN: And you said: Behold, YHVH our god has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that gods do speak with Mankind, and that he lives.
KEVODO is also from the same root as Honour and Heavy - see note above.
This verse, perhaps more than any other, confirms for us moderns that the deity in whom we may or may not intellectually "believe" is not the same "forces of Nature" of whom the ancients lived in fear. The god speaking to Mankind is not using verbal and grammatical language; he is pouring fire and volcanic ash out of an exploded mountain-top.
5:21 VE ATAH LAMAH NAMUT KI TOCHLEYNU HA EYSH HA GEDOLAH HA ZOT IM YOSPHIM ANACHNU LISHMO'A ET KOL YHVH ELOHEYNU OD VE MATNU
KJ (5:25): Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.
BN: Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of YHVH our god any more, then we shall die.
5:20 VA TOMRU HEN HERANU YHVH ELOHEYNU ET KEVODO VE ET GADLO VE ET KOLO SHAMANU MITOCH HA ESH HAYOM HAZEH RA'INU KI YEDABER ELOHEYNU ET HA ADAM VE CHAI
וַתֹּאמְרוּ הֵן הֶרְאָנוּ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶת כְּבֹדוֹ וְאֶת גָּדְלוֹ וְאֶת קֹלוֹ שָׁמַעְנוּ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה רָאִינוּ כִּי יְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם וָחָי
KJ (5:24): And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.
BN: And you said: Behold, YHVH our god has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that gods do speak with Mankind, and that he lives.
KEVODO is also from the same root as Honour and Heavy - see note above.
This verse, perhaps more than any other, confirms for us moderns that the deity in whom we may or may not intellectually "believe" is not the same "forces of Nature" of whom the ancients lived in fear. The god speaking to Mankind is not using verbal and grammatical language; he is pouring fire and volcanic ash out of an exploded mountain-top.
5:21 VE ATAH LAMAH NAMUT KI TOCHLEYNU HA EYSH HA GEDOLAH HA ZOT IM YOSPHIM ANACHNU LISHMO'A ET KOL YHVH ELOHEYNU OD VE MATNU
וְעַתָּה לָמָּה נָמוּת כִּי תֹאכְלֵנוּ הָאֵשׁ הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת אִם יֹסְפִים אֲנַחְנוּ לִשְׁמֹעַ אֶת קוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ עוֹד וָמָתְנוּ
BN: Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of YHVH our god any more, then we shall die.
Logically, based on the previous verse, this should not in fact be the case. What they are frightened of is not just another eruption, but an even bigger eruption - the sort that gave Mir-Yam "leprosy" (Numbers 12) and turned Lot's wife into a frieze from the museum at Pompei (Genesis 19:26).
5:22 KI MI CHOL BASAR ASHER SHAMA KOL ELOHIM CHAYIM MEDABER MITOCH HA ESH KAMONU VA YECHI
כִּי מִי כָל בָּשָׂר אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע קוֹל אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים מְדַבֵּר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ כָּמֹנוּ וַיֶּחִי
KJ (5:26): For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
BN: For who is there of all flesh, who has heard the voice of the living god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
You, Mosheh, and all the people you just spoke about. But this is meant poetically, as an expression of awe and amazement at the power of the volcano, and not as a literality.
5:23 KERAV ATAH U SHEMA ET KOL ASHER YOMAR YHVH ELOHEYNU VE AT TEDABER ELEYNU ET KOL ASHER YEDABER YHVH ELOHEYNU ELEYCHA VA SHAMANU VE ASINU
KJ (5:27): Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.
BN: Go near, and hear all that YHVH our god may say; and you shall speak to us all that YHVH our god may speak to you; and we will hear it and do it.
VE AT: Error? It should surely be ATAH (אַתָּה) -masculine, not feminine, as at the start of the verse. This is the people, addressing Mosheh - from verse 20 until its completion here.
5:22 KI MI CHOL BASAR ASHER SHAMA KOL ELOHIM CHAYIM MEDABER MITOCH HA ESH KAMONU VA YECHI
BN: For who is there of all flesh, who has heard the voice of the living god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
You, Mosheh, and all the people you just spoke about. But this is meant poetically, as an expression of awe and amazement at the power of the volcano, and not as a literality.
5:23 KERAV ATAH U SHEMA ET KOL ASHER YOMAR YHVH ELOHEYNU VE AT TEDABER ELEYNU ET KOL ASHER YEDABER YHVH ELOHEYNU ELEYCHA VA SHAMANU VE ASINU
קְרַב אַתָּה וּשְׁמָע אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְאַתְּ תְּדַבֵּר אֵלֵינוּ אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֵלֶיךָ וְשָׁמַעְנוּ וְעָשִׂינוּ
BN: Go near, and hear all that YHVH our god may say; and you shall speak to us all that YHVH our god may speak to you; and we will hear it and do it.
VE AT: Error? It should surely be ATAH (אַתָּה) -masculine, not feminine, as at the start of the verse. This is the people, addressing Mosheh - from verse 20 until its completion here.
5:24 VA YISHMA YHVH ET KOL DIVREYCHEM BE DABERCHEM ELAI VA YOMER YHVH ELAI SHAMATI ET KOL DIVREY HA AM HA ZEH ASHER DIBRU ELEYCHA HEYTIVU KOL ASHER DIBEYRU
וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה אֶת קוֹל דִּבְרֵיכֶם בְּדַבֶּרְכֶם אֵלָי וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת קוֹל דִּבְרֵי הָעָם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר דִּבְּרוּ אֵלֶיךָ הֵיטִיבוּ כָּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּרוּ
KJ: And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
BN: And YHVH heard the voice of your words, when you spoke to me; and YHVH said to me: I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you; they have well said all that they have spoken.
ET KOL DIVREYCHEM: KOL with a Kuph (ק) not Kol with a Kaph (כ); the latter means "all" and would be more logical in this sentence; the former means "voice", and becomes an odd doubling with DIVREYCHEM.
5:25 MI YITEN VE HAYAH LEVAVAM ZEH LAHEM LEYIRAH OTI VE LISHMOR ET KOL MITSVOTAY KOL HA YAMIM LEMA'AN YIYTAV LAHEM VE LIVNEYHEM LE OLAM
מִי יִתֵּן וְהָיָה לְבָבָם זֶה לָהֶם לְיִרְאָה אֹתִי וְלִשְׁמֹר אֶת כָּל מִצְוֹתַי כָּל הַיָּמִים לְמַעַן יִיטַב לָהֶם וְלִבְנֵיהֶם לְעֹלָם
KJ (5:29): O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
BN: O that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me, and to keep all my instructions, that it might go well with them and with their children for ever!
One of my favourite verses. Grandpa YHVH, sitting in his rocking-chair, off-duty, no longer the stern voice of the volcano issuing edicts at threat of eternal destruction, just a quiet cup of tea, a petite madelleine, and a paunch-rubbing statement of sentimental nostalgia. Completely implausible, except as a piece of literature written a thousand years after the event.
5:26 LECH EMOR LAHEM SHUVU LACHEM LE AHALEYCHEM
KJ (5:31): But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
BN: But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I am giving them for a possession.
MITSVAH: why is this singular when CHUKIM and MISHPATIM are plural?
Nice for Mosheh, too, to have had such a chatty relationship with the deity. Come and stand by me. I wonder if he offered him a cup of mint tea and some pita and chumus while they were chatting... Last time we heard this tale, it was the passing shadow of YHVH's backside and a stentorian voice of command [see verse 4 above].
5:28 U SHEMARTEM LA'ASOT KA ASHER TSIVAH YHVH ELOHEYCHEM ET'CHEM LO TASURU YAMIN U SMOL
KJ (5:32): Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
BN: You shall observe to do what YHVH your god has instructed you; you shall not waver to the right or to the left.
The Yehudit word for such a path, from the root that gives the verb "to go", is Halachah (Melech = king, and Moloch the head of the Yevusi pantheon come from the same root); Jesus presumably used its Aramaic equivalent when he quoted Zoroaster's "I am the Way" (John 14:6).
5:29 BE CHOL HA DERECH ASHER TSIVAH YHVH ELOHEYCHEM ET'CHEM TELCHU LEMA'AN YICHEYUN VE TOV LACHEM VE HA'ARACHTEM YAMIM BA ARETS ASHER TIRASHUN
KJ (5:33): Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
BN: You shall follow the way which YHVH your god has instructed you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Every religion, every political ideology, of course makes the same claim. Only we know the truth. Everyone else is wrong, and must be made, through torture if necessary, to accept our truth. Plus a granting of immunity if you kill them when even torture doesn't suffice.
5:26 LECH EMOR LAHEM SHUVU LACHEM LE AHALEYCHEM
לֵךְ אֱמֹר לָהֶם שׁוּבוּ לָכֶם לְאָהֳלֵיכֶם
KJ (5:30): Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.
BN: Go and tell them: Go back to your tents.
5:27 VE ATAH POH AMOD IMADI VA ADABRAH ELEYCHA ET KOL HA MITSVAH VE HA CHUKIM VE HA MISHPATIM ASHER TELAMDEM VE ASU VA ARETS ASHER ANOCHI NOTEN LAHEM LE RISHTAH
BN: Go and tell them: Go back to your tents.
5:27 VE ATAH POH AMOD IMADI VA ADABRAH ELEYCHA ET KOL HA MITSVAH VE HA CHUKIM VE HA MISHPATIM ASHER TELAMDEM VE ASU VA ARETS ASHER ANOCHI NOTEN LAHEM LE RISHTAH
וְאַתָּה פֹּה עֲמֹד עִמָּדִי וַאֲדַבְּרָה אֵלֶיךָ אֵת כָּל הַמִּצְוָה וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תְּלַמְּדֵם וְעָשׂוּ בָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לָהֶם לְרִשְׁתָּהּ
BN: But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I am giving them for a possession.
MITSVAH: why is this singular when CHUKIM and MISHPATIM are plural?
Nice for Mosheh, too, to have had such a chatty relationship with the deity. Come and stand by me. I wonder if he offered him a cup of mint tea and some pita and chumus while they were chatting... Last time we heard this tale, it was the passing shadow of YHVH's backside and a stentorian voice of command [see verse 4 above].
5:28 U SHEMARTEM LA'ASOT KA ASHER TSIVAH YHVH ELOHEYCHEM ET'CHEM LO TASURU YAMIN U SMOL
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם לַעֲשׂוֹת כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֶתְכֶם לֹא תָסֻרוּ יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל
BN: You shall observe to do what YHVH your god has instructed you; you shall not waver to the right or to the left.
The Yehudit word for such a path, from the root that gives the verb "to go", is Halachah (Melech = king, and Moloch the head of the Yevusi pantheon come from the same root); Jesus presumably used its Aramaic equivalent when he quoted Zoroaster's "I am the Way" (John 14:6).
5:29 BE CHOL HA DERECH ASHER TSIVAH YHVH ELOHEYCHEM ET'CHEM TELCHU LEMA'AN YICHEYUN VE TOV LACHEM VE HA'ARACHTEM YAMIM BA ARETS ASHER TIRASHUN
בְּכָל הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֶתְכֶם תֵּלֵכוּ לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן וְטוֹב לָכֶם וְהַאֲרַכְתֶּם יָמִים בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר תִּירָשׁוּן
BN: You shall follow the way which YHVH your god has instructed you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Every religion, every political ideology, of course makes the same claim. Only we know the truth. Everyone else is wrong, and must be made, through torture if necessary, to accept our truth. Plus a granting of immunity if you kill them when even torture doesn't suffice.
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
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