Ulangan 4:13

4:13 And he revealed to you the covenant ¹  he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments, ²  writing them on two stone tablets.

Ulangan 9:6

9:6 Understand, therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession, for you are a stubborn ³  people!

Ulangan 16:18

Provision for Justice

16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants ⁴  for each tribe in all your villages ⁵  that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. ⁶ 

[4:13]  ¹ sn This is the first occurrence of the word בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”) in the Book of Deuteronomy but it appears commonly hereafter (4:23, 31; 5:2, 3; 7:9, 12; 8:18; 9:9, 10, 11, 15; 10:2, 4, 5, 8; 17:2; 29:1, 9, 12, 14, 15, 18, 21, 25; 31:9, 16, 20, 25, 26; 33:9). Etymologically, it derives from the notion of linking or yoking together. See M. Weinfeld, TDOT 2:255.

[4:13]  ² tn Heb “the ten words.”

[9:6]  ³ tn Heb “stiff-necked” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).

[9:6]  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).

[16:18]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice.

[16:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “gates.”

[16:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”