And you take of their daughters for your sons is literally “and you [singular] will take from his daughters for your sons.” In Revised Standard Version this continues the long sentence beginning with verse 14. In other words Revised Standard Version considers all of verses 15-16 as the possible result of making any treaty with the ethnic groups mentioned in verse 12. Good News Translation makes this verse into a new sentence but still shows the influence of the word “lest” in verse 15, “Your sons might marry those foreign women.” However, in cultures where marriage is always arranged by the parents, one may follow the Hebrew and say, for example, “You might arrange for their daughters to marry your sons.”

And their daughters is literally “and his daughters,” but the singular pronoun should be understood as still referring to “the inhabitant” in verse 12. (See the comment there.) Play the harlot after their gods is the same expression discussed at verse 15. And make your sons … is literally “and they will cause your sons.” As in verse 15, Good News Translation interprets this as a figure of speech for pagan worship and translates “who would lead them to be unfaithful to me and to worship their pagan gods.” One may also say “and they [the daughters] would lead them to be unfaithful.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• You will even arrange for their daughters to marry your sons, and these women will cause them to be unfaithful to me and worship their gods.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .