An altar … of unhewn stones: this repeats verse 5 concerning the stones. To avoid unnecessary repetition we may follow Good News Translation, “because any altar you build for the LORD your God must be made of uncut stones,” or Contemporary English Version, “Look for stones that can be used without being cut.”

Burnt offerings: see 12.6.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .