With the beginning of a new section, Moses may need to be introduced again as the speaker; for example, “Moses said to the Israelites, ….”

You remained at Kadesh: Moses continues to address his fellow Israelites. If the second person plural you excludes Moses, the translation should instead say “We remained at Kadesh.” In the next verse (2.1) the narrative in Hebrew goes to the inclusive first person plural, “Then we turned, and went….” If a translation imitates Revised Standard Version, “You stayed at Kadesh…,” and begins 2.1 “Then we turned…,” it will be better to begin a new section at 2.1. But if, like Today’s English Version, a translation uses the first person plural in both verses (which this Handbook recommends), it will be better to start the section with 1.46.

Many days, the days that you remained there: this is a rather odd phrase but is intended to emphasize that the Israelites stayed in Kadesh Barnea for a very long time before they started on their way back. Another way to express it is “We remained at Kadesh for a long time.”

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 .