Will vindicate … have compassion: these two verbs do not have the same meaning; one indicates action, the other speaks of the emotion that prompts the action. A translation may wish to reverse the two statements. To vindicate is a term from the law court, meaning that the judge gives judgment in favor of an accused person, thereby demonstrating that that person is innocent of wrongdoing.

His people … his servants: again, these are exact parallels. His servants should not be taken to indicate only those who serve God in priestly functions; it means all the Israelites. An alternative model reversing the order of the two lines is the following:

• The LORD will have mercy on [or feel sorry for] his servants the Israelites and will declare them innocent.

When he sees that their power is gone: the literal meaning should be expressed; God will act when he becomes aware of his people’s pitiful situation.

There is none remaining, bond or free: the text as translated seems to say that all the Israelites will have disappeared. The exaggerated language of poetry allows for this, and the translator should keep this meaning. A possible alternative translation model is:

• And no Israelite, whether slave or free person, remains alive.

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 .