All Israel: that is, all the people of Israel.

Turned aside: see verse 5. The verb is used here in parallel with transgressed (violated or broken).

Thy law: the use of the singular to refer to the whole range of God’s commands may be natural in some languages, but in others the plural form will be required.

Obey thy voice: see verse 10 on the expression as a whole. And note the comment in the previous verses on the pronoun usage and on the terms “listen” and “obey.”

The curse and oath: this is another case of the figure of speech where two Hebrew nouns joined by “and” are used to convey a single idea. It has been rendered “the sworn malediction” (New American Bible, Anchor Bible), “the curse embodied in the oath” (An American Translation), and “the curse … which was solemnly threatened” (Moffatt). Since the terms curse and oath are singular in the Hebrew, the Good News Translation plural “curses” may be seen as a translation of both. Many languages will not have two different terms to use here that have approximately the same meaning. On the curses referred to, see Deut 27.14-26 and 28.15-68.

Which are written in the law of Moses: since the passive form may be troublesome to some translators, this may be rendered “which the Law of Moses talks about,” “which the Law of Moses describes,” or possibly even “which we can read in the Law of Moses.”

The servant of God: or “your servant, O God,” which will probably be more natural in the context of this prayer. Compare verse 6, where the prophets are also specifically described as God’s servants.

Have been poured out upon us: this is obviously figurative language. The image of pouring curses may not be at all natural in many languages. In English it has been rendered “rained down on us” (Revised English Bible) and “vented on us” (Moffatt), but these are still figurative and may not be helpful in other languages. In some cases translators may prefer to say “caused to fall on us” or simply “made happen to us.”

The whole second sentence of this verse can possibly be restructured as follows: “So because of our disobedience, you have caused us to receive the curses that are described in the Law of Moses, your servant.”

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .