This verse contains three pairs of terms that mean the same thing, making for an effective and attractive style in Hebrew. If they are natural and effective, a translation should try to match them.

Be strong and of good courage: see 3.28. This is expressed in New Revised Standard Version as “Be strong and bold”; New Jerusalem Bible has “Be strong, stand firm,” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “Be strong and resolute,” Good News Translation “Be determined and confident”; or we may say something like “Keep your heart strong and don’t let it waver.”

Do not fear or be in dread: fear and dread mean exactly the same thing, and there may be difficulty in finding two words that will fit naturally. See 1.21, 29. A different way of saying this may be useful in some languages: “Don’t let them frighten you or terrify you.”

It is the LORD your God who goes with you: the idea is not simply to accompany the Israelites, but to provide them leadership and help; God is on their side. So Contemporary English Version has “will always be at your side.” However, in languages where translators are using direct speech, we may say, for example, “I, Yahweh your God, will always be at your side.”

He will not fail you or forsake you: see a similar promise in 4.31. To fail someone is to not keep a promise, not to do what you have promised to do. In this context Yahweh would not fail the Israelites by not helping them, as he said he would, or by deserting (forsake) them. Another way to express this sentence is “I will always help you and will never abandon you.”

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 .