Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G Messagehow they attacked you from behind on the road, striking down all who were lagging at the rear when you were exhausted and worn out. They had no fear of God.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.Ghow he met you on the road and cut down all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary — and he did not fear Elohim.
KJV
King James VersionHow he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
BSB
Berean Standard Biblehow they met you on your journey when you were tired and weary, and they attacked all your stragglers; they had no fear of God.
Footnotes
The verb *qarakha* (rendered "met you" in FOG) is linguistically layered. Its root *qara* means simply "to meet/encounter," but many commentators detect wordplay with *qor* ("cold") — suggesting a cold-blooded, calculated attack — or *mikreh* ("chance/accident") — implying a pretended chance encounter that masked a predatory ambush. The attack on the *nacheshalim* ("the faint/enfeebled ones") — those at the rear, too weak to keep pace — reveals deliberate targeting of the vulnerable. This is the antithesis of covenant justice (*tsedeq*) and the antithesis of the widow-protecting, stranger-welcoming society Deuteronomy envisions. The climactic charge *lo yare Elohim* ("he did not fear Elohim") frames the entire episode as theological rebellion, not merely military aggression. FOG preserves the ambiguity of "met you"; FOG Message uses "attacked from behind" to foreground the treachery.