Translation
and you shall tie them on your hand
Go to footnote numberas a sign and pledge [of something],
Go to footnote numberand they shall be like a band
Go to footnote numberin the interval of space between your eyes [and your brain-case].
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
You must use them to govern your actions and serve as a demonstration of your loyalty to my covenant, and they shall surround your thinking to influence the process that goes on between when you see something and when you decide to do something about it.
Footnotes
1
The hands are the tools that we use to get things done. Therefore, the hands were a symbol for action and accomplishment.
2
This word means “a sign” but it was often used of signs that were pledges of something important, including one’s pledge of loyalty to a covenant Lord.
3
The root word behind this word is simply “a band” without stating its purpose. As such it went all the way around the thing it was on. Thus, its usage points to surrounding something and keeping it bound together.
4
My perception is that something went unstated at the end of this verse. I do not think this band was intended to fill the space between the two eyes (i.e. to cover the bridge of the nose), but rather it was intended to fill the interval of space between the eyes and something else – probably between the eyes and the brain case. Today we know that the frontal bone of the cranium goes down to the eye sockets, but in cases like this, we should not be overly picky, rather we should try to understand the perspective and emphasis of the writer and the original audience. It was a word picture indicating that God’s teaching and His commands were to occupy the space between what we see and how we make decisions. It should influence our decision-making process by being interposed into the middle of the process.