Verse 15 in Hebrew is quite wordy, and Good News Translation has tried to reduce the number of words without loss of meaning. It is possible, however, to do even better. Since it is clear in the readers’ mind that Joshua is now addressing the tribes east of the Jordan (verse 12), it may not be necessary to mention explicitly west of the Jordan. The last part of verse 14 and the first part of verse 15 may then be rendered, “in order to help them 15 occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving them.” As previously noted, it may be necessary to say “the LORD our God” in place of “the LORD your God.”

Joshua foresees the time when all resistance is crushed and all the tribes of Israel are safe in their territories. The emphasis throughout is on the LORD’s power: he will give the western tribes safety (as in verse 13), as he has to the eastern tribes; he is giving them the land. Has given safety to all the tribes of Israel may be rendered “has given all the tribes of Israel a place where they can live in safety.” The Hebrew verb rendered given safety to in Good News Translation does not always include the idea of “safety” but may mean “to give a place to live” or “to give a home to.” After the land on the west side is occupied, then the two and one-half tribes can return to their own territories on the east side (literally “beyond the Jordan toward the rising of the sun”).

Although the Hebrew text once again qualifies Moses as the LORD’s servant, the repetition of this phrase may be unnatural and unnecessary in some languages. One may delete it and render “which Moses gave to you.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .