Verse 9 deals with another set of twelve stones, which Joshua placed in the river exactly where the priests … had stood. The writer of the account added the note: “And they are there to this day”—that is, to the time when this comment was written.

Joshua also set up twelve stones must not be interpreted to mean that Joshua himself did this particular work. Joshua is the one responsible for having it done, but the implication is that he gave the orders and others did the work. One may need to translate “Joshua also commanded (or, caused) the men to set up twelve stones….” Or, if one assumes that the men who set up the stones in the middle of the Jordan were not the same as the ones who had carried the stones to the camping place, one may translate “Joshua also had some men to set up twelve stones….”

Good News Translation places the last sentence of this verse, (Those stones are still there), within parentheses in order to indicate that this is an added comment. The force of the parentheses may be lost on readers who are lacking a certain degree of sophistication, and most translations do not use parentheses here.

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 .