The twenty-one representatives of the seven tribes carry out Joshua’s instructions, which are repeated (verse 8b).

In verses 8-9 there is a great deal of repetition (see Revised Standard Version), some of which is carried over into Good News Translation. For example, The men went on their way to map out the land (8a) is essentially repeated in the first sentence of verse 9 (So the men went all over the land … a list of the towns). If these two verses are rendered as unit, considerable space may be saved. For example:

• Joshua told the men who had been selected, “Go through all the land and write down its description. Then bring the description back here to me, so that I can ask the LORD how to divide the land among your tribes.” The men went through all the land and described it in seven sections. They also made a list of the towns in each section. Then they returned to Joshua in Shiloh.

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 .