SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 1:11

1:11a

Go through the camp and tell the people: This verse gives the content of the command that Joshua gave to the officers. It is in direct speech. In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech. For example:

10 Joshua commanded the officers of the people 11 to pass through the camp and command the people

the camp: The Israelites lived in tents. The word camp refers to the area where they set up their tents.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verseː

walk all through the camping place and tell the people
-or-
walk by all the tents and order the people
-or-
go through the tent area and command the people

1:11b

Prepare your provisions: This clause is a speech within a speech. It continues to the end of the verse. Consider whether direct or indirect speech is more appropriate in your language.

provisions: The term provisions refers to food that the Israelites took with them.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Get your food supplies ready
-or-
Prepare food to take with you

1:11c

for: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the reason why the Israelites had to get food ready. They were going to cross the Jordan River and conquer the land of Canaan.

within three days: The Israelites counted days inclusively. They began with the day from which they were counting.

Here is another way to translate the phrase within three days ː

the day after tomorrow

you will cross the Jordan: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you will cross the Jordan indicates that the Israelites will cross the Jordan River. Joshua will cross the river with the people. In some languages it may be more natural to use “we (incl.) ” instead of you.

the Jordan: See the note on 1:2b.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River (New Century Version)
-or-
the day after tomorrow we (incl.) are going to cross the Jordan River

1:11d

to go in and take possession: The clause go in and take possession states the reason why the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River. The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as take possession indicates that they would take the land to be their own.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

to occupy the land
-or-
to conquer the land

the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess: The clause the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess indicates that Yahweh is giving them the land to be their own. It will belong to them.

your: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as your is plural. Joshua and the leaders were included in those who worshiped God. In some languages it may be more natural to say “our (incl.) God” instead of “your God.”

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

in order to occupy the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as your own
-or-
and take the land that Yahweh our (incl.) God is giving us to live in

General Comment on 1:11b-d

In some languages it is more natural to put the reason for an action (1:11c-d) before the action itself (1:11b). For example:

11c The day after tomorrow you will cross the Jordan River 11d to conquer the land which Yahweh your God is giving you. 11b So get ready food to take with you.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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