18:3a
So Joshua said to the Israelites: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Joshua asked the people of Israel
-or-
So Joshua spoke to the Israelites. He said, (NIRV)
18:3b
How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?: This is a rhetorical question. It functions as a rebuke. Joshua rebuked the Israelites because they had not taken the land that God gave them.
Here are two ways to translate this rebuke:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? (New International Version)
• As a rebuke. For example:
You should not have waited so long to take possession of the land that Yahweh the God of your ancestors has given you
-or-
Do not delay any longer. Go and settle in the land that Yahweh has given you. He is the God whom your ancestors worshiped.
Translate this as a natural rebuke in your language.
How long will you put off: The Hebrew participle that the Berean Standard Bible translates as put off indicates that the Israelite people were lazy, or slow to act.
you: This is a plural you. Joshua spoke to the people of Israel.
entering and possessing the land: The clause entering and possessing the land indicates that the Israelites should enter the land to live in it. They had conquered the land but they had not yet settled down in it.
the God of your fathers: The term the God of your fathers indicates that Yahweh was the God whom their ancestors had worshiped.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Why are you (plur.) waiting so long to claim the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?
-or-
Do not delay any longer to go in and settle in the land that Yahweh has given you. He is the God whom your ancestors worshiped.
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