3:10a

The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated and many English versions translate as “And” indicates the next action in the story.

He continued: There is some implied information here. In verse 9b Joshua told the people to “come here.” The people came, and then Joshua continued to speak.

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

⌊after the people had come⌋ Joshua said
-or-

⌊the people came together and then⌋ Joshua said

This is how you will know: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as This is how is more literally “in this” or “by this.” It refers to what Joshua will say in 3:11-13.

that the living God: Joshua refers to Yahweh as the living God. This means that Yahweh is alive, and that he acts to help his people. The Israelites will know he is alive by the things he does.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

the God who has life
-or-
the God who always lives

is among you: The phrase among you means that God was with the Israelites.

Joshua was also an Israelite. In some languages it may be better to say:

is among us (incl.)

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

⌊After the people gathered,⌋ Joshua said to them, “By this you will know that the God who is alive is with you
-or-

⌊When the people had come,⌋ Joshua told them, “This is how you will know that the God who has life is with us

3:10b

and that He will surely drive out before you: The Hebrew words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He will surely drive out are more literally “drive out he will drive out.” This is a Hebrew idiom that indicates emphasis. Yahweh will certainly drive the Canaanites out of the land. He will take away the land from them and give it to the Israelites. Some languages have a grammatical marker or particle to indicate this emphasis.

before you: The phrase before you can also be translated “in front of you” or “ahead of you.”

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

as you go forward, he will certainly drive out…

Joshua was one of the Israelites. In some languages it may be more natural to say:

from before us (incl.)

the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: These seven groups of people lived in the land of Canaan. This list is the same as the list in Deuteronomy 7:1.

The suffix “ite” is an English suffix that means “people.” It does not come from Hebrew. The Hebrew name of these seven groups is similar to this:

Canaan people, Hitti people, Hiw people, Periz people, Girgash people, Amor people, Yabus people

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

Yahweh will surely force these groups of people to leave from before you: the Canaan people, the Hitti people, the Hiw people, the Periz people, the Girgash people, the Amor people and the Jebus people
-or-
As you go forward, he will certainly drive out the Canaan group, the Hitti group, the Hiw group, the Periz group, the Girgash group, the Amor group and the Yabus group

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