Paragraph 3:14-17
The water of the Jordan River stopped flowing and the Israelites crossed on dry ground.
3:14a
So: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So is more literally “and it was.” It marks the return to the narrative after Joshua’s speech. The story continues after the Israelites listened to what Joshua said. Translate this return to the narrative in a way that is natural in your language.
when the people broke camp: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as broke camp is more literally “pull out.” It refers to pulling out the tent pegs and taking down their tents.
The clause when the people broke camp indicates that the Israelite people took down their tents and left the place where they stayed. They took their tents with them.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
when the people took down their tents and set out
-or-
when the people set out from the place where they had been camping
3:14b
to cross the Jordan: Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:
to cross the Jordan River
3:14c
the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant in front of the people
-or-
The priests carried the covenant box ⌊on poles on their shoulders⌋ ahead of the people
General Comment on 3:14a-c
Some English versions follow the Hebrew in making this a dependent clause. In some languages it may be more natural to start a new sentence here, and make this be an independent sentence, like the Berean Standard Bible does.
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