5:15a

The Commander of the LORD’s army replied: It may not be natural in some languages to repeat the whole phrase The Commander of the LORD’s army again. It may be more natural to refer to the Commander as “the man” or by the pronoun “he.” For example:

he said to Joshua
-or-
the man said to Joshua

5:15b-c

Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy: This command is the same as the one that God gave Moses in Exodus 3:5 when Moses stood before the burning bush.

5:15b

Take off your sandals: The command Take off your sandals means that Joshua must take off his shoes.

sandals: The people of that time wore sandals on their feet. If you have a word that means sandals in your language, it would be more accurate to use it. Otherwise the generic word “shoes” is appropriate.

5:15c

for the place where you are standing is holy: The place where Joshua is standing is holy because of the presence of the man, or the angel, who represents God. The word holy means that something or someone is set apart for God.

5:15d

And Joshua did so: Joshua obeyed the commander’s orders and took off his shoes.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

And Joshua obeyed him

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