Joshua was now very old: it is impossible to state precisely how many years had elapsed since the death of Moses. Notice in Exodus 33.11 that Joshua is referred to as a youth; in Joshua 11.18 the campaigns in Canaan are said to have taken a long time; and in 24.29 it is reported that Joshua was 110 years old when he died.

Very old translates the Hebraic idiom “old and gone forward in days,” which signifies a considerable time lapse. In order to indicate more accurately the temporal relation between this and the previous events, Joshua was now very old may be translated “Many years had gone by, and Joshua was now an old man.”

Some transitional marker may be necessary to connect The LORD said to him with the previous statement. For example, “One day the LORD said to him.”

In place of You are very old, it may be more effective if the Lord says “You do not have much longer to live,” which seems to be the point in focus. That is, Joshua does not have much longer to live, but there is still much land to be taken. This second clause may be shifted to an active clause: “And there is still much land that you have not taken (or, conquered).”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .