Joshua’s question implies that the Israelites have not shown the determination needed to claim the territory that the Lord had already given them.

The Hebrew verb translated to wait means “be inactive” (New English Bible “neglect”; An American Translation “put off”; Jerusalem Bible “How much more time will you waste before…”). Since Joshua’s question does not expect an answer, it may be represented as a statement: “Do not wait any longer before you go in….”

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 .