Be careful translates the Hebrew verb rendered obey by Good News Translation in verse 6. The root meaning of the verb is “guard” or “keep.” Be careful, then to love represents the Hebrew idiom “And guard exceedingly your souls to love.” The Hebrew word “soul” is here the equivalent of “oneself,” which is the basis for Revised Standard Version “Take good heed to yourselves.” In the context the expression “to guard oneself” seems to mean “to keep your life safe” (see Deut 4.15; Jer 17.27). Thus “to guard yourself carefully to love the LORD” is a way of saying “to keep your lives safe you must be sure to love the LORD.” Finally, to love the LORD your God must surely have the meaning “to love only the LORD your God.” The verse may then be expressed, “Above all else, love the LORD your God. Your very lives depend upon it.”

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 .