Beginning with verse 2 the Lord gives Joshua his instructions, with the assurance that he, God, is handing the city of Jericho and all its inhabitants into the power of Joshua. The victory will be the Lord’s doing; the Israelites are not to mount a military campaign against the city but are to engage in a religious procession around the city. The instructions are explicit: once a day, for six consecutive days, the Israelite army is to march around the city; seven priests, followed by the Covenant Box, will lead the procession. Each priest is to carry a trumpet, an instrument made of a ram’s horn. It seems quite clear in verse 4 that only on the seventh day were the priests to blow the trumpets; in contrast, the single march around the city on each of the six preceding days was to be made in silence. But in the execution of the plan (verses 8-14) the trumpets are blown every time the Israelites march around the city.
A transitional marker may be required at the beginning of this verse; Luther Rev has “But”; others may prefer “Then.” It is also possible to translate “But one day” or “Then one day.”
Putting into your hands translates the Hebrew idiom “given into your hand” (Revised Standard Version). In some languages it may be necessary either to utilize a known idiom or else to translate without the use of an idiomatic expression. Moreover, it may be useful, if not obligatory, to use two verbs in the place of this one. For example, “I will let you conquer the city of Jericho. You will defeat its king and all its brave soldiers.” Or “I am placing in your power the city of Jericho with its king and all its men of war.” It is legitimate to translate brave soldiers (Revised Standard Version “men of valor”) as “men of war,” since the Hebrew expression focuses more upon their strength than upon their bravery. A literal rendering of the Hebrew would be more nearly “strong men of war.”
In Hebrew the conjunction and is lacking in the phrase with its king and all its brave soldiers. For this reason New English Bible assumes that all its brave soldiers is not an original part of the Hebrew text, and drops it in translation. Jerusalem Bible, on the other hand, transfers it into verse 3, as subject of the verb rendered march around by Good News Translation. There is no textual evidence for its omission, and the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project indicates that it should be retained in its present position. They assume that the elliptical (that is, abbreviated) form of the Hebrew actually means “although they are mighty warriors.”
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 .