2:4a

But: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But is usually used to indicate the next event in a narrative. However, Rahab hid the two men before the soldiers came to her. The Berean Standard Bible translates this conjunction as But to show that something unexpected happened. Choose a connecting word which sounds natural for this situation.

the woman had taken the two men and hidden them: The context of the story shows that Rahab hid the men before she spoke to the soldiers. English versions indicate this by using the pluperfect tense had taken them. Languages have various ways to indicate events that are not reported in order. Translate this clause in a way that is natural for events that are not reported in order.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

⌊Before the soldiers arrived,⌋ the woman hid the two men
-or-
The woman had already hidden the two men ⌊before she spoke to the king’s messengers⌋

2:4b

So she said: Rahab replied to the people that the king had sent.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

So she answered ⌊them⌋ ,

2:4c

Yes, the men did come to me: Here is another way to translate this phrase:

It is true that the men came to me
-or-
That’s right. The men did come to my house.

but I did not know where they had come from: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as where they had come from is more literally “but I did not know from where they ⌊were⌋ .”

Here is another way to translate this part of the phrase:

but I didn’t know where they were from (New Living Translation (2004))

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

3:12

Now: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now is more literally “and now.” Its function is to introduce a new thought. This thought is about the twelve men who have an important part in crossing the Jordan River. Their role is explained further in chapter 4. This sentence interrupts the instructions about the priests and the covenant box.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

So
-or-
Therefore

choose twelve men: The reason why they chose these twelve men is not explained until Joshua 4:3.

from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe: Joshua told each of the twelve tribes of Israel to choose one man from their tribe.

Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:

So, choose twelve men, one man from each tribe of Israel

The instructions about these twelve men are not finished until Joshua 4:3. It may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:

So, choose twelve men, one man from each tribe of Israel. ⌊Later I will tell you what they should do.⌋

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

5:3a

So Joshua made flint knives: It may be more natural in some languages not to repeat the information contained in the previous verse.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

So Joshua did so
-or-
Then Joshua made the knives

5:3b

and circumcised the sons of Israel: The phrase the sons of Israel refers to the Israelite men who were not yet circumcised. Women were not circumcised.

at Gibeath-haaraloth: The phrase Gibeath-haaraloth is a Hebrew phrase meaning “hill of the foreskins.” It may be better to translate the meaning of this phrase. For example:

Circumcision Hill (Good News Translation)
-or-
the hill of the foreskins (King James Version)

If you transliterate the phrase Gibeath-haaraloth, a footnote may be helpful. Here is a sample footnote:

FOOTNOTE: Gibeath-haaraloth means “hill of the foreskins”

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

6:20a

So: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So indicates that the action in this verse is done in response to Joshua’s instructions in 6:16–19.

when the ram’s horn sounded, the people shouted: These two actions happened at the same time.

the rams’ horns sounded: Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the priests blew the trumpets

6:20b

When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout: These two actions happened at the same time. The words to describe them here and in 6:20a are in a different order.

General Comment on 6:20a-b

Although the Berean Standard Bible and the Hebrew text of 6:20a-b make it appear that the people shouted twice, this is unlikely. It is recommended that you reorder this verse in a way that makes clear that the people only shouted once. The trumpet blast and the shout happened together.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
So the troops shouted very loudly when they heard the blast of the rams’ horns, (God’s Word)

6:20c

and the wall collapsed: The clause the wall collapsed indicates that the wall collapsed and fell down to the ground.

6:20d

Then: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then indicates that the Israelite soldiers could enter the town as a result of the wall falling down. Use a connecting word that is natural in your language.

Here is another way to translate this Hebrew word:

so that (Revised Standard Version)

all the people charged straight into the city: The clause the people charged straight into the city indicates that the soldiers entered the town to conquer it.

straight into the city: Jericho was built at the top of a hill or a mound. The soldiers went straight into the city.

6:20e

and captured it: The clause and captured it indicates that the Israelite soldiers defeated the soldiers of Jericho and captured the town.

General Comment on 6:16–20

In 6:16b-c, Joshua gave the command to shout, and in 6:20 the army shouted. In 6:17–19 Joshua gives instructions about the capture of Jericho. But 6:17–19 seems unusual and may be a parenthesis between 6:16 and 6:20. It may be that these instructions had already been given to the army, but the author repeats them in summary form here. This was the time for the army to carry out these commands.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

7:25a

Why have you brought this trouble upon us?: This is a rhetorical question. It functions as a rebuke. Joshua rebuked Achan because he stole the devoted things and caused the Israelites to lose the battle of Ai.

Here are two ways to translate this rebuke:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Why did you bring this disaster on us? (God’s Word)

• As a statement or exclamation. For example:

You have brought a lot of trouble on us (excl.)
-or-
I don’t know why you caused so much trouble for us! (New Century Version)

Express this rebuke in a natural way in your language.

brought this trouble: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as brought…trouble is the same word that Joshua used in 6:18. You should use the same word to translate it here as you did in that verse.

The Hebrew word for brought…trouble sounds like “Achor” the name of the valley.

7:25b

said Joshua: The Hebrew has this phrase at the beginning of 7:25a and begins with a word that many English versions translate as “and.” This word introduces the next event in the storyline. Indicate the next event in a way that is natural in your language.

In some languages it may be clearer to make the connection to the previous event explicit. For example:

⌊When they arrived there,⌋ Joshua said

Joshua addressed Achan with a rhetorical question in 7:25a. If you translate it as a question, you need to think about how to introduce a question in your language. In some languages it may be more natural to say:

Joshua asked

7:25c

Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you: Because Achan took the things that belonged to Yahweh, Yahweh punished Achan.

7:25d

And: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And indicates the next event in the storyline.

all Israel: The phrase all Israel means all the people of Israel.

stoned him to death: The phrase stoned him to death means that they threw stones at him until he died.

7:25e

Then they stoned the others: The stoning of Achan is mentioned first because he was the person who sinned. However, Achan’s family must die also.

The Hebrew clauses are not in chronological order. In some languages it may be clearer to rearrange them. First people stoned Achan, then they stoned his family, then they burned their bodies and their possessions.

and burned their bodies: There is disagreement among scholars as to whether their bodies refers to Achan’s possessions, or to the bodies of Achan and his family. Most English versions understand their bodies to refer to both the bodies and the possessions.

General Comment on 7:25d-e

These clauses can be reordered chronologically. It is also possible to include the implied information that Achan’s possessions were with him.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

All the people then stoned Achan to death; they also stoned and burned his family and possessions (Good News Translation)
-or-
And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies (New Living Translation (2004))

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

8:31a

just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites: Moses gave the Israelites this command in Deuteronomy 27:1-13. It may be clearer to translate this dependent clause as an independent sentence. For example, you could say:

This is what Moses, the servant of Yahweh, commanded the Israelites to do

Moses the servant of the LORD: Translate the title servant of the LORD as you did in 1:1.

8:31b

He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: The phrase the Book of the Law of Moses refers to Deuteronomy, where these instructions were written down.

the Book of the Law of Moses: The phrase Law of Moses refers to the teachings, or instructions, of Moses.

8:31c

an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used: There is implied information. Joshua made an altar of unhewn stones. It may be more natural to state this information as an independent sentence. For example:

⌊Joshua built⌋ an altar out of stones that had not been cut with an iron tool

uncut stones: The phrase uncut stones can also be translated as “unhewn stones.” It indicates that no one used any tool to chisel the stones or cut them up. An “altar of uncut stones” is mentioned in Exodus 20:25 and in Deuteronomy 27:5.

no iron tool has been used: The clause no iron tool has been used indicates that no person used a tool to cut or shape the stones.

8:31d

And on it they offered burnt offerings to the LORD: Probably the priests offered the sacrifices on behalf of the Israelites. It may be more natural in some languages to make this explicit. For example:

and ⌊the priests⌋ offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar

burnt offerings: The phrase burnt offerings refers to animals that were totally burned up as an atonement for sins. See Leviticus 1:1-17 for more information about burnt offerings.

8:31e

and they sacrificed peace offerings: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sacrificed describes the same action as “offered burnt offerings” in 8:31d. It may be clearer in some languages to use the same verb to refer to both sacrifices.

peace offerings: The phrase peace offerings refers to sacrifices in which only part of the animal was burned. The rest of the animal was eaten by the worshipers. Many English versions refer to these offerings as “fellowship offerings.” The person who ate the animal had fellowship with Yahweh. See Leviticus 3:1-17 for more information about peace offerings.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Section 10:1–27 Five Canaanite Kings attacked the Israelites

The kings of five Canaanite towns joined together to fight against Gibeon. Because the Israelites had a peace treaty with Gibeon, they helped them in their fight. Yahweh helped the Israelites by sending down hailstones on the Canaanites, and by causing the sun to stop moving so that the Israelites could continue their victory. The five Canaanite kings were captured and put to death.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Israel defeated the Canaan group
-or-
The sun stood still

Paragraph 10:1–5

10:1a

Now: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now introduces a series of dependent clauses in 1a-e.

Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard: In 9:1–2 the kings who ruled on the west side of the Jordan River heard about Joshua and the amazing things that Yahweh had done for the Israelites. In 10:1 the kings who ruled in Southern Canaan heard similar news. The word heard at the beginning of chapters 9, 10, and 11 gives a thematic unity to these chapters. It is recommended that you translate the word heard at the beginning of each of these chapters in a way that keeps this thematic unity but is also natural in your language.

Adoni-zedek: The name Adoni-zedek means “My master is righteous” in Hebrew. Some English versions hyphenate this name and other versions write it as one word. For example:

Adonizedek (Good News Translation)

Jerusalem: At this time Jerusalem was a Canaanite town. The people of Israel did not yet live there.

that Joshua had captured Ai: The clause Joshua had captured Ai indicates that Joshua and his army captured the town of Ai, and defeated it.

10:1b

and devoted it to destruction: The phrase devoted it to destruction indicates that Joshua and his army completely destroyed the town and everything in it. There was nothing left but rubble.

10:1c

doing to Ai and its king: The clause doing to Ai and its king means that Joshua and his army killed the people who lived in the town of Ai and also killed the king of Ai.

as he had done to Jericho and its king: The clause as he had done to Jericho means that Joshua treated these two towns in the same way. He killed the people of Jericho along with their king, and he also killed the people who lived in Ai and their king.

10:1d

and that the people of Gibeon: The phrase the people of Gibeon refers to the people who lived in the towns of Gibeon.

had made peace with Israel: The clause made peace with Israel refers to the peace treaty that the Gibeonite leaders made with the Israelite leaders.

10:1e

and were living near them: The clause were living near them indicates that the Gibeonites lived in the same area as the Israelites.

General Comment on 10:1a-e

This sentence in the Berean Standard Bible is long and complex. The main verb of the sentence does not come until verse 2. Verse 1 consists of background information. The first action in the story is in verse 2. It may be clearer in some languages to translate verse 1 as two or three independent sentences. For example:

1a Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured 1b and completely destroyed Ai 1c and killed its king just as he had destroyed the town of Jericho and killed its king. 1d He also learned that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel 1e and were now their allies. (New Living Translation (2004))

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 10:33

10:33a

At that time Horam king of Gezer: Horam is the only king in this list of kings and towns who is mentioned by name. The grammar of this sentence is also different from the usual narrative storyline pattern in Hebrew.

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as At that time indicates that the action that follows has special prominence. This verse stands at the center of the narrative about these seven towns. It emphasizes the military leadership of Joshua because Horam king of Gezer came to the help of Lachish. However, Joshua and the Israelites defeated both Horam’s army and the army of Lachish. Some English versions give prominence to this verse in the following ways:

During this same time King Horam of Gezer came to help Lachish (New Century Version)
-or-
During the attack on Lachish, King Horam of Gezer arrived with his army to help defend the town (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
At that time King Horam of Gezer had come to help Lachish (God’s Word)

Gezer: The town of Gezer is probably about 35 kilometers north of Lachish.

went to help Lachish: The phrase went to help is used in a military sense. It indicates that the king and his army came prepared to fight a battle.

10:33b

but: The Berean Standard Bible used the word but here to indicate that what happens is surprising and not what was expected.

Joshua struck him down along with his people: The clause Joshua struck him down along with his people indicates that Joshua and the Israelite army killed the king of Gezer and his army.

leaving no survivors: The clause leaving no survivors indicates that the Israelite army continued to attack the army of the king of Gezer until every soldier had died.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.