22:16a

This is what the whole congregation of the LORD says: The phrase the whole congregation of the LORD refers to all the Israelite clans who lived on the west side of the Jordan River. They refer to themselves as representing the whole of Israel.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the entire community of Yahweh

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The whole community of Yahweh says ⌊to you⌋
-or-
This is what the entire assembly of Yahweh says:

22:16b–d

What is this breach of faith you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the LORD and building for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel against the LORD this day?: This is a long rhetorical question. It functions as a rebuke. The western clans rebuked the eastern clans for building the altar.

The Berean Standard Bible has translated this question as one long sentence. It may be more natural in some languages to translate it as two or more sentences. For example:

Why have you done this evil thing against the God of Israel? You have rebelled against the Lord by building this altar for yourselves! You are no longer following him! (Good News Translation)

22:16b

What is this breach of faith you have committed today against the God of Israel: This is a rhetorical question that functions as a rebuke. The western clans rebuked the eastern clans for building the altar.

There are two ways to translate this question:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? (New International Version)

• As a statement. For example:

You have acted disloyally and sinned against the God of Israel.
-or-
You have turned against the God of Israel.

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as breach of faith comes from the same root as the word that describes the sin of Achan in 7:1. It means to act unfaithfully or disloyally.

22:16c

by turning away from the LORD: The Hebrew clause is more literally “turn back from after Yahweh.” This is a Hebrew idiom. It indicates that the western clans thought the eastern clans had stopped being faithful to Yahweh. Some languages may have a different idiom to express this meaning.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

you have turned your back on the Lord (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Today you have stopped being faithful to Yahweh
-or-
You have turned back from following Yahweh today

22:16d

and building for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel against the LORD this day: The Israelite leaders thought the clans of Reuben, Gad and the half-clan of Manasseh had rebelled against Yahweh, because they had built an altar other than the one that was in the tent of meeting at Shiloh. This violated the command of Yahweh found in Leviticus 17:8-9. They had acted against God’s Law and disobeyed him.

this day: The phrase this day means “today.”

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Today you have built an altar for yourselves and rebelled against Yahweh.
-or-
How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? (New International Version)
-or-
You have acted against Yahweh’s command and built an altar for yourselves.

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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 23:14–16

23:14a

Now: The connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now is the Hebrew conjunction that joins sentences. Many English versions do not translate this connecting word. Use a connecting word that is natural in your language.

behold: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as behold calls attention to the next statement. Some languages may have grammatical markers that fulfill this function.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Look
-or-
Pay attention (God’s Word)

I am going the way of all the earth: This is a Hebrew idiom which means that Joshua will soon die.

Here are some other ways to translate this idiom:

I will soon die, like everyone else does
-or-
I will not live much longer

23:14b

and you know with all your heart and soul: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you know is plural. It refers to all the Israelites.

your heart and soul: The phrase your heart and soul is a Hebrew idiom that refers to the entire being of a person. In this context it emphasizes the completeness of their knowledge.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

You (plur.) know in your hearts and in your souls
-or-
You (plur.) know with all your being
-or-
Each one of you truly knows this:

23:14c

that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed is more literally “not one thing has fallen.” In some languages it may be more natural to express this in a positive statement. For example, “Everything has happened.”

not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

none of the good words that Yahweh your God has spoken concerning you has failed to happen
-or-
Every one of the promises that Yahweh your God gave to you has happened

23:14d

Everything was fulfilled for you: This means that every word or promise that Yahweh has spoken to them has happened.

not one promise has failed: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as not one promise has failed is more literally “not one word has fallen from them.”

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

All his promises have been fulfilled. None have failed to happen.
-or-
Every single one of the words he spoke to you has come true.

General Comment on 23:14c–d

The negative and positive statements in 14c and 14d mean the same thing. The repetition functions to emphasize that nothing that Yahweh has promised has failed to happen. Every promise he made has come true. Use a natural way in your language to indicate this emphasis.

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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.

24:30a

And: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And introduces the next event in the story line.

they buried him in the land of his inheritance: The Israelites buried Joshua in the land that they had given him. The story of how they gave him this land is in Joshua 19:49.

at Timnath-serah: The town of Timnath-serah was southwest of the town of Shechem. It is mentioned in Joshua 19:50.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

They buried him in the land that he had received, which was the town of Timnath-serah.
-or-
The Israelites buried him in his own land at the town of Timnath-serah.

24:30b

in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash: Mount Gaash is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

It was in the mountain region of the clan of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.
-or-
which was north of Gaash Mountain in the hilly region of the clan of Ephraim

© 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.

1:14a

and your livestock: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as livestock refers to cows and also to sheep and goats. Use a general word for domestic animals.

may remain in the land that Moses gave you: Joshua gave permission to the men of the two and a half tribes to let their families stay in the land east of the Jordan River. The men must cross the Jordan River to help the other Israelites.

on this side of the Jordan: The phrase on this side of the Jordan refers to the east side of the Jordan River. Joshua spoke as if he were already on the west side of the Jordan.

Here are some ways to translate this part of the verse:

Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you ⌊here⌋ on the east side of the Jordan River
-or-
Your wives and children and animals can stay here in the land Moses gave you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Moses gave you this land east of the Jordan River. Your wives, children and animals may stay here

1:14b

But: This word marks a contrast between the men and their families. The fighting men went with the other tribes across the Jordan River to fight alongside them. Their families remained where they had settled on the east side of the Jordan.

all your mighty men of valor must be armed for battle to cross over ahead of your brothers: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as all your mighty men of valor must be armed for battle to cross over ahead of your brothers is more literally “but you shall cross over armed before your brothers, all the mighty men of strength.”

all your mighty men of valor: The phrase all your mighty men of valor refers to every Israelite man who was able to fight. The Israelites did not have a professional army. Every Israelite man who was over twenty years old and was fit to fight was considered a soldier. Avoid a term which will make your readers think that this refers to paid soldiers.

Here are some other ways to translate this phraseː

all the men who can fight
-or-
all the soldiers
-or-
all the fighting men

must be armed for battle to cross over: The phrase must be armed for battle to cross over indicates that the fighting men must cross the Jordan River carrying their weapons. They must be ready to fight.

ahead of your brothers: The phrase ahead of your brothers indicates that the fighting men of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and of half the tribe of Manasseh must cross the Jordan River in front of the other Israelites. All the Israelites were considered to be brothers, or relatives.

your fellow Israelites
-or-
your relatives

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

But all your men who are able to fight must carry their weapons and cross the Jordan River in front of their fellow Israelites
-or-
but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites (New International Version)
-or-
But your strong warriors, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan (New Living Translation (2004))

1:14c

and help them: The clause help them indicates that the two and a half tribes must help the other Israelites to fight and conquer the land on the west side of the Jordan River.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

You must continue to help them fight
-or-
to help them conquer their territory. Stay with them (New Living Translation (2004))

© 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.

3:4a

But: The Hebrew adverb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates a restriction. It can also be translated as “however” or “but.” The Israelites were told to follow behind the covenant box, but they must not get too close to it.

keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark: The clause keep a distance…between yourselves and the ark is a command. The officers told the people to walk a long way behind the covenant box.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

you (plur.) must leave a distance between you and the covenant box

about two thousand cubits: A “cubit” is the length of the forearm, or about half a meter. Two thousand cubits is about one kilometer, or half a mile. Use the units of measurement most familiar in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

However, there must be about half a mile between you and the covenant box.
-or-
But you must stay about one kilometer away from the holy chest.

3:4b

Do not go near it: Here is another way to translate this phrase:

Do not follow it too closely

3:4c

so that: The Hebrew preposition that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that indicates purpose. It can also be translated “in order that” or “that.”

you can see the way to go: The clause you can see the way to go explains the purpose of following the covenant box. The box will lead the Israelites on the path they should take.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

so that you will know which path to go on

since: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as since indicates a reason. It can also be translated as “because.” The covenant box will show them the way because they have not gone on this path before.

you have never traveled this way before: Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:

you have never traveled along this path before

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of these clauses, as the Good News Translation has done:

You have never been here before, so they will show you the way to go. (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 3:4a-b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of these clauses. For example:

4b But do not get near the Covenant Box; 4a stay about half a mile behind it. (Good News Translation)

© 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.

Paragraph 4:19–24

4:19a

On the tenth day of the first month: The first month refers to the month of the Hebrew calendar that was called Abib, and later called Nisan. This month began with the first new moon occurring after March 11. So, the people crossed the Jordan River between March 21 and April 18.

the people went up from the Jordan: The Israelites walked out of the Jordan River and up onto the western bank.

4:19b

and camped: The word camped means that they set up a temporary camp or dwelling place. If there is no appropriate word in your language for “camp” you can translate it:

they set up temporary homes

at Gilgal: Gilgal is the name of a place between Jericho and the Jordan River. At the time when the Israelites camped there, Gilgal was not yet a town. It was given the name Gilgal at the time of their encampment and probably later it became a town. The exact location of Gilgal is not known.

on the eastern border of Jericho: Jericho was a town with a large wall around it for protection against enemies.

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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 6:12–14

6:12a

The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but many English versions translate as “Then” introduces the next event in the storyline. Introduce this event in a way that is natural in your language.

Joshua got up early: There is some implied information. Not only Joshua, but also the priests and the soldiers woke up early.

got up early: The expression got up early means that Joshua (and the army) woke up early in the morning.

In order to make clear the connection between 6:12a and 6:12b-13, it may be helpful to include the implicit information that Joshua led his army back to Jericho for the second day. For example, you could add:

⌊to lead the priests and army back to Jericho for a second day⌋
-or-

⌊and he took them back to Jericho⌋

6:12b

and: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces the next event in the storyline.

the priests took the ark of the LORD: The clause the priests took the ark means that four of the priests picked up the ark to carry it around Jericho.

If you have included the implicit information mentioned in verse 6:12a, it may be necessary to begin a new sentence here.

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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.

7:17a

He had the clans of Judah come forward: The clause He had the clans of Judah come forward indicates that Joshua made each family stand in front of the Tent of Meeting one by one.

clans of Judah: Each “clan” in the tribe of Judah traced their ancestry back to one of the sons of Judah.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Then Joshua brought the clans of Judah to the Lord (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
He then had the clans of Judah come forward (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

7:17b

and the clan of the Zerahites was selected: Zerah was one of the sons of Judah. The clan of Zerah included all the descendants of Zerah.

Zerahites: In Numbers 26:20 the man Zerah is shown as the head of one of the clans of the tribe of Judah.

Here are some other ways to translate Zerahites :

the Zerah clan (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the descendants of Zerah
-or-
the Zerah branch of the Judah tribe

was selected: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was selected indicates that Yahweh chose the clan of Zerah. In some languages it may be necessary to translate this with an active verb. For example:

Yahweh chose the clan of Zerah

7:17c

(New International Version) he had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families: The pronoun he refers to Joshua.

(New International Version) had the clan of the Zerahites come forward: Joshua made the households in the clan of Zerah come and stand in front of the Tent of Meeting.

(New International Version) by families: There is a textual issue in this verse that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated.

(1) Some Hebrew manuscripts, and the Syriac translation and Latin Vulgate translation say family by family. For example:

And he had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families (New International Version)

(New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Living Translation (2004), New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation)

(2) The Hebrew Masoretic text says man by man. For example:

And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man (English Standard Version)

(English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). “Family by family” fits the context better because it agrees with verse 7:14c.

7:17d

and the family of Zabdi: Zabdi was the grandfather of Achan. He was mentioned in 7:1. Achan was a part of Zabdi’s family.

was selected: Yahweh chose Zabdi. This showed that someone in Zabdi’s family was guilty. The verb was selected is passive. It may be necessary in some languages to use an active verb. For example:

the Lord showed that Zabdi’s family was guilty (Contemporary English Version)

© 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.