6:4a

The Hebrew conjunction that Berean Standard Bible and many English versions leave untranslated can also be translated as “and.” For example:

And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns (Revised Standard Version)

Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns: The clause Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns is a command. The priests are to carry the seven horns.

There is some implied information. Verse 6:9 makes it clear that the priests blew the horns as they carried them. If it is clearer in your language you may include that information in this verse.

seven rams’ horns: A “ram” is a male sheep. These horns were musical instruments made from the horns of male sheep. Female sheep also have horns, but the horns of male sheep are usually larger.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

trumpets made from horns of male sheep (New Century Version)
-or-
sheep horn trumpets

6:4b

in front of the ark: The phrase in front of the ark means that the priests were to walk in front of the ark.

the ark: The term the ark refers to the wooden box that was the symbol of Yahweh’s presence. See how you translated this term in 3:3.

6:4c

Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times: This is a command. On the first six days they were to walk around the town once a day. On the seventh day they must walk around the town seven times.

march around: The phrase march around is a plural command that refers to Joshua, the seven priests who carried the horns, the four priests who carried the ark, and the soldiers. These people walked around the town in a group together.

6:4d

while the priests blow the horns: On the seventh day, the priests blew the horns continuously as they walked around the town seven times.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the priests must blow their trumpets without stopping while you walk

General Comment on 6:4–20

In this and following verses, the “rams’ horns” are sometimes referred to as “trumpets” and sometimes as “horns.” It may be clearer to choose one term for these trumpets that is natural in your language and then continue to use the same term each time.

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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.

7:9a

When: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When introduces more of Joshua’s thoughts about Israel’s defeat. Some English versions translate this as “For” and others omit it. Use a natural option for your language in this context.

the Canaanites and all who live in the land: This phrase refers to all the people of the country. The Canaanites were one of the groups of people who lived in the land of Canaan.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

The Canaanites and all the other people in this country (New Century Version)

Canaanites: The name Canaanites refers to the people who live in Canaan.

Here is another way to translate this word:

Canaan people

hear about this: The phrase hear about this indicates that the people who lived in the land will find out that Israel was defeated by Ai.

7:9b

they will surround us: The clause they will surround us states the result of their defeat. After the people hear about Israel’s defeat at Ai, they will attack Israel. In some languages it may be clearer to make the result explicit. For example,

The Canaanites and other people in the land will hear about this. Then they will surround us ⌊and attack us (excl.)⌋

and wipe out our name from the earth: The Hebrew expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wipe out our name from the earth is an idiom. It includes two ideas:

(a) They will kill all the Israelites.

(b) When the Israelites are dead, no one will speak their names or remember them anymore.

In some languages it may be clearer to express both these ideas. For example:

Then they will kill us (excl.) all, and no one will remember us anymore

7:9c

Then: The Hebrew connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces another result of their defeat. Some English versions do not translate this connector. For example:

What will you do to protect your great reputation? (NET Bible)

what will You do for Your great name?: In modern English this reads: what will You do for Your great name? This is a rhetorical question. It functions as a strong statement that God’s reputation will be damaged.

Here are two ways to translate this strong statement:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

And then what will happen to the honor of your great name? (New Living Translation (2004))

• As a statement. For example:

Then people will dishonor your great name. You will not be able to let them know how great you are.

Express this strong statement in a natural way in your language.

great name: The phrase great name refers to what people think about God. People thought that Yahweh was a great and powerful God. A god should be able to give his people success in battle.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

What will you do to protect your great reputation? (NET Bible)
-or-
You will not be able to make people believe that you are a great God

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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.

8:15a

The Hebrew connector that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but many English versions translate as “And” indicates the next event in the story.

Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them: Joshua and the Israelite soldiers pretended that the soldiers of Ai were winning the battle by running away from them.

all Israel: The phrase all Israel refers to the Israelite soldiers.

8:15b

and they fled toward the wilderness: The word fled means “ran away.” The Israelite soldiers ran away towards the wilderness.

the wilderness: The wilderness refers to the uninhabited land east of Ai, between Ai and the Jordan River valley. Only a little vegetation grows in this area. Although some English versions use the word “desert,” this area is not sand. It is a rocky area that leads down to the Jordan River valley.

© 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.

9:12a

This bread of ours: The Gibeonites said This bread of ours to call attention to the old bread they brought with them. In some languages it may be better to translate this as an imperative command, or as a rhetorical question. For example:

Look, see what our bread is like!
-or-
See this dry, crumbly bread of ours? (Contemporary English Version)

9:12b

was warm when we packed it at home: The clause was warm indicates that they had just finished baking the bread. It was warm because they took it out of the oven. If people are not familiar with making bread, it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:

it was hot out of the oven on the day we packed the food when we left our homes (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
we had just baked this bread and it was still warm when we took it from our houses

on the day we left to come to you: The phrase on the day we left to come to you refers to the day that the Gibeonites started their trip to the Israelite camp.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

on the day we left our houses

The phrase on the day we left to come to you may be incorporated into the first verse part, as in Contemporary English Version above. It may also be left as implicit information and not translated, as in New Century Version:

Look at our bread. On the day we left home to come to you it was warm and fresh (New Century Version)

9:12c

But take a look: The phrase But take a look calls attention to something important. It emphasizes that the journey was long because the bread is all dried up. Show this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

it is now dry and moldy: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as moldy is used only three times in the Old Testament. The meaning is uncertain. You should translate it the same way you did in 9:5b.

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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.

10:17a

And Joshua was informed: The phrase Joshua was informed indicates that somebody spoke to Joshua. This passive form makes it possible to leave the speaker unnamed. Use a form in your language to indicate that the speaker is not known.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Someone told Joshua
-or-
Joshua heard the news that
-or-
Joshua’s soldiers told him (Contemporary English Version)

10:17b

The five kings have been found: The clause The five kings have been found is a passive construction. If a passive construction is not natural, it is possible to translate this clause in the active voice.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

We have found the five kings
-or-
They have found the five enemy kings.

they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah: The town of Makkedah was mentioned in 10:10. It may be more natural in some languages to translate the clause hiding in the cave at Makkedah as an independent sentence. For example:

They are hiding in a cave near the town of Makkeda

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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.

13:3a-d

The Berean Standard Bible adds parentheses around part of this section to make it clear that this is a description of the “territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites.” These parentheses are not in the Hebrew text. You may find that parentheses are helpful, or there may be some other way to connect verses 3a-d to verse 2.

13:3a

from the Shihor east of Egypt: The term Shihor indicates a canal of the Nile River in the eastern delta of Egypt, near the present-day Suez Canal. The Shihor Canal was on the east side of Egypt, and it was the south boundary of the Philistine and Geshurite region.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

The Philistine and Geshurite region ⌊goes south⌋ to the Shihor Canal which is east of Egypt

to the territory of Ekron on the north: The phrase to the territory of Ekron on the north indicates that Ekron was the north boundary of the Philistine and Geshurite region. Ekron was a town of the Philistine people and is mentioned in 13:3d.

13:3b

considered to be Canaanite territory: The clause considered to be Canaanite territory indicates that Ekron was considered to be part of Canaan because the Philistines took it from the original Canaanite settlers.

13:3c

that of the five Philistine rulers: The clause that of the five Philistine rulers indicates that each Philistine town had its own ruler. The towns are listed in the next part of the verse.

13:3d

of Gaza: The name Gaza refers to a Philistine town in southwest Canaan, near the Mediterranean Sea.

Ashdod: The name Ashdod indicates a Philistine town 22 miles south of Joppa on the Mediterranean Sea.

Ashkelon: The name Ashkelon indicates a Philistine town on the Mediterranean Sea 32 miles south of Joppa.

Gath: The name Gath indicates a Philistine town 25 miles southeast of the town of Joppa. In later times King David fought against Goliath, who came from Gath.

and Ekron: The name Ekron indicates a Philistine town 20 miles southeast of Joppa.

13:3e

as well as that of the Avvites: The phrase that of the Avvites indicates that the Israelites must also conquer the region where the Avvim people lived. This is a third region that is mentioned, and it is parallel to the “territory of the Philistines” and the “territory of the Geshurites” (13:2b). In some languages it may be clearer to start a new sentence here.

Avvites: The Avvites are mentioned in Deuteronomy 2:23. They lived in villages near Gaza.

Here are some other ways to translate the word Avvites:

Avvim (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Avvim people

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

There is also the region of the Avvim people in the south ⌊that has not been conquered⌋

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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.

14:2a

Their inheritance was assigned by lot: It was the role of the priest to throw the lots. God used the lots to show which piece of land he would give to each family.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

Eleazar threw stones to decide which piece of land each family would receive.

inheritance: This word was used in 11:23 and you should translate it the same way in both places.

lot: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lot refers to small objects that the Israelite people threw to determine God’s will. It is possible that the lots were stones with a different color on each side. If you have a tradition of choosing or throwing small objects to make a decision, you can use that term here. Or you can use some other term that is familiar in your language for choosing by chance.

Here are some ways to translate this term:

throw dice
-or-
draw straws

14:2b

for the nine and a half tribes: The nine and a half tribes included all the tribes except for Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They received land on the east side of the Jordan River.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

for the ⌊remaining⌋ nine and one-half tribes
-or-
for the nine and a half tribes ⌊that hadn’t yet received their inheritance⌋

14:2c

as the LORD had commanded through Moses: Numbers 33:50-54 tells the story of how Yahweh commanded Moses to distribute the land on the west side of the Jordan River.

© 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.