17:6a

because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons: The clause the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons states the reason that the clan of Manasseh received ten areas of land. In some languages it may be helpful to reorder the information in verses 5 and 6 to make this clear. See the General Comment on 17:5–6a.

the daughters of Manasseh: The phrase the daughters of Manasseh refers to the five daughters of Zelophehad. These women were fifth-generation descendants of Manasseh. They were not literally his daughters. The Hebrew language uses “daughters” to refer to female descendants.

his sons: The phrase his sons refers to five of the sons of Gilead. These men were third-generation descendants of Manasseh. They were not literally his sons. The Hebrew language uses “sons” to refer to male descendants.

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

This happened because the female descendants of Manasseh received portions of land like the male descendants
-or-
This was because the daughters of Zelophehad, who were descended from Manasseh, were assigned land along with their male relatives

General Comment on 17:5–6a

In some languages it may be more natural to reorder these verses and put the reason first. For example:

6a Because the female descendants of Manasseh received portions of land like their male relatives, 5a the clan of Manasseh received ten portions of land ⌊on the west side of the Jordan River⌋ . 5b The other descendants of Manasseh received the lands of Gilead and Bashan 5c on the east side of the Jordan River.

17:6b

And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh: The phrase the rest of the sons of Manasseh refers to the other descendants of Manasseh who were mentioned in Joshua 17:1. They received the land of Gilead on the east side of the Jordan River.

It is not clear from scripture exactly how these descendants of Manasseh were related to the six sons of Gilead. Possibly Machir had other sons who were brothers of Gilead.

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

The land of Gilead was assigned to the other descendants of Manasseh
-or-
Other descendants of Manasseh had received the land of Gilead

© 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.

18:20a

On the east side the border was the Jordan: The eastern border is easy to describe. The full description is in this one phrase.

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

The Jordan River formed the eastern boundary line
-or-
The border on the east side of Benjamin’s land was the Jordan River

18:20b

These were the borders around the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin: The clause These were the borders around the inheritance is a conclusion to Joshua 18:12-20. We have now made a circle around all four of the boundary lines of the land that Benjamin received.

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

This was the land that the clan of Benjamin received as their inheritance
-or-
That described the land that the Benjamin clan received as its permanent possession

These were the borders around the inheritance: The phrase the borders around refers to the boundary lines on all sides: north, south, east and west.

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

These boundaries marked out the land that they received according to their family groups
-or-
Each clan received land within these boundaries

In some languages it may be more natural to combine the phrase the borders around with the information in 18:20b. For example:

These were the borders of the land which the clan of Benjamin received as their inheritance
-or-
Those boundaries described the land that the Benjamin clan received

the clans: The phrase the clans actually refers to the families within the clan of Benjamin.

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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 19:24-31

The clan of Asher received their land

Paragraph 19:24-31

19:24

The fifth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Asher: This verse is similar to 19:1. It is recommended that you translate it in the same way as you did that verse.

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

The fifth lot belonged to the tribe of Asher, by its clans (NET Bible)
-or-
Joshua threw the lot the fifth time. Each of family of the clan of Asher received land

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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.

20:5a

Now: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now can also be translated “but” to indicate contrast. It is not a time word. Choose the word that is most natural in this context. Some English versions do not translate this word.

if: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as if can also be translated as “when.” Choose the conjunction that is most natural in your language.

the avenger of blood: The term avenger of blood was first mentioned in 20:3b. You should translate it the same way here.

pursues him: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pursues can also be translated as “chases” or “follows.”

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

But if the relative of the person who died chases after the person who killed him
-or-
But if the relative of the dead person follows after the killer

20:5b

they: The pronoun they refers to the elders of the town.

must not surrender the manslayer into his hand: The clause must not surrender the manslayer into his hand means that the elders must protect the manslayer (the person who killed someone) from the person who is trying to get revenge. They must not hand him over to that person.

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

the elders must not hand over the killer to the person trying to avenge the dead man
-or-
the town leaders must not give up the person who killed to the relative

20:5c

because that man killed his neighbor accidentally: The clause that man killed his neighbor accidentally indicates the reason why the person who killed should be protected from his pursuer.

his neighbor: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as neighbor can also be translated “friend,” “companion” or “other one.” In this context it refers to a fellow human being.

accidentally: The word accidentally means that the killer did not plan to kill. This is the same Hebrew word as in verse 20:3.

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

⌊They must protect him⌋ because he has killed his fellow man without intending it.
-or-
They must do this because he killed the other person without planning to do it.

20:5d

without prior malice: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as without prior malice is more literally “and not hating him from yesterday three days ago.” The phrase “from yesterday three days ago” is a Hebrew idiom that means “in the past.”

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

He had not hated him in the past.
-or-
and not because he was angry with him in the past

General Comment on verse 20:5

In the Hebrew and in the Berean Standard Bible verse 5 is a long sentence. It may be more natural in some languages to divide it into more than one sentence. For example:

But if the one who is chasing him follows him to that town, the leaders of the city must not hand over the killer. It was an accident. He did not hate him beforehand or kill him on purpose. (New Century Version)

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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.

21:28

From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion: The town of Kishion was mentioned in 19:20. It was the southeast of Nazareth.

Daberath: The town of Daberath was mentioned in 19:12. It was east of Nazareth

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

From the clan of Issachar the Kohath families received the town of Kishion and the grazing lands around it and the town of Daberath with the grazing lands around it.
-or-
The clan of Issachar gave them the town of Kishion with the grasslands around it and the town of Daberath with the grasslands around it.

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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: 22:15–20

22:15a

They went to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead: Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

So they went to the land of Gilead ⌊to speak⌋ to the clans of Reuben, Gad, and half the clan of Manasseh.
-or-
When they reached the two and a half clans in the region of Gilead
-or-
When they arrived, these leaders said to the people of Gilead, (God’s Word)

22:15b

and said to them: In some languages it may be more natural to reorder parts a and b of this verse. For example:

They went to the region of Gilead and said to the clans of Reuben, Gad, and half of the clan of Manasseh,

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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.

23:13a

know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you: Verse 12 started with the word “if” to indicate a condition. Verse 13 shows the result that will follow if the Israelites associate with the other nations around them. The Hebrew does not use the word “then” in verse 13. In some languages it may help to say “then” to make it clear that this is a result.

know for sure: The Hebrew verb structure that the Berean Standard Bible translates as know for sure indicates emphasis. Look for a way to mark this emphasis if it is possible in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

know assuredly (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
then you can be sure

the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as drive out was used in verse 23:5b and 23:9a.

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

then know for certain that Yahweh your God will stop making these nations leave ahead of you
-or-
If you do those things, then Yahweh your God will definitely no longer take away the land from these peoples as you go forward.

23:13b

Instead: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Instead indicates a contrast. In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence here.

they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes: This is a series of metaphors that describe how dangerous the enemy nations will become to the Israelites.

a snare and a trap: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as snare refers to a net for catching birds. The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as trap may refer to a wooden trap to catch birds, or it may refer to the bait inside the net which would lure the bird in. If you do not have two different words for bird traps you could say simply “a bird trap.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

a net and a trap
-or-
a bird trap
-or-
a trap

a scourge: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scourge can also be translated “whip.”

thorns in your eyes: The phrase thorns in your eyes indicates that the enemy nations would damage the Israelites just as thorns damage the eyes.

In some languages it may be more natural to translate these metaphors as similes.

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

Rather, they will be a net or a trap for you, a whip on your side and thorns in your eyes.
-or-
Instead, they will be like traps ⌊that catch you like a bird⌋ , like a whip ⌊that stings⌋ your sides and like thorns ⌊that stick in⌋ your eyes.
-or-
they will be ⌊as dangerous for you as⌋ a trap. They ⌊will hurt you as much as⌋ a whip on your sides or thorns ⌊that stick into⌋ your eyes.

23:13c

until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you: This indicates that the enemy nations would inflict all those injuries on the Israelites until all of them had died.

perish: The English word perish is an older word that means “die.”

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

until you have all died and no longer live in the good land that Yahweh your God has given you
-or-
In the end, none of you will be left in this good land that Yahweh your God has given you.

General Comment on 23:12–13

Verses 12 and 13 are a condition and a result.

12
If the Israelites associate with the other nations around them, 13 then God will not drive those nations out.

This could also be expressed as a command with a warning.

12 Do not associate with the other nations around you, 13 otherwise God will not drive those nations out.

© 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 24:29–33

24:29a

Some time later, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died: The phrase Some time later refers to an indefinite period of time. It does not mean that Joshua died right after the ceremony of Shechem.

servant of the LORD: The phrase servant of the LORD is the same title that Moses received. Translate this title in the same way as you did in Joshua 1:1.

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

After these events had happened, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died.
-or-
Sometime after that, Joshua died. He was the son of Nun and he was Yahweh’s servant.

24:29b

at the age of 110: Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:

He was one hundred and ten years old ⌊when he 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.