LORD your God / Lord your God

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “Lord your God” or “Lord your God” is translated as “Lord our God” and “Lord our God” in Tzotzil as well as in many other Mayan languages if the speaker is included as one who calls the Lord their God. If the speaker said “your God” in Tzotzil, he or she would refer to the God of the people he or she addresses but would specifically exclude himself or herself. (Source: Robert Bascom in Omanson 2001, p. 254)

See also my God.

complete verse (Joshua 1:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 1:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Go around in the camp and say to people, ‘Prepare your food and your other possessions because you are going to cross the river Jordan in three days to come. Go and take over that land which God will give you to be yours.’ ’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Having gone into the midst of the camp, give the command to the people saying, ‘Prepare food to eat, for three days from now you must cross the Jordan to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘[You (plur.)] go-through/[lit. go-around] to the camp and tell the people that they are-to-get-ready/prepare their food for three days from now, we (incl.) will-cross-over the River of Jordan to possess the land that the LORD our (incl.) God is-giving to us (incl.).’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Go throughout the camp and tell the people this: ‘Prepare all the food that you will take with you, because the day after tomorrow you will cross this Jordan River, in order to possess the land that Yahweh, our God, is about to give you.’ ’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Jordan

The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jordan River .

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 1:11

1:11a

Go through the camp and tell the people: This verse gives the content of the command that Joshua gave to the officers. It is in direct speech. In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech. For example:

10 Joshua commanded the officers of the people 11 to pass through the camp and command the people

the camp: The Israelites lived in tents. The word camp refers to the area where they set up their tents.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verseː

walk all through the camping place and tell the people
-or-
walk by all the tents and order the people
-or-
go through the tent area and command the people

1:11b

Prepare your provisions: This clause is a speech within a speech. It continues to the end of the verse. Consider whether direct or indirect speech is more appropriate in your language.

provisions: The term provisions refers to food that the Israelites took with them.

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

Get your food supplies ready
-or-
Prepare food to take with you

1:11c

for: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the reason why the Israelites had to get food ready. They were going to cross the Jordan River and conquer the land of Canaan.

within three days: The Israelites counted days inclusively. They began with the day from which they were counting.

Here is another way to translate the phrase within three days ː

the day after tomorrow

you will cross the Jordan: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you will cross the Jordan indicates that the Israelites will cross the Jordan River. Joshua will cross the river with the people. In some languages it may be more natural to use “we (incl.) ” instead of you.

the Jordan: See the note on 1:2b.

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

Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River (New Century Version)
-or-
the day after tomorrow we (incl.) are going to cross the Jordan River

1:11d

to go in and take possession: The clause go in and take possession states the reason why the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River. The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as take possession indicates that they would take the land to be their own.

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

to occupy the land
-or-
to conquer the land

the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess: The clause the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess indicates that Yahweh is giving them the land to be their own. It will belong to them.

your: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as your is plural. Joshua and the leaders were included in those who worshiped God. In some languages it may be more natural to say “our (incl.) God” instead of “your God.”

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

in order to occupy the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as your own
-or-
and take the land that Yahweh our (incl.) God is giving us to live in

General Comment on 1:11b-d

In some languages it is more natural to put the reason for an action (1:11c-d) before the action itself (1:11b). For example:

11c The day after tomorrow you will cross the Jordan River 11d to conquer the land which Yahweh your God is giving you. 11b So get ready food to take with you.

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