Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 1:3:
Kupsabiny: “As I promised to Moses, I shall give you (plur.) every place where you shall go.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “As I promised Moses, I will give you every place where you put your footstep.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “According-to my promise to Moises, I will-give to you (plur.) all the land which you (plur.) will-reach.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will give to you all the land that you walk on, as I promised Moses.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English means “taken out of the water,” “saved out of the water,” “a son.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).
In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:
The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).
In Swiss-German Sign Language (and Hungarian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
In Korean Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the arms held up by Moses to assure the Israelites victory over the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:11).
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
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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).
As I told Moses: see Deuteronomy 11.24-25. The Hebrew verb translated told can mean “promise” or “speak to.” As I told Moses … my people may be translated, “I promised Moses that I would give my people.”
In verse 3 the Lord speaks directly to the people; in verse 2 he had spoken to Joshua, and the “you” is singular; in verse 3 “you” is plural. The Lord is speaking to all the people (through Joshua, of course); so Good News Translation translates you and all my people.
The phrase you and all my people may cause problems similar to the pronoun them of the previous verse. That is, the conjunction and may suggest to the reader that the person referred to by you is excluded from the group all my people. This problem may be resolved by translating “you my people”; no reader will assume thereby that Joshua is excluded from the people. This will balance out nicely if at the end of verse 2 the text has been translated to read either “you my people” or “you, the people of Israel.”
The phrase the entire land that you will be marching over translates the Hebrew “every place on which the sole of your (plural) foot steps.” For some readers, marching over might imply an orderly band of soldiers or some other highly organized group. The reference, of course, is to the entire group of Israelites, and one may translate “walk on” or “set foot on.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
I have given you: There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I have given you.
(1) Some English versions translate with the past tense. For example:
I have given to you (English Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004))
(2) Some English versions translate with the future tense. For example:
I will give you (New International Version)
(New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The Israelites had not yet entered Canaan, but because Yahweh promised it, it was as certain as if they were already there.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
I have given you (plur.) everywhere that you (plur.) place your feet -or-
Every place where you walk I have given to you
every place where the sole of your foot will tread: The phrase every place where the sole of your foot will tread indicates that Yahweh will give the Israelites every part of the land that they walk on.
your: The Hebrew pronouns in this verse are plural: “your (plur.) feet,” and “given to you (plur.).” Yahweh spoke to all the people of Israel.
1:3b
I promised to Moses: Yahweh promised Moses that he would give the land of Canaan to the Israelites in Exodus 3:8. He repeated this promise in Deuteronomy 11:24
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
just as I promised Moses -or-
I promise you what I promised to Moses (New Living Translation (2004))
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