complete verse (Joshua 1:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 1:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “No one will defeat you in all the days until you become very old. I will not abandon you (sing.) or even turn my back on you. I will lead you as I led Moses.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “As long as you live, no one will be able to stand against you. As I stayed with Moses, just like that I will stay with you. I will never abandon you, nor will I ever forsake you.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘No one will-be-able-to-defeat you (sing.) while you (sing.) (are) still living. I will-be-with you (sing.) just-like I (was) with Moises. I will- not -leave you (sing.) or forsake/abandon (you).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “No group will be able to oppose and defeat you during your life. I will help you as I helped Moses. I will always be with you; I will never forsake you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Moses

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 )

It is translated in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language with a sign in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

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:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

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).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

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).


“Moses” in Korean Sign Language, source: Korean Sign Language Bible House

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Joshua 1:5

Now the Lord speaks directly to Joshua again, promising him victory in all his undertakings. Good News Translation introduces Joshua as a noun of address, to indicate that he is the one to whom the Lord is now speaking. For languages which possess both singular and plural forms of “you,” the shift will be obvious without specific mention of the name. In such instances one may translate “No enemy will be able to stand against you (singular).”

Will (not) be able to defeat translates the verb “hold one’s ground, oppose, withstand.”

In Hebrew you (in all of its occurrences in the verse) is singular and refers to Joshua. The Greek Old Testament translators rendered the first occurrence as a plural form, thereby referring it to the people of Israel. However, the focus throughout the verse is upon Joshua as he assumes the role of leadership from Moses, and in languages where distinctions exist, a singular form should be used in translation.

The Lord promises to help Joshua as he did Moses, and tells him he will not forsake or abandon him. The Hebrew uses two synonymous verbs, “to fail, let go,” and “to abandon, forsake”; Good News Translation uses two expressions, negative and positive: I will always be with you; I will never abandon you. In some languages it may be more effective not to have the repetition of verbs. That is, one may use either “I will always be with you” or “I will never abandon you,” but not both. This is especially true in cultures where the accumulation of synonyms tends to weaken rather than to strengthen an affirmation.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 1:5

1:5a

No one shall stand against you: The expression stand against means “resist” or “oppose.” Yahweh told Joshua that no enemy would be able to defeat him.

you: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you is singular, and refers to Joshua.

all the days of your life: The phrase all the days of your life indicates for as long as Joshua lived.

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

No one will succeed in fighting with you (sing.) all your life
-or-
No one will be able to defeat you as long as you live (Good News Translation)

1:5b

As I was with Moses, so will I be with you: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

I will be with you in the same way that I was with Moses
-or-
I will help you as I helped Moses

1:5c

I will never leave you nor forsake you: The Hebrew verbs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leave and forsake are close in meaning. The use of two verbs shows emphasis in Hebrew. In some languages the use of two synonymous verbs may not show emphasis. It might be unnatural or confusing to use two words that mean the same thing. If this is true in your language, you could use only one word but add an intensifier, for example:

I will never fail you
-or-
I will definitely not abandon you

You could also use two expressions with the same meaning, one positive and one negative. For example:

I will always be with you; I will never abandon you (Good News Translation)

Here is another way to translate this part of the verse.

I will not leave you or forget you (New Century Version)

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