5:14a

Neither: The man answered Neither to indicate that he did not fit into either of the groups that Joshua named. He is not an Israelite soldier and he is not an enemy soldier. It may be helpful to repeat the information from Joshua’s question. For example, you could say:

No, ⌊I am not one of your friends, and I am not one of your enemies⌋

He replied: The word He refers to the man who stood before Joshua.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

Then the man replied to Joshua

5:14b

I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army: The man who appeared before Joshua identified himself as the Commander of the LORD’s army. Many commentators believe that this man was an angel. The phrase LORD’s army probably refers to the angels who help fight Yahweh’s battles. This commander came to take charge of the Israelite army. If Joshua and the Israelites obey the commander of Yahweh’s army, then they are also part Yahweh’s army, fighting on God’s side.

I have now come: The man told Joshua that he had come to Jericho to carry out his duty as the commander of Yahweh’s army. He came to accomplish God’s plan, not Israel’s.

Commander: A Commander of an army is the person in charge of the army.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

general
-or-
leader

5:14c

Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence: The expression fell facedown means that Joshua bowed down and touched his forehead on the ground. He did this to show his respect for the leader of Yahweh’s army.

fell facedown in reverence: The action of bowing was a form of respect given to people, as well as to God. For example, in Genesis 23:7 Abraham bowed down out of respect to the Hittites, the local inhabitants of Canaan.

It is not clear whether the man in 5:13–15 is an angel or is Yahweh himself. You should avoid implying that Joshua worshiped an angel. If necessary you could say that Joshua bowed “with respect” or use the Berean Standard Bible’s in reverence. For example:

Joshua bowed down to the ground to show his respect

5:14d

and asked Him: It may be more natural in some languages to begin a new sentence here. For example:

Then he asked him
-or-
Joshua asked the man

What does my Lord have to say to His servant?: Joshua spoke to the man in the third person. He did not use the second person pronoun “you.” In Hebrew, this choice of pronoun was a way to show respect. In some languages it may be clearer to use second person forms. For example:

I am your servant, sir. What do you want me to do? (Good News Translation)

There may be another grammatical form or particle that shows respect in some languages. Use a form that is natural in your language.

my Lord: The term my Lord is a term of respect. It is not the word Yahweh. Use a term that shows respect when speaking to a superior.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

my master
-or-
my boss

have to say to His servant: The word say here means “command.” Joshua asked the man what he wanted him to do. It is also possible to translate this question as a statement as in the Contemporary English Version:

“I am your servant,” he said. “Tell me what to do.” (Contemporary English Version)

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