12:5 The Lord answered, 1
“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,
how will you be able to compete with horses?
And if you feel secure only 2 in safe and open country, 3
how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? 4
3:1 Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan. 7 They camped there before crossing the river. 8
12:15 the king of Libnah (one),
the king of Adullam (one),
1 tn The words “The
2 tn Some commentaries and English versions follow the suggestion given in HALOT 116 s.v. II בָּטַח that a homonym meaning “to stumble, fall down” is involved here and in Prov 14:16. The evidence for this homonym is questionable because both passages can be explained on other grounds with the usual root.
3 tn Heb “a land of tranquility.” The expression involves a figure of substitution where the feeling engendered is substituted for the conditions that engender it. For the idea see Isa 32:18. The translation both here and in the following line is intended to bring out the contrast implicit in the emotive connotations connected with “peaceful country” and “thicket along the Jordan.”
4 tn Heb “the thicket along the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”
6 tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”
7 tn Heb “And Joshua arose early in the morning and he and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.”
8 tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, have been supplied in the translation for clarity.