Joshua 5:14

5:14 He answered, ¹  “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. ²  Now I have arrived!” ³  Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground ⁴  and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”

Joshua 5:2

A New Generation is Circumcised

5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” ⁵ 

Joshua 6:17

6:17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord, ⁶  except for Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the spies ⁷  we sent.

Psalms 34:7

34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around

the Lord’s ⁸  loyal followers ⁹  and delivers them. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 103:21

103:21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his, ¹¹ 

you servants of his who carry out his desires! ¹² 

Psalms 148:2

148:2 Praise him, all his angels! ¹³ 

Praise him, all his heavenly assembly! ¹⁴ 

Daniel 10:20

10:20 He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? ¹⁵  Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

Luke 2:13

2:13 Suddenly ¹⁶  a vast, heavenly army ¹⁷  appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹ tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX and Syriac versions. The traditional reading of the MT (לֹא, lo’, “no, neither”) is probably the product of aural confusion (the two variant readings sound the same in Hebrew). Although followed by a number of modern translations (cf. NIV, NRSV), this reading is problematic, for the commander of the Lord’s army would hardly have declared himself neutral.

² sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.

³ sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the Lord’s invisible army would ensure victory.

⁴ tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

⁵ tn Heb “return, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate the repetition of an action.

⁶ tn Or “dedicated to the Lord.”

⁷ tn Heb “messengers.”

⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

¹⁰ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same generalizing force as the active participle in the first line. See GKC 329 §111.u.

¹¹ tn Heb “all his hosts.”

¹² tn Heb “his attendants, doers of his desire.”

¹³ tn Or “heavenly messengers.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “all his host.”

¹⁵ sn The question is rhetorical, intended to encourage reflection on Daniel’s part.

¹⁶ tn Grk “And suddenly.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁷ tn Grk “a multitude of the armies of heaven.”