Numbers 14:14-16

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants¹ of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face,² that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night. 14:15 If you kill³ this entire people at once,⁴ then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 14:16 ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to them, he killed them in the wilderness.’

Deuteronomy 4:6-7

4:6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding⁵ to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise⁶ people.” 4:7 In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him?

Joshua 2:9-13

2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you.⁷ We are absolutely terrified of you,⁸ and all who live in the land are cringing before⁹ you.¹⁰ 2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan.¹¹ 2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you.¹² For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! 2:12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name.¹³ Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family.¹⁴ Give me a solemn pledge¹⁵ 2:13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue us¹⁶ from death.”

Joshua 2:1

Joshua Sends Spies into the Land

2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them:¹⁷ “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.”¹⁸ They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there.¹⁹

Joshua 8:1

Israel Conquers Ai

8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic!²⁰ Take the whole army with you and march against Ai!²¹ See, I am handing over to you²² the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.

Joshua 8:1

Israel Conquers Ai

8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic!²³ Take the whole army with you and march against Ai!²⁴ See, I am handing over to you²⁵ the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.

Joshua 8:1

Israel Conquers Ai

8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic!²⁶ Take the whole army with you and march against Ai!²⁷ See, I am handing over to you²⁸ the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.

Colossians 1:25

1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship²⁹ from God – given to me for you – in order to complete³⁰ the word of God,

¹tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

²tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

³tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of מוּת (mut), וְהֵמַתָּה (vÿhemattah). The vav (ו) consecutive makes this also a future time sequence verb, but again in a conditional clause.

⁴tn Heb “as one man.”

⁵tn Heb “it is wisdom and understanding.”

⁶tn Heb “wise and understanding.”

⁷tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.

⁸tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”

⁹tn Or “melting away because of.”

¹⁰tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”

⁹tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”

¹¹tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”

¹³tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the Lord.”

¹⁴tn Heb “with the house of my father.”

¹⁵tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”

¹⁵tn Or “our lives.”

¹⁷tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”

¹⁸tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”

¹⁹tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”

¹⁹tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

²⁰tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

²¹tn Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.

²¹tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

²²tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

²³tn Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.

²³tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

²⁴tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

²⁵tn Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.

²⁵tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

²⁶tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.