2 Chronicles 14:11-12

14:11 Asa prayed ¹  to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. ²  Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. ³  O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!” ⁴  14:12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,

2 Chronicles 20:4

20:4 The people of Judah ⁵  assembled to ask for the Lord’s help; ⁶  they came from all the cities of Judah to ask for the Lord’s help. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 20:1-4

Laws Concerning War with Distant Enemies

20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry ⁸  and troops ⁹  who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you. 20:2 As you move forward for battle, the priest ¹⁰  will approach and say to the soldiers, ¹¹  20:3 “Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them, 20:4 for the Lord your God goes with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies to give you victory.” ¹² 

Joshua 1:2-5

1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! ¹³  Cross the Jordan River! ¹⁴  Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. ¹⁵  1:3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. ¹⁶  1:4 Your territory will extend from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all of Syria) ¹⁷  and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea ¹⁸  in the west. ¹⁹  1:5 No one will be able to resist you ²⁰  all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone.

Joshua 1:1

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:

Joshua 8:1

Israel Conquers Ai

8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ²¹  Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! ²²  See, I am handing over to you ²³  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! ²⁴  Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! ²⁵  See, I am handing over to you ²⁶  the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.

[14:11]  ¹ tn Heb “called out.”

[14:11]  ² tn Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”

[14:11]  ³ tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”

[14:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”

[20:4]  ⁵ tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.

[20:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “to seek from the Lord.” The verb here (בָּקַשׁ, baqash) is different from the one translated “seek” in v. 3 (דָּרַשׁ, darash).

[20:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “to seek the Lord.” The verb here (ָָבּקַשׁ, baqash) is different from the one translated “seek” in v. 3 (דָּרַשׁ, darash).

[20:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “horse and chariot.”

[20:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “people.”

[20:2]  ¹⁰ sn The reference to the priest suggests also the presence of the ark of the covenant, the visible sign of God’s presence. The whole setting is clearly that of “holy war” or “Yahweh war,” in which God himself takes initiative as the true commander of the forces of Israel (cf. Exod 14:14-18; 15:3-10; Deut 3:22; 7:18-24; 31:6, 8).

[20:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he will say to the people.” Cf. NIV, NCV, CEV “the army”; NRSV, NLT “the troops.”

[20:4]  ¹² tn Or “to save you” (so KJV, NASB, NCV); or “to deliver you.”

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “Get up!”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”

[1:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Every place on which the sole of your foot walks, to you I have given it, as I said to Moses.” The second person pronouns in vv. 3-4 are plural, indicating that all the people are addressed here. The verbal form נְתַתִּיו (nÿtattiv, “I have given it”) is probably a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Another option is to translate, “I have already assigned it.” In this case the verb would probably refer to the Lord’s decree to Abraham that he would give this land to his descendants.

[1:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all the land of the Hittites.” The expression “the land of the Hittites” does not refer to Anatolia (modern Turkey), where the ancient Hittite kingdom of the second millennium b.c. was located, but rather to Syria, the “Hatti land” mentioned in inscriptions of the first millennium b.c. (see HALOT 1:363). The phrase is omitted in the LXX and may be a scribal addition.

[1:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[1:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, even to the great sea [at] the place where the sun sets, your territory will be.”

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.

[8:1]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

[8:1]  ²² tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

[8:1]  ²³ tn 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.

[8:1]  ²⁴ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

[8:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

[8:1]  ²⁶ tn 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.