Genesis 15:14

15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ¹  Afterward they will come out with many possessions.

Genesis 28:15

28:15 I am with you! ²  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

Genesis 46:4

46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. ³  Joseph will close your eyes.” ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 1:1-46

The Covenant Setting

1:1 This is what ⁵  Moses said to the assembly of Israel ⁶  in the Transjordanian ⁷  wastelands, the arid country opposite ⁸  Suph, ⁹  between ¹⁰  Paran ¹¹  and Tophel, ¹²  Laban, ¹³  Hazeroth, ¹⁴  and Di Zahab ¹⁵  1:2 Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey ¹⁶  from Horeb ¹⁷  to Kadesh Barnea ¹⁸  by way of Mount Seir. ¹⁹  1:3 However, it was not until ²⁰  the first day of the eleventh month ²¹  of the fortieth year ²²  that Moses addressed the Israelites just as ²³  the Lord had instructed him to do. 1:4 This took place after the defeat ²⁴  of King Sihon ²⁵  of the Amorites, whose capital was ²⁶  in Heshbon, ²⁷  and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was ²⁸  in Ashtaroth, ²⁹  specifically in Edrei. ³⁰  1:5 So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words: ³¹ 

Events at Horeb

1:6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb and said, “You have stayed ³²  in the area of this mountain long enough. 1:7 Get up now, ³³  resume your journey, heading for ³⁴  the Amorite hill country, to all its areas ³⁵  including the arid country, ³⁶  the highlands, the Shephelah, ³⁷  the Negev, ³⁸  and the coastal plain – all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates. 1:8 Look! I have already given the land to you. ³⁹  Go, occupy the territory that I, ⁴⁰  the Lord, promised ⁴¹  to give to your ancestors ⁴²  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.” ⁴³  1:9 I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself. 1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population ⁴⁴  to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. ⁴⁵  1:11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you ⁴⁶  just as he said he would! 1:12 But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife? 1:13 Select wise and practical ⁴⁷  men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” 1:14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. 1:15 So I chose ⁴⁸  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ⁴⁹  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ⁵⁰  and judge fairly, ⁵¹  whether between one citizen and another ⁵²  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁵³  1:17 They ⁵⁴  must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly ⁵⁵  and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

Instructions at Kadesh Barnea

1:18 So I instructed you at that time regarding everything you should do. 1:19 Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea. 1:20 Then I said to you, “You have come to the Amorite hill country which the Lord our God is about to give ⁵⁶  us. 1:21 Look, he ⁵⁷  has placed the land in front of you! ⁵⁸  Go up, take possession of it, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!” 1:22 So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.” 1:23 I thought this was a good idea, ⁵⁹  so I sent ⁶⁰  twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. 1:24 They left and went up to the hill country, coming to the Eshcol Valley, ⁶¹  which they scouted out. 1:25 Then they took ⁶²  some of the produce of the land and carried it back down to us. They also brought a report to us, saying, “The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.”

Disobedience at Kadesh Barnea

1:26 You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God. ⁶³  1:27 You complained among yourselves privately ⁶⁴  and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us! 1:28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage ⁶⁵  by describing people who are more numerous ⁶⁶  and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven ⁶⁷  itself! Moreover, they said they saw ⁶⁸  Anakites ⁶⁹  there.” 1:29 So I responded to you, “Do not be terrified ⁷⁰  of them! 1:30 The Lord your God is about to go ⁷¹  ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt ⁷²  1:31 and in the desert, where you saw him ⁷³  carrying you along like a man carries his son. This he did everywhere you went until you came to this very place.” 1:32 However, through all this you did not have confidence in the Lord your God, 1:33 the one who was constantly going before you to find places for you to set up camp. He appeared by fire at night and cloud by day, to show you the way you ought to go.

Judgment at Kadesh Barnea

1:34 When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow: ⁷⁴  1:35 “Not a single person ⁷⁵  of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors! 1:36 The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh; ⁷⁶  he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me.” ⁷⁷  1:37 As for me, the Lord was also angry with me on your account. He said, “You also will not be able to go there. 1:38 However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, ⁷⁸  will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land. ⁷⁹  1:39 Also, your infants, who you thought would die on the way, ⁸⁰  and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad, ⁸¹  will go there; I will give them the land and they will possess it. 1:40 But as for you, ⁸²  turn back and head for the desert by the way to the Red Sea.” ⁸³ 

Unsuccessful Conquest of Canaan

1:41 Then you responded to me and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will now go up and fight as the Lord our God has told us to do.” So you each put on your battle gear and prepared to go up to the hill country. 1:42 But the Lord told me: “Tell them this: ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you and you will be defeated by your enemies.’” 1:43 I spoke to you, but you did not listen. Instead you rebelled against the Lord ⁸⁴  and recklessly went up to the hill country. 1:44 The Amorite inhabitants of that area ⁸⁵  confronted ⁸⁶  you and chased you like a swarm of bees, striking you down from Seir as far as Hormah. ⁸⁷  1:45 Then you came back and wept before the Lord, but he ⁸⁸  paid no attention to you whatsoever. ⁸⁹  1:46 Therefore, you remained at Kadesh for a long time – indeed, for the full time. ⁹⁰ 

Deuteronomy 31:8

31:8 The Lord is indeed going before you – he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”

Joshua 1:5

1:5 No one will be able to resist you ⁹¹  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 1:9

1:9 I repeat, ⁹²  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, ⁹³  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” ⁹⁴ 

Joshua 3:7

3:7 The Lord told Joshua, “This very day I will begin to honor you before all Israel ⁹⁵  so they will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.

Joshua 23:14

23:14 “Look, today I am about to die. ⁹⁶  You know with all your heart and being ⁹⁷  that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized – not one promise is unfulfilled! ⁹⁸ 

Joshua 24:1-33

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

24:1 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God. 24:2 Joshua told all the people, “Here is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘In the distant past your ancestors ⁹⁹  lived beyond the Euphrates River, ¹⁰⁰  including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped ¹⁰¹  other gods, 24:3 but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates ¹⁰²  and brought him into ¹⁰³  the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous; I gave him Isaac, 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned Mount Seir, ¹⁰⁴  while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt down when I intervened in their land. ¹⁰⁵  Then I brought you out. 24:6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you arrived at the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 24:7 Your fathers ¹⁰⁶  cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, ¹⁰⁷  and then drowned them in the sea. ¹⁰⁸  You witnessed with your very own eyes ¹⁰⁹  what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. ¹¹⁰  24:8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought with you, but I handed them over to you; you conquered ¹¹¹  their land and I destroyed them from before you. 24:9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack ¹¹²  against Israel. He summoned ¹¹³  Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment ¹¹⁴  on you. 24:10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept ¹¹⁵  prophesying good things about ¹¹⁶  you, and I rescued you from his power. ¹¹⁷  24:11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. ¹¹⁸  The leaders ¹¹⁹  of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 24:12 I sent terror ¹²⁰  ahead of you to drive out before you the two ¹²¹  Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows. ¹²²  24:13 I gave you a land in ¹²³  which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce of ¹²⁴  vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

24:14 Now ¹²⁵  obey ¹²⁶  the Lord and worship ¹²⁷  him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors ¹²⁸  worshiped ¹²⁹  beyond the Euphrates ¹³⁰  and in Egypt and worship ¹³¹  the Lord. 24:15 If you have no desire ¹³²  to worship ¹³³  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ¹³⁴  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ¹³⁵  worshiped ¹³⁶  beyond the Euphrates, ¹³⁷  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ¹³⁸  will worship ¹³⁹  the Lord!”

24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can ¹⁴⁰  worship ¹⁴¹  other gods! 24:17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery ¹⁴²  in the land of Egypt ¹⁴³  and performed these awesome miracles ¹⁴⁴  before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. ¹⁴⁵  24:18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship ¹⁴⁶  the Lord, for he is our God!”

24:19 Joshua warned ¹⁴⁷  the people, “You will not keep worshiping ¹⁴⁸  the Lord, for ¹⁴⁹  he is a holy God. ¹⁵⁰  He is a jealous God who will not forgive ¹⁵¹  your rebellion or your sins. 24:20 If ¹⁵²  you abandon the Lord and worship ¹⁵³  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ¹⁵⁴  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ¹⁵⁵  though he once treated you well.” ¹⁵⁶ 

24:21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will ¹⁵⁷  worship ¹⁵⁸  the Lord!” 24:22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?” ¹⁵⁹  They replied, “We are witnesses!” ¹⁶⁰  24:23 Joshua said, ¹⁶¹  “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to ¹⁶²  the Lord God of Israel.”

24:24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship ¹⁶³  the Lord our God and obey him.” ¹⁶⁴ 

24:25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement ¹⁶⁵  for the people, and he established rules and regulations ¹⁶⁶  for them in Shechem. 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine. 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. ¹⁶⁷  It will be a witness against you if ¹⁶⁸  you deny your God.” 24:28 When Joshua dismissed the people, they went to their allotted portions of land. ¹⁶⁹ 

An Era Ends

24:29 After all this ¹⁷⁰  Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 24:30 They buried him in his allotted territory ¹⁷¹  in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 24:31 Israel worshiped ¹⁷²  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. ¹⁷³  These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel. ¹⁷⁴ 

24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. ¹⁷⁵  So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. ¹⁷⁶ 

24:33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land. ¹⁷⁷ 

Psalms 18:46

18:46 The Lord is alive! ¹⁷⁸ 

My protector ¹⁷⁹  is praiseworthy! ¹⁸⁰ 

The God who delivers me ¹⁸¹  is exalted as king! ¹⁸² 

[15:14]  ¹ tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[28:15]  ² tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).

[46:4]  ³ tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”

[46:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “These are the words.”

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “on the other side of the Jordan.” This would appear to favor authorship by someone living on the west side of the Jordan, that is, in Canaan, whereas the biblical tradition locates Moses on the east side (cf. v. 5). However the Hebrew phrase בְּעֵבֶר הַיּרְדֵּן (bÿ’ever hayyrÿden) is a frozen form meaning “Transjordan,” a name appropriate from any geographical vantage point. To this day, one standing east of the Jordan can describe himself as being in Transjordan.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ⁹ sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).

[1:1]  ¹² sn Tophel refers possibly to et£-T£afîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Da‚bîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.

[1:1]  ¹³ sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).

[1:1]  ¹⁴ sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.

[1:2]  ¹⁶ sn An eleven-day journey was about 140 mi (233 km).

[1:2]  ¹⁷ sn Horeb is another name for Sinai. “Horeb” occurs 9 times in the Book of Deuteronomy and “Sinai” only once (33:2). “Sinai” occurs 13 times in the Book of Exodus and “Horeb” only 3 times.

[1:2]  ¹⁸ sn Kadesh Barnea. Possibly this refers to àAin Qudeis, about 50 mi (80 km) southwest of Beer Sheba, but more likely to àAin Qudeirat, 5 mi (8 km) NW of àAin Qudeis. See R. Cohen, “Did I Excavate Kadesh-Barnea?” BAR 7 (1981): 20-33.

[1:2]  ¹⁹ sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom. “By way of Mount Seir” refers to the route from Horeb that ended up in Edom Cf. CEV “by way of the Mount Seir Road”; TEV “by way of the hill country of Edom.”

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in” or “on.” Here there is a contrast between the ordinary time of eleven days (v. 2) and the actual time of forty years, so “not until” brings out that vast disparity.

[1:3]  ²¹ sn The eleventh month is Shebat in the Hebrew calendar, January/February in the modern (Gregorian) calendar.

[1:3]  ²² sn The fortieth year would be 1406 b.c. according to the “early” date of the exodus. See E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 66-75.

[1:3]  ²³ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[1:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “when he struck [or “smote”].”

[1:4]  ²⁵ sn See Deut 2:26–3:22.

[1:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “who lived.”

[1:4]  ²⁷ sn Heshbon is probably modern Tell Hesban, about 7.5 mi (12 km) south southwest of Amman, Jordan.

[1:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “who lived.”

[1:4]  ²⁹ sn Ashtaroth is probably Tell àAshtarah, about 22 mi (35 km) due east of the Sea of Galilee.

[1:4]  ³⁰ sn Edrei is probably modern Deràa, 60 mi (95 km) south of Damascus (see Num 21:33; Josh 12:4; 13:12, 31).

[1:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “this instruction”; KJV, NIV, NRSV “this law”; TEV “God’s laws and teachings.” The Hebrew noun תוֹרָה (torah) is derived from the verb יָרָה (yarah, “to teach”) and here it refers to the Book of Deuteronomy, not the Pentateuch as a whole.

[1:6]  ³² tn Heb “lived”; “dwelled.”

[1:7]  ³³ tn Heb “turn”; NAB “Leave here”; NIV, TEV “Break camp.”

[1:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “go (to).”

[1:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “its dwelling places.”

[1:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the Arabah” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “lowlands” (so TEV) or “steppes”; NIV, CEV, NLT “the western foothills.”

[1:7]  ³⁸ sn The Hebrew term Negev means literally “desert” or “south” (so KJV, ASV). It refers to the area south of Beer Sheba and generally west of the Arabah Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.

[1:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “I have placed before you the land.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the Lord.” Since the Lord is speaking, it is preferable for clarity to supply the first person pronoun in the translation.

[1:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “swore” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to God’s promise, made by solemn oath, to give the patriarchs the land.

[1:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 11, 21, 35).

[1:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “their seed after them.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “multiplied you.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[1:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “may he bless you.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (nÿvonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).

[1:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

[1:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.

[1:16]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).

[1:16]  ⁵² tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”

[1:16]  ⁵³ tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”

[1:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[1:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.

[1:20]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew participle has an imminent future sense here, although many English versions treat it as a present tense (“is giving us,” NAB, NIV, NRSV) or a predictive future (“will give us,” NCV).

[1:21]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid repetition.

[1:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “has given you the land” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:23]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the thing was good in my eyes.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “selected” (so NIV, NRSV, TEV); Heb “took.”

[1:24]  ⁶¹ tn Or “the Wadi Eshcol” (so NAB).

[1:25]  ⁶² tn The Hebrew text includes “in their hand,” which is unnecessary and somewhat redundant in English style.

[1:26]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God.” To include “the mouth” would make for odd English style. The mouth stands by metonymy for the Lord’s command, which in turn represents the Lord himself.

[1:27]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “in your tents,” that is, privately.

[1:28]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”

[1:28]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “greater.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “stronger,” NAB, NIV, NRSV; “bigger,” NASB).

[1:28]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[1:28]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “we have seen.”

[1:28]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the sons of the Anakim.”

[1:29]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “do not tremble and do not be afraid.” Two synonymous commands are combined for emphasis.

[1:30]  ⁷¹ tn The Hebrew participle indicates imminent future action here, though some English versions treat it as a predictive future (“will go ahead of you,” NCV; cf. also TEV, CEV).

[1:30]  ⁷² tn Heb “according to all which he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.”

[1:31]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun (“him”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:34]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and swore,” i.e., made an oath or vow.

[1:35]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “Not a man among these men.”

[1:36]  ⁷⁶ sn Caleb had, with Joshua, brought back to Israel a minority report from Canaan urging a conquest of the land, for he was confident of the Lord’s power (Num 13:6, 8, 16, 30; 14:30, 38).

[1:36]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun (“me”) has been employed in the translation, since it sounds strange to an English reader for the Lord to speak about himself in third person.

[1:38]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “the one who stands before you”; NAB “your aide”; TEV “your helper.”

[1:38]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:39]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “would be a prey.”

[1:39]  ⁸¹ sn Do not know good from bad. This is a figure of speech called a merism (suggesting a whole by referring to its extreme opposites). Other examples are the tree of “the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2:9), the boy who knows enough “to reject the wrong and choose the right” (Isa 7:16; 8:4), and those who “cannot tell their right hand from their left” (Jonah 4:11). A young child is characterized by lack of knowledge.

[1:40]  ⁸² tn The Hebrew pronoun is plural, as are the following verbs, indicating that Moses and the people are addressed (note v. 41).

[1:40]  ⁸³ tn Heb “the Reed Sea.” “Reed” is a better translation of the Hebrew סוּף (suf), traditionally rendered “red.” The name “Red Sea” is based on the LXX which referred to it as ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης (eruqra" qalassh", “red sea”). Nevertheless, because the body of water in question is known in modern times as the Red Sea, this term was used in the translation. The part of the Red Sea in view here is not the one crossed in the exodus but its eastern arm, now known as the Gulf of Eilat or Gulf of Aqaba.

[1:43]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” See note at 1:26.

[1:44]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “in that hill country,” repeating the end of v. 43.

[1:44]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “came out to meet.”

[1:44]  ⁸⁷ sn Hormah is probably Khirbet el-Meshash, 5.5 mi (9 km) west of Arad and 7.5 mi (12 km) SE of Beer Sheba. Its name is a derivative of the verb חָרָם (kharam, “to ban; to exterminate”). See Num 21:3.

[1:45]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation here for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[1:45]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “did not hear your voice and did not turn an ear to you.”

[1:46]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “like the days which you lived.” This refers to the rest of the forty-year period in the desert before Israel arrived in Moab.

[1:5]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.

[1:9]  ⁹² tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

[1:9]  ⁹³ tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

[1:9]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[3:7]  ⁹⁵ tn Or more literally, “to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel.”

[23:14]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.”

[23:14]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “soul.”

[23:14]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “one word from all these words which the Lord your God spoke to you has not fallen, the whole has come to pass for you, one word from it has not fallen.”

[24:2]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:2]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:2]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “served.”

[24:3]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:3]  ¹⁰³ tn Or “through.”

[24:4]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it.”

[24:5]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “by that which I did in its midst.”

[24:7]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).

[24:7]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”

[24:7]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”

[24:7]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “your eyes saw.”

[24:7]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “many days.”

[24:8]  ¹¹¹ tn Or “took possession of.”

[24:9]  ¹¹² tn Heb “arose and fought.”

[24:9]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “sent and called.”

[24:9]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “to curse.”

[24:10]  ¹¹⁵ tn The infinitive absolute follows the finite verb in the Hebrew text and indicates continuation or repetition of the action. Balaam pronounced several oracles of blessing over Israel (see Num 23-24).

[24:10]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “blessing.” Balaam’s “blessings” were actually prophecies of how God would prosper Israel.

[24:10]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[24:11]  ¹¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[24:11]  ¹¹⁹ tn Or perhaps, “citizens.”

[24:12]  ¹²⁰ tn Traditionally, “the hornet” (so KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) but the precise meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (cf. NEB “panic”).

[24:12]  ¹²¹ tn The LXX has “twelve,” apparently understanding this as a reference to Amorite kings west of the Jordan (see Josh 5:1, rather than the trans-Jordanian Amorite kings Sihon and Og (see Josh 2:10; 9:10).

[24:12]  ¹²² tn Heb “and it drove them out from before you, the two kings of the Amorites, not by your sword and not by your bow.” The words “I gave you the victory” are supplied for clarification.

[24:13]  ¹²³ tn Or perhaps, “for.”

[24:13]  ¹²⁴ tn The words “the produce of” are supplied for clarification.

[24:14]  ¹²⁵ sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).

[24:14]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “fear.”

[24:14]  ¹²⁷ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:14]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:14]  ¹²⁹ tn Or “served.”

[24:14]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:14]  ¹³¹ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:15]  ¹³² tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ¹³³ tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ¹³⁴ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ¹³⁶ tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ¹³⁹ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:16]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “to.”

[24:16]  ¹⁴¹ tn Or “can serve.”

[24:17]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[24:17]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “for the Lord our God, he is the one who brought up us and our fathers from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”

[24:17]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Or “great signs.”

[24:17]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he guarded us in all the way in which we walked and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”

[24:18]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:19]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “said to.”

[24:19]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

[24:19]  ¹⁴⁹ sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

[24:19]  ¹⁵⁰ tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.

[24:19]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”

[24:20]  ¹⁵² tn Or “when.”

[24:20]  ¹⁵³ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:20]  ¹⁵⁴ tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.

[24:20]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “bring you to an end.”

[24:20]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “after he did good for you.”

[24:21]  ¹⁵⁷ tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”

[24:21]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:22]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve him.”

[24:22]  ¹⁶⁰ sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.

[24:23]  ¹⁶¹ tn The words “Joshua said” are supplied for clarification.

[24:23]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “bend your heart toward.” The term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) probably here refers to the people’s volition or will.

[24:24]  ¹⁶³ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:24]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “and listen to his voice.”

[24:25]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[24:25]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.”

[24:27]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “all the words of the Lord which he spoke with us.”

[24:27]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”

[24:28]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “And Joshua sent the people away, each to his inheritance.”

[24:29]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “after these things.”

[24:30]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”

[24:31]  ¹⁷² tn Or “served.”

[24:31]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived him.”

[24:31]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “who knew all the work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

[24:32]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “one hundred qesitahs.” The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qesitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value and/or weight is unknown. The word occurs only here and in Gen 33:19 and Job 42:11.

[24:32]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “and they became for the sons of Joseph an inheritance.” One might think “bones” is the subject of the verb “they became,” but the verb is masculine, while “bones” is feminine. The translation follows the emendation suggested in the BHS note, which appeals to the Syriac and Vulgate for support. The emended reading understands “the part (of the field)” as the subject of the verb “became.” The emended verb is feminine singular; this agrees with “the part” (of the field), which is feminine in Hebrew.

[24:33]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “in Gibeah of Phinehas, his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.”

[18:46]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Elsewhere the construction חַי־יְהוָה (khay-yÿhvah) is used exclusively as an oath formula, “as surely as the Lord lives,” but this is not the case here, for no oath follows. Here the statement is an affirmation of the Lord’s active presence and intervention. In contrast to pagan deities, he demonstrates he is the living God by rescuing and empowering the psalmist.

[18:46]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection. See similar phrases in vv. 2, 31.

[18:46]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Or “blessed [i.e., praised] be.”

[18:46]  ¹⁸¹ tn Heb “the God of my deliverance.” 2 Sam 22:48 reads, “the God of the rocky cliff of my deliverance.”

[18:46]  ¹⁸² tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 46:10; 57:5, 11).