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: ¹  “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” ²  They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. ³ 

Joshua 3:3

3:3 and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God ⁴  being carried by the Levitical priests, you must leave here ⁵  and walk ⁶  behind it.

Joshua 5:13

Israel Conquers Jericho

5:13 When Joshua was near ⁷  Jericho, ⁸  he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. ⁹  Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” ¹⁰ 

Joshua 7:21

7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ¹¹  two hundred silver pieces, ¹²  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

Joshua 8:1

Israel Conquers Ai

8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ¹³  Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! ¹⁴  See, I am handing over to you ¹⁵  the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.

Joshua 8:14

8:14 When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. ¹⁶  But he did not realize ¹⁷  men were hiding behind the city. ¹⁸ 

Joshua 8:20

8:20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw ¹⁹  the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. ²⁰  In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers.

Joshua 22:28

22:28 We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing ²¹  to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors ²²  made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’ ²³ 

Joshua 23:4

23:4 See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations, ²⁴  from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea ²⁵  in the west, including all the nations I defeated. ²⁶ 

Joshua 24:7

24:7 Your fathers ²⁷  cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, ²⁸  and then drowned them in the sea. ²⁹  You witnessed with your very own eyes ³⁰  what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. ³¹ 

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”

[3:3]  ⁴ sn The ark of the covenant refers to the wooden chest that symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people.

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “set out from your place.”

[3:3]  ⁶ tn Or “march.”

[5:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “in.”

[5:13]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[5:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).

[5:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

[7:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[7:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “shekels.”

[8:1]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

[8:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

[8:1]  ¹⁵ 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.

[8:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “When the king of Ai saw, the men of Ai hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people at the meeting place before the Arabah.”

[8:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “know.”

[8:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that (there was) an ambush for him behind the city.”

[8:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.

[8:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”

[22:28]  ²² tn The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[22:28]  ²³ tn Heb “fathers.”

[22:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”

[23:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.”

[23:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[23:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “from the Jordan and all the nations which I cut off and the Great Sea [at] the place where the sun sets.” The relationship of the second half of the verse, which mentions nations already conquered, to the first half, which speaks of “remaining nations,” is difficult to understand.

[24:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).

[24:7]  ²⁹ tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”

[24:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”

[24:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “your eyes saw.”

[24:7]  ³² tn Heb “many days.”