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OET (OET-LV) And_ the_men_of _they_sent of_Giⱱˊōn to Yəhōshūˊa to the_camp to_(the)_Gilgāl to_say do_not let_drop hands_of_your from_servants_of_your come_up to_us quickly and_save to/for_ourselves and_help_us if/because they_have_gathered_together against_us all_of the_kings_of the_ʼAmorī who_dwell_of (of)_the_hill_country.
OET (OET-RV) The leaders of Gibeon hurriedly sent to Yehoshua in the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Don’t abandon your servants. Come quickly and help us, and save us because all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have combined against us.”
The kings of five Canaanite towns joined together to fight against Gibeon. Because the Israelites had a peace treaty with Gibeon, they helped them in their fight. Yahweh helped the Israelites by sending down hailstones on the Canaanites, and by causing the sun to stop moving so that the Israelites could continue their victory. The five Canaanite kings were captured and put to death.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Israel defeated the Canaan group
The sun stood still
The Israelites defended the Gibeonites against their enemies.
Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal:
¶ The Gibeonites sent messengers to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal.
¶ The leaders of the Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal.
Then: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as Then introduces the next event in the storyline. Introduce this next event in a natural way in your language.
the men of Gibeon: The phrase the men of Gibeon refers to an indefinite number of people. Probably these men were some of the Gibeonite leaders.
sent word to Joshua: The clause sent word to Joshua indicates that the Gibeonites sent messengers to Joshua to ask him for his help.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
sent this message to Joshua (NET)
sent messengers to Joshua (NLT)
in the camp at Gilgal: The phrase the camp at Gilgal refers to the same camping place where the Israelites were staying. Gilgal was where the Gibeonites first met with the Israelites (9:6).
“Do not abandon your servants.
They said: “Don’t abandon your servants.
They pleaded with them: “We are your servants. Don’t throw us away.
In Hebrew this clause begins with the word translated literally as “saying.” It may be more natural in some languages to begin a new sentence here. In this case, the word “saying” may be translated as:
They said
They begged
They pleaded
Use words that show the urgency of their request.
Do not abandon your servants: The Hebrew clause that the BSB translates as Do not abandon is a Hebrew idiom. It could be more literally translated “do not let your hand drop.” This idiom indicates that the Gibeonites asked Joshua to protect them from the Amorite kings and their armies. They expected the Israelites to help them because of the peace treaty that they had made with them.
your servants: The phrase your servants is used by the Gibeonites to show their respect for Joshua and the Israelites. Many languages have pronouns or nouns that are used when speaking to superiors. Use whatever is most natural in your language to express this relationship.
Come quickly and save us! Help us,
Come quickly. Save us. Help us.
Come now. We desperately need your help.
Come: In Hebrew, the word Come is more literally “come up". The town of Gibeon was higher than the Israelites’ camp at Gilgal. If your language keeps track of elevation, this would be a place to imply going up a steep hill/mountain.
quickly: The word quickly indicates the urgency of the Gibeonites’ request. They are in danger and want Joshua and the Israelite army to come at once to fight with them against the Amorite armies.
and save us! Help us: The two verbs save and Help are very similar in meaning. The Hebrew text uses two verbs with similar meanings to emphasize the urgency of the request. It may be more natural in some languages to express this meaning using one verb and some other means of showing emphasis.
because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
For all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country are attacking us.”
The kings of all the Amorite cities in the mountains have gotten together to attack us.”
because: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as because introduces the reason for the Gibeonites’ request.
all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country: The Gibeonites referred to the five kings that are mentioned in 10:3. There may also have been other kings of smaller towns in the hill country, as 10:28–39 suggests. In addition, the Gibeonites may have exaggerated the facts because they were afraid.10:6 Hess, p. 192.
have joined forces against us: The clause joined forces against us indicates that the Amorite kings with their armies were preparing to attack the Gibeonites.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
אַל־תֶּ֥רֶף יָדֶ֖יךָ מֵֽעֲבָדֶ֑יךָ
not abandon hands_of,your from,servants_of,your
The men of Gibeon are speaking as if Joshua had his hands around them but might let his hands drop so that he was no longer holding them. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Do not stop helping your servants]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
מֵֽעֲבָדֶ֑יךָ
from,servants_of,your
The men of Gibeon are speaking about themselves in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the first person. Alternate translation: [from us]
Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
עֲלֵ֧ה אֵלֵ֣ינוּ מְהֵרָ֗ה וְהוֹשִׁ֤יעָה לָּ֨נוּ֙ וְעָזְרֵ֔נוּ כִּ֚י נִקְבְּצ֣וּ אֵלֵ֔ינוּ כָּל־מַלְכֵ֥י הָאֱמֹרִ֖י יֹשְׁבֵ֥י הָהָֽר
leaf_of to,us quickly and,save, to/for=ourselves and,help,us that/for/because/then/when gathered against,us all/each/any/every kings_of the=ʼAmorī dwell_of (of)_the,hill_country
If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these phrases since the second phrase gives the reason for the result that the first phrase describes. Alternate translation: [Because all of the kings of the Amorites dwelling in the hill country have gathered against us, come up to us quickly and help us and save us]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / events
וְהוֹשִׁ֤יעָה לָּ֨נוּ֙ וְעָזְרֵ֔נוּ
and,save, to/for=ourselves and,help,us
The author is describing one event before describing another event that would precede it. In your translation, you may wish to relate these events in the order in which they would happen. Alternate translation: [and help us and save us]
10:1-43 Gibeon and its neighboring cities occupied a plateau north of Jerusalem (see study note on 7:2). With Gibeon now allied to Israel, control of the plateau and of the central hill country in the vicinity of Gibeon belonged to Israel. Throughout history, whoever has controlled the plateau has, in general, also controlled the hill country. The Canaanite kings had to conquer Gibeon or their cause was lost.
OET (OET-LV) And_ the_men_of _they_sent of_Giⱱˊōn to Yəhōshūˊa to the_camp to_(the)_Gilgāl to_say do_not let_drop hands_of_your from_servants_of_your come_up to_us quickly and_save to/for_ourselves and_help_us if/because they_have_gathered_together against_us all_of the_kings_of the_ʼAmorī who_dwell_of (of)_the_hill_country.
OET (OET-RV) The leaders of Gibeon hurriedly sent to Yehoshua in the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Don’t abandon your servants. Come quickly and help us, and save us because all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have combined against us.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.
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