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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Jos C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Jos 5 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15
OET (OET-LV) and_he/it_was just_as_heard all_of the_kings_of the_ʼAmorī who were_on_the_other_side_of the_Yardēn westward and_all the_kings_of the_Kənaˊₐnī/(Canaanite)[s] who were_at the_sea DOM how he_had_dried_up YHWH DOM the_waters_of the_Yardēn from_face/in_front_of the_people_of Yisrāʼēl/(Israel) until they_had_passed_over[fn] heart_of_their and_it_melted and_not it_was in_them still spirit from_face/in_front_of the_people_of Yisrāʼēl/(Israel).
5:1 OSHB variant note: עבר/נו: (x-qere) ’עָבְרָ֑/ם’: lemma_5674 a n_1 morph_HVqc/Sp3mp id_06cMr עָבְרָ֑/ם
OET (OET-RV) When all the Amorite kings who were on the west side of the Yordan (towards the ocean) and all the Canaanite kings (beside the ocean) heard how Yahweh had dried up the water in the Yordan River until the Israelis had crossed over, they trembled with fear and lost their nerve to stand against Yisrael.
Twelve men from among the Israelites each took a stone from the middle of the Jordan River. With these stones Joshua built a monument to remind the Israelite people, and their descendants, about how God helped them cross the river.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Setting up memorial stones
Twelve memorial stones
A reminder that God brought them to the promised land
This paragraph tells the reaction of the Israelites’ enemies when they heard about the things that God had done for the Israelites.
Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan
¶ All the Amorite kings who ruled the regions that were west of the Jordan River
¶ All the rulers of the Amor people who lived in the country west of the Jordan River
Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan: There is a contrast between the reaction of the Israelites and the reaction of their enemies, the Amorites and Canaanites. When the Israelites saw what God had done, they respected and honored him, but their enemies were terrified. There may be a word or particle in your language that will help to emphasize that contrast.
Amorite: The Amorite people were people who lived in the hills in the land of Canaan west of the Jordan River.
Here is another way to translate this name:
Amor people
kings: The word kings refers to the rulers of the small towns in the hills of Canaan. Each “king” ruled one town and the villages around it.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
rulers
leaders
west of the Jordan: The phrase west of the Jordan refers to the land on the west side of the Jordan River.
and all the Canaanite kings along the coast
and all the Canaanite kings who ruled the places on the seacoast
and all the rulers of the Canaan people who lived near the sea heard about this.
and all the Canaanite kings: Here are some other ways to translate the word kings:
rulers
leaders
the Canaanite: The Canaanite people were people who lived in the land of Canaan west of the Jordan River.
Here is another way to translate this word:
Canaan people
along the coast: The phrase along the coast refers to the Mediterranean Sea.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
who lived along the coast of the sea
who lived near the Mediterranean Sea
heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites
heard that Yahweh made the Jordan River stop flowing for the Israelites.
They heard that Yahweh made a dry path through the Jordan River.
heard: The Amorite and Canaanite kings heard that the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River.
how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan: The main thing the kings heard was that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan. They understood the significance of this. Now that the Israelites had crossed the river they were a threat to their safety, especially because a powerful God was helping them.
before the Israelites: There are two ways to understand the phrase before the Israelites:
God had acted on behalf of the people of Israel. For example:
the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel (ESV) (ESV, RSV, GNT, CEV, NLT)
God had acted in the sight of the people of Israel. For example:
the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites (NIV) (BSB, NIV, NET, KJV)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This is followed by many English versions and by many commentaries.
until they had crossed over,
They heard that they walked across to the other side.
They heard that the Israelites walked over to the other side.
until they had crossed over: The phrase until they had crossed over indicates that God kept the Jordan River from flowing until the Israelites had walked across it.
they: There is a textual issue here.
The Hebrew Masoretic text reads: “until they had crossed over.” For example:
until they had crossed (NJB) (BSB, NJB, RSV, CEV, ESV, GW, NAB, NASB, NCV, NJPS, NLT, GNT)
An alternate reading in the Hebrew Masoretic text reads: “until we had crossed over.” For example:
until we had crossed over (NIV) (NIV)
It is recommended that you follow option (1). The standard Hebrew text, nearly all the English versions, and most commentaries follow option (1).
their hearts melted
Then they became very afraid
Then they no longer had any courage
their hearts melted: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as their hearts melted is an idiom. It means that the kings were afraid. There may be an idiom in your language that expresses this meaning in a vivid way.
and their spirits failed
and lost their courage to fight the people of Israel
and they were terrified
and their spirits failed: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as and their spirits failed is an idiom. It means that the kings were afraid and lacked courage to fight against the Israelites.
The two idioms “their hearts melted” and their spirits failed mean the same thing. The Hebrew text uses two phrases to describe their fear to add emphasis to how fearful they were. In some languages, it may be helpful to combine the two idioms into one emphatic statement. For example, you could say:
The kings were very frightened
Use a way that is natural in your language to emphasize their fear.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
The kings were very fearful and felt powerless to fight
for fear of the Israelites.
because of what God did for the Israelites.
and were afraid to fight the Israelites.
for fear of the Israelites: The phrase for fear of the Israelites indicates that they were fearful because of what God had done for the people of Israel. If this is not clear you might need to make this explicit. For example, you could say:
because of what God had done for the Israelites
Note 1 topic: writing-endofstory
וַיְהִ֣י
and=he/it_was
The author is using this phrase to introduce what happened at the end of the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River. Your language may have its own way of presenting such information.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
הָאֱמֹרִ֡י & הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙
the=ʼAmorī & of,the_Canaanite[s]
The author is not referring to a specific Amorite or Canaanite. He means those people groups in general. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: [the Amorites … the Canaanites]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
מִפְּנֵ֥י & מִפְּנֵ֖י
from=face/in_front_of & from=face/in_front_of
See the Introduction to Judges for a discussion of the phrase “to the face of.” Alternate translation: [before … because of]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
וַיִּמַּ֣ס לְבָבָ֗ם וְלֹא־הָ֨יָה בָ֥ם עוֹד֙ ר֔וּחַ
and,it_melted heart_of,their and=not it_became in,them again/more courage
See how you translated the similar expressions in [2:11](../02/11.md). Alternate translation: [then they became very afraid in their hearts and they were not able to resist]
5:1 After news of Israel’s crossing of the Jordan River spread, all of southern Canaan was in a state of alert awaiting Israel’s expected invasion.
• With Israel’s impossible crossing of the Jordan, the Canaanites lost heart and were paralyzed with fear. They knew they faced the people of a God more powerful than any they worshiped.
OET (OET-LV) and_he/it_was just_as_heard all_of the_kings_of the_ʼAmorī who were_on_the_other_side_of the_Yardēn westward and_all the_kings_of the_Kənaˊₐnī/(Canaanite)[s] who were_at the_sea DOM how he_had_dried_up YHWH DOM the_waters_of the_Yardēn from_face/in_front_of the_people_of Yisrāʼēl/(Israel) until they_had_passed_over[fn] heart_of_their and_it_melted and_not it_was in_them still spirit from_face/in_front_of the_people_of Yisrāʼēl/(Israel).
5:1 OSHB variant note: עבר/נו: (x-qere) ’עָבְרָ֑/ם’: lemma_5674 a n_1 morph_HVqc/Sp3mp id_06cMr עָבְרָ֑/ם
OET (OET-RV) When all the Amorite kings who were on the west side of the Yordan (towards the ocean) and all the Canaanite kings (beside the ocean) heard how Yahweh had dried up the water in the Yordan River until the Israelis had crossed over, they trembled with fear and lost their nerve to stand against Yisrael.
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.