JOS 22:24 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) But no, we did it because we foresaw a potential problem: what if in the future, your descendants ask our descendants over here on this side of the river, ‘What do you lot have to do with Yisrael’s god Yahweh?

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, blue:Elohim, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Ἀλλʼ ἕνεκεν εὐλαβείας ῥήματος ἐποιήσαμεν τοῦτο, λέγοντες, ἵνα μὴ εἴπωσιν αὔριον τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν τοῖς τέκνοις ἡμῶν, τί ὑμῖν Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ Ἰσραήλ;
(Allʼ heneken eulabeias ɽaʸmatos epoiaʸsamen touto, legontes, hina maʸ eipōsin aurion ta tekna humōn tois teknois haʸmōn, ti humin Kuriōi tōi Theōi Israaʸl; )

BrTr But we have done this for the sake of precaution concerning this thing, saying, Lest [fn]hereafter your sons should say to our sons, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel?

ULT But if not from anxiety from a matter we did this, saying, ‘Tomorrow your sons might speak to our sons, saying, “What to you and to Yahweh, the God of Israel?

UST But that is not why we built this altar. We built it because we were afraid that your descendants might speak to our descendants at some future time and tell them that they had no right to worship Yahweh, the God whom Israelites worship.

OEB Let the Lord himself punish us, if we did not do this in the fear that, later, descendants might say to our descendants, “What relationship do you have with the Lord the God of Israel?

WEBBE “If we have not out of concern done this, and for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your children might speak to our children, saying, “What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET We swear we have done this because we were worried that in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel?

LSV And nevertheless, we have done it from fear of [this] thing, saying, Hereafter your sons speak to our sons, saying, And what have you to [do with] YHWH God of Israel?

FBV We did this because we were worried that in the future your descendants might say to ours, ‘What have you got to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?

T4T “This is the reason that we built that altar: We were afraid/worried that some day your descendants would say that our descendants are not true Israelis. We were afraid that then they would say, ‘You are not allowed to worship Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship.

LEB But in fact, we have done this because of anxiety, because of a reason, saying, ‘In the future your children may say to our children, ‘_⌊What is the relationship between you and Yahweh the God of Israel_⌋?[fn]

22:24 Literally “What is to you and to Yahweh the God of Israel”

BBE And if we have not, in fact, done this designedly and with purpose, having in our minds the fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?

Moff Let the Eternal himself punish us, if we did not do this in the fear that, later, your sons might say to our sons, ‘What have you to do with the Eternal the God of Israel?

JPS and if we have not rather out of anxiety about a matter done this, saying: In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying: What have ye to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?

ASV and if we have not rather out of carefulness done this, and of purpose, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with Jehovah, the God of Israel?

DRA And not rather with this thought and design, that we should say: Tomorrow your children will say to our children: What have you to do with the Lord the God of Israel?

YLT 'And if not, from fear of [this] thing we have done it, saying, Hereafter your sons do speak to ours sons, saying, What to you and to Jehovah God of Israel?

Drby and if we have not done it from fear of this thing, saying, In future your children will speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with Jehovah the [fn]God of Israel?

22.24 Elohim

RV and if we have not rather out of carefulness done this, and of purpose, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?
(and if we have not rather out of carefulness done this, and of purpose, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye/you_all to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? )

SLT And if we did not do this from fear of the word, saying, To-morrow your sons will say to our sons, saying, What to you and to Jehovah the God of Israel.

Wbstr And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children may speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?

KJB-1769 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?[fn]
(And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye/you_all to do with the LORD God of Israel? )

22.24 In time…: Heb. To morrow

KJB-1611 And if we haue not rather done it for feare of this thing, saying, [fn]In time to come your children might speake vnto our children, saying, What haue you to doe with the LORD God of Israel?
(And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel?)

22:24 Hebr. to morrow.

Bshps And yf we haue not rather done it for feare of this thyng, saying, In tyme to come your chyldren myght say vnto ours: What haue you to do with the Lorde God of Israel?
(And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might say unto ours: What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel?)

Gnva And if we haue not rather done it for feare of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might say vnto our children, What haue ye to doe with the Lord God of Israel?
(And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might say unto our children, What have ye/you_all to do with the Lord God of Israel? )

Cvdl And yf we haue not done it rather for very feare of this thinge, and sayde: To daye or tomorow mighte youre children saye vnto oure children: What haue ye to do with the LORDE the God of Israel?
(And if we have not done it rather for very fear of this thing, and said: To day or tomorow might your(pl) children say unto our children: What have ye/you_all to do with the LORD the God of Israel?)

Wycl and not more `bi that thouyt and tretyng that we seiden, Youre sones schulen seie `to morew to oure sones, What is to you and to the Lord God of Israel? Ye sones of Ruben,
(and not more by that thought and treting that we said, Your sons should say to morew to our sons, What is to you and to the Lord God of Israel? Ye/You_all sons of Ruben,)

Luth Und so wir‘s nicht vielmehr aus Sorge des Dinges getan haben und sprachen: Heute oder morgen möchten eure Kinder zu unsern Kindern sagen: Was gehet euch der HErr, der GOtt Israels, an?
(And so we/us not rather out_of worries(n) the thing did have and said: Today or morning want your(pl) children to/for ours children say: What goes you the/of_the LORD, the/of_the God Israels, an?)

ClVg et non ea magis cogitatione atque tractatu, ut diceremus: Cras dicent filii vestri filiis nostris: Quid vobis et Domino Deo Israël?
(and not/no them more thought and_yet tractatu, as to_saymus: Cras they_will_say children yours to_the_children ours: What to_you(pl) and Master to_God Israel? )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 22:9–34 The eastern clans built an altar beside the Jordan River

Before the clans of Reuben, Gad and half the clan of Manasseh returned to their homes on the east side of the Jordan River, they built an altar beside the river on the west side. This made the clans on the west side of the river angry. They thought the clans from the east side were rebelling against Yahweh and being unfaithful to the covenant. When the clans from the east side explained their reason for building the altar, the other Israelites were pleased and stopped being angry.

22:24a

But in fact we have done this for fear that in the future your descendants might say to ours,

No. We^(excl) did it because we were anxious about what your descendants might say some day to our descendants.
But this is why we built this altar. We built it because we were concerned about what your descendants might tell ours in the future.

But in fact: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as But in fact can also be translated as “surely” or “truly.” It is used as a strong affirmation in an oath formula.Boling, p. 515, Woudstra, p. 327.

we have done this for fear: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as fear can also be translated as “concern” or “anxiety.”

that in the future: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as in the future is more literally “tomorrow.” In this context it refers to some indefinite time in the future.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

some day

in time to come

your descendants might say to ours: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as descendants can also mean children. The people of the eastern clans were concerned about what the descendants of the other clans might tell their own descendants. They were not only concerned about their own sons and daughters but about their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Truly we did it because we are worried about what your descendants might say to our descendants someday.

Surely, we built this altar because we were concerned about what your descendants would tell our descendants in the future.

22:24b

‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?

They might say, ‘What relationship do you have with Yahweh, the God of Israel?
They might say, ‘You have no right to worship Yahweh, the God of Israel.

What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?: This is a rhetorical question. It functions as a rebuke. It indicates that future generations of the western Israelite clans might think that the eastern clans are not part of the people of Yahweh. There are two ways to translate this rhetorical question.

As a question. For example:
What right do you have to worship the Lord, the God of Israel? (NLT)
As a statement. For example:
You have no relationship with Yahweh, the God of Israel.

The question What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? is a question that they imagine future generations asking. Future descendants of the western clans might ask this question to the eastern clans.

This is part of an embedded quotation. English shows this kind of quotation with a single quotation mark. Think about how to make this clear in your language. Some languages have grammatical markers or other ways to make clear to whom each group of people is speaking.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

וְ⁠אִם־לֹ֤א מִ⁠דְּאָגָה֙ מִ⁠דָּבָ֔ר עָשִׂ֥ינוּ אֶת־זֹ֖את

and=if not from,anxiety from,a_matter did DOM this(f)

The eastern representatives mean that they did not build the altar for any reason if it was not for the one that they state. If it would appear in your language that they were making a statement and then contradicting it, you could reword this as a positive statement. Alternate translation: [No, the only reason we did this was from anxiety from a matter]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotemarks

לֵ⁠אמֹ֑ר מָחָ֗ר יֹאמְר֨וּ בְנֵי⁠כֶ֤ם לְ⁠בָנֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙ לֵ⁠אמֹ֔ר מַה־לָּ⁠כֶ֕ם וְ⁠לַֽ⁠יהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

to=say in_time_to_come say descendants_of,your(pl) to,our_of,descendants to=say what? [is]_to,you(pl) and,to,Yahweh god_of Yisrael

There are three levels of quotation here. The Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh are speaking (level 1) and telling the Israelites leaders what they were saying (or thinking) to themselves (level 2) that their sons might say to them in the future (level 3). Use the appropriate punctuation in your language to mark these levels of quotation. Alternatively, you could translate this so that there is not a third-level quotation (see the Quotes within Quotes note).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

to=say in_time_to_come say descendants_of,your(pl) to,our_of,descendants to=say what? [is]_to,you(pl) and,to,Yahweh god_of Yisrael

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation and another quotation within that one. See the Introduction to this chapter for a discussion of the long quotation in verses 24–28 that includes second-level and third-level quotations. Alternate translation: [thinking that tomorrow your sons might speak to our sons and ask them what to them and to Yahweh, the God of Israel]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְנֵי⁠כֶ֤ם לְ⁠בָנֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙

descendants_of,your(pl) to,our_of,descendants

The eastern representatives are speaking of future generations as if they were the actual sons of the current generation. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [your descendants … our descendants]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

מַה־לָּ⁠כֶ֕ם וְ⁠לַֽ⁠יהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

what? [is]_to,you(pl) and,to,Yahweh god_of Yisrael

The eastern representatives are using a common expression of their culture. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [What relationship do you have with Yahweh, the God of Israel?]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

מַה־לָּ⁠כֶ֕ם וְ⁠לַֽ⁠יהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

what? [is]_to,you(pl) and,to,Yahweh god_of Yisrael

The eastern representatives are using the question form for emphasis. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: [You have no relationship with Yahweh, the God of Israel!]

Parallel JOS 22:24

Section 22:9–34 The eastern clans built an altar beside the Jordan River

22:24a

22:24b