Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. 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=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)just like Yahweh’s servant Mosheh had instructedthem. (It was written in the scroll of the rules from Mosheh that it must be an altar made from whole stones that haven’t been chiselled with iron tools.) Then they offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on it, plus they sacrificedpeace offerings,
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, 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).
ULTIt was just as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded the sons of Israel, as written in the book of the law of Moses: “An altar of whole stones, over which no one has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered up on it burnt up offerings to Yahweh and sacrificed peace offerings.
USTThey built it just like Moses, the man who served God well, had written previously in the laws that God had given to him. They made it from stones that had not been cut, stones on which they had done no work using iron tools. The Israelites then offered sacrifices to Yahweh that were burned completely on the altar. They also made sacrifices to promise friendship with him.
BSBjust as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used.”[fn] And on it they offered burnt offerings to the LORD, and they sacrificed peace offerings.
WEBBEas Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones, on which no one had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings.
WMBBas Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the scroll of the Torah of Moses: an altar of uncut stones, on which no one had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings.
NETjust as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool. They offered burnt sacrifices on it and sacrificed tokens of peace.
LSVas Moses, servant of YHWH, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Scroll of the Law of Moses—an altar of whole stones, over which he has not waved iron—and they cause burnt-offerings to go up on it to YHWH, and sacrifice peace-offerings;
FBVHe did what Moses, the servant of the Lord, had told the Israelites to do, as recorded in the book of the Law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones which no one has worked with iron tools. On the altar they made burnt offerings and friendship offerings to the Lord.
T4TThey built it just like Moses, the man who served God well, had written previously in the laws that God had given to him. They made it from stones that had not been cut using iron tools. The Israelis then offered sacrifices to Yahweh that were burned completely on the altar. They also offered sacrifices to restore fellowship with Yahweh.
LEBas Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded the Israelites,[fn] as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses: “an altar of unhewn[fn] stones on which no one has wielded[fn] an iron implement.”[fn] And they offered burnt offerings on it and sacrificed fellowship offerings.
BBEIn the way ordered by Moses, the servant of the Lord, as it is recorded in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, untouched by any iron instrument: and on it they made burned offerings and peace-offerings to the Lord.
Moffas Moses the servant of the Eternal had commanded the Israelites, according to the directions written in the law-book of Moses; it was an altar of undressed stones, to which no man had ever taken an iron tool. They sacrificed burnt-offerings to the Eternal upon it, and recompense offerings.
JPSas Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man had lifted up any iron; and they offered thereon burnt-offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
ASVas Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man had lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
DRAAs Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, and it is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of unhewn stones which iron had not touched: and he offered upon it holocausts to the Lord, and immolated victims of peace offerings.
YLTas Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses — an altar of whole stones, over which he hath not waved iron — and they cause to go up upon it burnt-offerings to Jehovah, and sacrifice peace-offerings;
Drbyas Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which iron had not been lifted up. And they offered up burnt-offerings on it to Jehovah, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
RVas Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man had lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
WbstrAs Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lifted up any iron: and they offered upon it burnt-offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
KJB-1769As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. (As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath/has lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. )
KJB-1611[fn]As Moses the seruant of the LORD commaunded the children of Israel, as it is written in the booke of the Law of Moses, an Altar of whole stones, ouer which no man hath lift vp any yron: and they offred theron burnt offerings vnto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. (As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the Law of Moses, an Altar of whole stones, over which no man hath/has lift up any iron: and they offered theron burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.)
BshpsAs Moyses the seruaunt of the Lord commaunded the chyldren of Israel, and as it is written in the booke of the lawe of Moyses, an aulter of whole stones, ouer which no man hath lyft an iron: And they sacrificed theron burnt sacrifices vnto the Lorde, and offered peace offerynges. (As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, and as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath/has lyft an iron: And they sacrificed theron burnt sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered peace offerings.)
GnvaAs Moses the seruant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the booke of the Lawe of Moses, an altar of whole stone, ouer which no man had lift an yron: and they offered thereon burnt offrings vnto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. (As Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the Lawe of Moses, an altar of whole stone, over which no man had lift an iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. )
Cvdlacordinge as Moses the seruaunt of ye LORDE commaunded the children of Israel, as it is wrytten in the boke of the lawe of Moses euen an altare of whole stone, whervpon there was no yron lifted: and he offred burntofferinges and healthofferinges, (acordinge as Moses the servant of ye/you_all LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses even an altar of whole stone, whervpon there was no iron lifted: and he offered burntofferinges and healthofferinges,)
Wyclas Moises, the `seruaunt of the Lord, comaundide to the sones of Israel, and it is writun in the book of Moises lawe, an auter of stoonys vnpolischid, whiche yrun touchide not. And he offride theron brent sacrifice to the Lord, and he offride pesible sacrifices; (as Moses, the `seruaunt of the Lord, commanded to the sons of Israel, and it is written in the book of Moses law, an altar of stones unpolischid, which yrun touchide not. And he offride theron burnt sacrifice to the Lord, and he offride peaceable sacrifices;)
Luth(wie Mose, der Knecht des HErr’s, geboten hatte den Kindern Israel, als geschrieben stehet im Gesetzbuch Moses, einen Altar von ganzen Steinen, die mit keinem Eisen behauen waren) und opferte dem HErr’s drauf Brandopfer und Dankopfer. ((wie Mose, the/of_the Knecht the LORD’s, offered had the Kindern Israel, als written stands in_the lawbuch Moses, a altar from entire Steinen, the with keinem Eisen behauen were) and opferte to_him LORD’s on_it Brandopfer and Dankopfer.)
ClVgsicut præceperat Moyses famulus Domini filiis Israël, et scriptum est in volumine legis Moysi: altare vero de lapidibus impolitis, quos ferrum non tetigit: et obtulit super eo holocausta Domino, immolavitque pacificas victimas. (sicut had_ordered Moyses famulus Master childrens Israel, and scriptum it_is in volumine legis of_Moses: altare vero about lapidibus impolitis, which ferrum not/no tetigit: and obtook over eo holocausta Master, immolavitque pacificas victimas. )
8:30-31 Archaeologists have recently discovered an altar . . . on Mount Ebal built of uncut stones and not shaped with iron tools. However, no inscription was found with it (8:32). • Burnt offerings and peace offerings were prescribed in the laws of sacrifice that God gave Moses while Israel was still at Mount Sinai (Lev 1, 3). Moses gave specific commands for this ceremony (see Deut 11:26-32; 27:1–28:68).
Shechem was strategically located at the entrance to the pass between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, where it could control several key roads through the central hill country. Jacob bought land near Shechem (Gen 33:18-19). While there, Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, was raped by the prince of the area (whose name was Shechem); in response, two of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, killed all the men of the land (Gen 34). Later, the town of Shechem became part of Joseph’s inheritance (Josh 24:32) and one of the cities of refuge (see Deut 19:1-13; Josh 20:7).
During the period of the judges, Gideon’s son Abimelech ruled from Shechem (Judg 9). Solomon later fortified Shechem as a provincial capital, but it was sacked soon after, probably by Shishak of Egypt when he invaded Israel in 926 BC (see 1 Kgs 14:25). Jeroboam I then refortified the city and made it the capital of the kingdom of Israel (1 Kgs 12:25). Shechem was again destroyed, this time by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V, in 724 BC, shortly before the destruction of Samaria, and the ruins were virtually uninhabited for about four hundred years.
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “as the book of the law of Moses says” or “as Moses wrote in his book of the law”
The law is using the first part of a process to mean that entire process. Picking up an iron tool and holding it over a stone is the first step in using that tool to shape the stone. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “which no one has used an iron tool to shape”
A quick search on the internet reveals that some of the top ways to commit something to long term memory include: 1) organizing the information; 2) making associations; 3) using visual cues (graphs, etc.); 4) creating mnemonic devices (rhymes, acrostics, etc.); 5) writing it down; 6) saying it out loud; 7) quizzing yourself; 8) and rehearsing it (https://www.usa.edu/blog/science-backed-memory-tips/). There should be no doubt, then, that the covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem would have been a truly memorable event for all involved. Two times in the book of Deuteronomy the Israelites are instructed to renew the covenant at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal after they have entered the Promised Land of Canaan, and then the actual event is recorded in the book of Joshua. Located in the heartland of Israel, Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal sat on either side of the ancient city of Shechem, where the Lord had promised centuries earlier to give Canaan to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:6-7). The renewal ceremony was essentially the corporate, verbal affirmation of the terms of the covenant that the Lord had established with Israel at Mount Sinai. As with virtually all ancient Near Eastern covenants, the terms included blessings for those who remained faithful to it and curses for those who broke it. Joshua and the priests stood between the two mountains with the Ark of the Covenant and read the entire book of the law. Six of the tribes (Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin) stood in front of the Ark on Mount Gerizim and shouted the blessings for faithfulness to the covenant, and six of the tribes (Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali) stood in front of the Ark on Mount Ebal and shouted the curses for unfaithfulness. It is very possible that this ceremony was performed within a natural amphitheater that exists even today on both Gerizim and Ebal at the place shown on this map. By standing within the concave spaces of the two mountains, the tribes would have been both “on” the mountains (Deuteronomy 27:11-13) and “on opposite sides of” the Ark (Joshua 8:33), and they would have been entirely capable of hearing Joshua’s words as well as each other’s shouts of blessings and curses. As far as why Gerizim was assigned the place of blessing and Ebal the place of curses, it is not entirely clear, but it may be because the ancients typically regarded east as being in front of them, so Gerizim would have been located on their right, which was typically favored over the left. Also, commentators have often expressed confusion over the mention of “the arabah” and “Gilgal” in Deuteronomy 11, typically because it is assumed that they refer to the Jordan Valley and the Gilgal near Jericho, respectively. This author, however, is convinced that “the arabah” (often meaning, “plain”) refers to the small plain immediately east of Shechem. And “Gilgal” (meaning, “wheel/circle”) in this verse refers to a location just across the plain at Khirbet Gulegil. (The name “Gilgal” was likely applied to at least four locations throughout Canaan; see Joshua 4:19; 15:7; Judges 3:19; 2 Kings 2:1; 4:38; Deuteronomy 11:30.) Centuries later, a Samaritan temple was built atop Mount Gerizim after foreign peoples were resettled in Israel, and this is what the Samaritan woman was referring to when she said to Jesus, “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem” (John 4:20). But Jesus replied to her, “Believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem….But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:21-23; see also “Shechem and the Hill Country of Samaria” map).
The Israelites Conquer Ai
Joshua 8
[Author’s note: This map and article assume that Ai was located at Khirbet al-Maqatir and Bethel was located at al-Bira. It is beyond the scope of this article to present all the convincing reasons for these assumptions, but they are well summarized in the following articles: “Traditional Site of Bethel Questioned,”“Location of Biblical Bethel and Ai Reconsidered,” and “The Khirbet el-Maqatir Excavations.” The expected locations for Roman mile markers are also included on this map, which confirm that al-Bira is located precisely at the twelfth mile marker from Jerusalem, as Eusebius and Jerome both asserted. All other maps in this Atlas have been recently updated to use these same locations for Ai and Bethel.
Soon after the Israelites entered the Promised Land and captured the city of Jericho, they sent a force of only three thousand men to capture the much smaller fortified town of Ai (Joshua 7). They suffered defeat, however, and the Lord revealed to them that this happened because a man named Achan had taken some of the devoted items from Jericho. So Joshua took Achan and his family to the Valley of Achor and executed them there (see Israel Enters the Promised Land map). Later the Lord told Joshua to attack Ai again, because this time he was going to give them the town. It appears that Ai, which had a direct line of sight to the more powerful city of Jerusalem to the south, must have served as a sort of early warning outpost for the larger city. Thus, capturing Ai was critical to staging an effective battle campaign throughout southern Canaan. So Joshua advanced with thirty thousand troops during the night and camped north of the city, and he positioned a force of five thousand men in ambush between Bethel and Ai, just to the west of Ai. The men in ambush were also just east of the mountain where Abraham had pitched his tent centuries earlier (Genesis 12:8). Joshua himself spent the night in the valley between Ai and the main Israelite camp. Early the next morning, the king of Ai led all the inhabitants of the town in an attack on the main camp of the Israelites, who feigned retreat into the wilderness. After the Israelite army had drawn the people of Ai away from the town, the Israelites hiding in ambush rose up and captured Ai. They set the town on fire, sending a signal to the the main army of Israelites to turn back upon the forces of Ai. The Israelites completely destroyed the people of Ai and reduced the town to a burning heap of ruins.
