Yosua 1:1-18

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! ¹  Cross the Jordan River! ²  Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. ³  1:3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴  1:4 Your territory will extend from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all of Syria) ⁵  and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea ⁶  in the west. ⁷  1:5 No one will be able to resist you ⁸  all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone. 1:6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. ⁹  1:7 Make sure you are ¹⁰  very strong and brave! Carefully obey ¹¹  all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! ¹²  Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful ¹³  in all you do. ¹⁴  1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips! ¹⁵  You must memorize it ¹⁶  day and night so you can carefully obey ¹⁷  all that is written in it. Then you will prosper ¹⁸  and be successful. ¹⁹  1:9 I repeat, ²⁰  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, ²¹  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” ²² 

Joshua Prepares for the Invasion

1:10 Joshua instructed ²³  the leaders of the people: 1:11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your supplies, for within three days you will cross the Jordan River and begin the conquest of the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to you.’” ²⁴ 

1:12 Joshua told the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh: 1:13 “Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you. ²⁵  The Lord your God is giving you a place to settle and is handing this land over to you. ²⁶  1:14 Your wives, children and cattle may stay in the land that Moses assigned to you east of the Jordan River. But all you warriors must cross over armed for battle ahead of your brothers. ²⁷  You must help them 1:15 until the Lord gives your brothers a place like yours to settle and they conquer the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to them. Then you may go back to your allotted land and occupy the land Moses the Lord’s servant assigned you east of the Jordan.” ²⁸ 

1:16 They told Joshua, “We will do everything you say. We will go wherever you send us. 1:17 Just as we obeyed ²⁹  Moses, so we will obey you. But ³⁰  may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses! 1:18 Any man who rebels against what you say and does not obey all your commands will be executed. ³¹  But ³²  be strong and brave!”

Yakobus 3:1-18

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ³³  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ³⁴  3:2 For we all stumble ³⁵  in many ways. If someone does not stumble ³⁶  in what he says, ³⁷  he is a perfect individual, ³⁸  able to control the entire body as well. 3:3 And if we put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies. ³⁹  3:4 Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs. 3:5 So too the tongue is a small part of the body, ⁴⁰  yet it has great pretensions. ⁴¹  Think ⁴²  how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. 3:6 And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents ⁴³  the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It ⁴⁴  pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence – and is set on fire by hell. ⁴⁵ 

3:7 For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature ⁴⁶  is subdued and has been subdued by humankind. ⁴⁷  3:8 But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless ⁴⁸  evil, full of deadly poison. 3:9 With it we bless the Lord ⁴⁹  and Father, and with it we curse people ⁵⁰  made in God’s image. 3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. ⁵¹  3:11 A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it? 3:12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, ⁵²  or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water.

True Wisdom

3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ⁵³  3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 3:15 Such ⁵⁴  wisdom does not come ⁵⁵  from above but is earthly, natural, ⁵⁶  demonic. 3:16 For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ⁵⁷  full of mercy and good fruit, ⁵⁸  impartial, and not hypocritical. ⁵⁹  3:18 And the fruit that consists of righteousness ⁶⁰  is planted ⁶¹  in peace among ⁶²  those who make peace.

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Get up!”

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).

[1:2]  ³ tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “Every place on which the sole of your foot walks, to you I have given it, as I said to Moses.” The second person pronouns in vv. 3-4 are plural, indicating that all the people are addressed here. The verbal form נְתַתִּיו (nÿtattiv, “I have given it”) is probably a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Another option is to translate, “I have already assigned it.” In this case the verb would probably refer to the Lord’s decree to Abraham that he would give this land to his descendants.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “all the land of the Hittites.” The expression “the land of the Hittites” does not refer to Anatolia (modern Turkey), where the ancient Hittite kingdom of the second millennium b.c. was located, but rather to Syria, the “Hatti land” mentioned in inscriptions of the first millennium b.c. (see HALOT 1:363). The phrase is omitted in the LXX and may be a scribal addition.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, even to the great sea [at] the place where the sun sets, your territory will be.”

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Only be.”

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”

[1:7]  ¹² tn Heb “commanded you.”

[1:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[1:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “mouth.”

[1:8]  sn This law scroll must not leave your lips. The ancient practice of reading aloud to oneself as an aid to memorization is in view here.

[1:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).

[1:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “be careful to do.”

[1:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”

[1:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

[1:9]  ²² tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[1:10]  ²³ tn Or “commanded.”

[1:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to enter to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving to you to possess it.”

[1:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “remember the word which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you.”

[1:13]  sn This command can be found in Deut 3:18-20. In vv. 13-15 Joshua paraphrases the command, as the third person reference to Moses in v. 14 indicates.

[1:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “is providing rest for you and is giving to you this land.”

[1:13]  sn “This land” refers to the trans-Jordanian lands allotted to these tribes.

[1:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “But you must cross over armed for battle before your brothers, all [you] mighty men of strength.”

[1:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Then you may return to the land of your possession and possess it, that which Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave to you beyond the Jordan toward the rising of the sun.”

[1:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “listened to.”

[1:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 18 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).

[1:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “any man who rebels against your mouth and does not listen to your words, to all which you command us, will be put to death.”

[1:18]  ³² tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 17 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).

[3:1]  ³³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[3:2]  ³⁵ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ³⁶ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “in speech.”

[3:2]  ³⁸ tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

[3:3]  ³⁹ tn Grk “their entire body.”

[3:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “a small member.”

[3:5]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “boasts of great things.”

[3:5]  ⁴² tn Grk “Behold.”

[3:6]  ⁴³ tn Grk “makes itself,” “is made.”

[3:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:6]  ⁴⁵ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[3:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk (plurals), “every kind of animals and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures.”

[3:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “the human species.”

[3:8]  ⁴⁸ tc Most mss (C Ψ 1739^c Ï as well as a few versions and fathers) read “uncontrollable” (ἀκατασχετόν, akatasceton), while the most important witnesses (א A B K P 1739* latt) have “restless” (ἀκατάστατον, akatastaton). Externally, the latter reading should be preferred. Internally, however, things get a bit more complex. The notion of being uncontrollable is well suited to the context, especially as a counterbalance to v. 8a, though for this very reason scribes may have been tempted to replace ἀκατάστατον with ἀκατασχετόν. However, in a semantically parallel early Christian text, ἀκατάστατος (akatastato") was considered strong enough of a term to denounce slander as “a restless demon” (Herm. 27:3). On the other hand, ἀκατάστατον may have been substituted for ἀκατασχετόν by way of assimilation to 1:8 (especially since both words were relatively rare, scribes may have replaced the less familiar with one that was already used in this letter). On internal evidence, it is difficult to decide, though ἀκατασχετόν is slightly preferred. However, in light of the strong support for ἀκατάστατον, and the less-than-decisive internal evidence, ἀκατάστατον is preferred instead.

[3:9]  ⁴⁹ tc Most later mss (Ï), along with several versional witnesses, have θεόν (qeon, “God”) here instead of κύριον (kurion, “Lord”). Such is a predictable variant since nowhere else in the NT is God described as “Lord and Father,” but he is called “God and Father” on several occasions. Further, the reading κύριον is well supported by early and diversified witnesses (̲⁰ א A B C P Ψ 33 81 945 1241 1739), rendering it as the overwhelmingly preferred reading.

[3:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpous) has generic force, referring to both men and women.

[3:10]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:12]  ⁵² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:13]  ⁵³ tn Grk “works in the gentleness of wisdom.”

[3:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “This.”

[3:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “come down”; “descend.”

[3:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “soulish,” which describes life apart from God, characteristic of earthly human life as opposed to what is spiritual. Cf. 1 Cor 2:14; 15:44-46; Jude 19.

[3:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “sincere.”

[3:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “the fruit of righteousness,” meaning righteous living as a fruit, as the thing produced.

[3:18]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “is sown.”

[3:18]  ⁶² tn Or “for,” or possibly “by.”