complete verse (Joshua 24:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 24:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then you crossed the river Jordan and arrived at Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you and also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites fought against you. But I made you victorious.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “’After that you crossed over the Jordan and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought with you. And later the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites also fought with you. But I gave them into your hand. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Then you (plur.) crossed the River of Jordan and reached Jerico. Those from-Jerico fought against you (plur.), just-as/like also the Amornon, Periznon, Canaanhon, Hithanon, Girgashnon, Hivhanon, and Jebusnon. But I caused- you (plur.) -to-win against them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Then you all crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho prepared to fight against you, and the armies of the descendants of Amor, Periz, Canaan, Heth, Girgash, Hiv, and Jebus all prepared to do the same thing but I enabled you to defeat them all.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Joshua 24:11

Verses 11-13 describe the invasion of Canaan, beginning with the battle for Jericho (chapter 6). For the seven peoples listed in this verse, see comments on 3.10.New English Bible, without any textual justification, omits the list of seven peoples; it must be admitted that this list looks like a later addition (see Gray). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project stays with the Masoretic text. The phrase the men of Jericho represents the Hebrew “the lords (or, owners) of Jericho”; Jerusalem Bible “those who held Jericho”; and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “the owners (or, masters) of Jericho.” It also seems adequate to translate “The fighting men from Jericho” or “The soldiers from Jericho.”

But I gave you victory over them all may more effectively be introduced earlier in the verse: “The people of Jericho fought you, but I caused you to defeat them. Then the Amorites … and the Jebusites fought against you. But I caused you to defeat all of them.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .