Joshua commands the people to get rid of their idols and to pledge their loyalty to the Lord (Hebrew “bend, or turn, your hearts to”; see Revised Standard Version). The people promise they will worship only the Lord and obey his commands.

As indicated at verse 14, get rid of implies the physical destruction of objects used in the worship of foreign gods. Joshua’s command may be rendered, “Destroy all the idols that you have.” The sentence may also be inverted: “Some of you still have idols of foreign gods with you. Destroy all of them and pledge your loyalty to the LORD, the God of Israel.” Indirect discourse may be more acceptable: “… and say, ‘We will be faithful to the LORD, the God of Israel.’ ” Or, if the God of Israel is a difficult phrase: “… and say, ‘We will be faithful to the LORD. He is the God whom the people of Israel must worship.’ ”

Obey his commands translates the Hebrew “obey his voice” (see Revised Standard Version). It may be more natural to translate the response of the people as a single sentence: “We will worship the LORD our God and obey his commands.” Two sentences may be retained, but in a different form: “The LORD is our God. We will worship only him and obey all his commands.”

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 .