Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| Joshua son of Nun was mighty in wars, and the successor of Moses in prophecies, who became, true to his name, great in the salvation of God's chosen ones, taking vengeance on the enemies that rose up, that he might give Israel its inheritance.
2| How he was glorified when he raised his arms high and thrust his blade forth against cities!
3| Who before him ever stood so firm? For it was the Lord himself who led on his enemies.
4| Did not the sun stand still by his hand, and one day become as two?
5| He called upon the Most High, the Ruler, when foes surrounded him on all flanks, and the mighty Lord answered him with hailstones of great force,
6| and hurled war down upon the nation, and in the descent destroyed those who opposed him, so that the nations might know his full array of arms, that his warfare was before the Lord; for indeed he followed close behind the Ruler.
7| And in the days of Moses he did an act of mercy — he and Caleb son of Jephunneh — standing firm against the enemy, keeping the people back from sin, and silencing the grumbling of wickedness.
8| And these two alone were saved out of six hundred thousand men on foot, to bring the people into their inheritance, into a land flowing with milk and honey.
9| And the Lord gave strength to Caleb, and it remained with him even into old age, so that he ascended the mountain heights of that country, and his offspring held on to the inheritance,
10| so that every child of Israel would recognize how good it is to follow the Lord.
11| And the judges too, each one by his own name, all those whose heart did not turn to wantonness and who did not turn away from the Lord — may their memory be a blessing;
12| may their bones flourish again from where they rest, and may their name live on, exchanged for that of their glorified sons.
13| Beloved by his Lord was Samuel, prophet of the Lord, who established the kingship and anointed rulers over his people;
14| under the Lord's law he governed the assembly, and the Lord kept watch over Jacob.
15| By his faithfulness he was proved a true prophet, and by his faithfulness he was known to be trustworthy in vision.
16| And he called upon the Lord, the Ruler, when his enemies pressed him on every side, offering a suckling lamb.
17| And the Lord sent thunder out of the sky, and with a mighty roar made himself heard,
18| and he crushed the leaders of Tyre and all the rulers of the Philistines.
19| And before the time of his eternal rest, he bore witness before the Lord and his anointed one: "Money, or so much as a pair of sandals, I have not taken from any man"; and no man brought a charge against him.
20| And even after he had fallen asleep he prophesied, and showed the king his end, and lifted his voice out of the ground in prophecy, to wipe away the lawlessness of the people.