"But the YouTube transcript couldn't tell us what you were singing in Japanese," a friend told me.
The original hymn was in English, but we actually prefer the Japanese, like only the English chorus--so that's the way we sang it.
This is kinda crazy, but below is a rough translation of the lyrics sung in Japanese! It's not arranged in proper meter, singable or anything, they're just meant to explain the meaning of the words, ok?
1. Stepping out into a new land/See, my heart is sure/(Japanese chorus) As with Joshua, I too declare:/"As for me and for my house, we will serve the LORD."
2. News that trials thickly enshroud the way / Gives no reason for the heart to fear.
3. An enemy horde means nothing to me if / Jesus stands at the forefront of battle / (English chorus) Dare to stand like Joshua, Dare to say the words, / "As for me and for my house, we will serve the LORD."
4. Much territory must yet be won / Strengthen the heart; fight on! / (Japanese chorus) As with Joshua, I too declare: / "As for me and for my house, we will serve the LORD."
Better, kinda? This last pic is one Joyce used in a slide presentation on furloughs to show how we 3 J's grew up singing together. Can you figure out which one is who? Oh-oh; I messed up. People are going to be thinking about this instead of about the lyrics of the song, which is the really important stuff, right?
