The children of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel. They carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there.
Parallel Translations
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The children of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel. They carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there.
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And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
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And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD spoke unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Joshua 4:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Joshua 1:16-18 They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Only may Yahweh your God be with you, as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your commandment, and doesn’t listen to your words in all that you command him shall himself be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
- Joshua 4:2-5 “Take twelve men out of the people, a man out of every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take from out of the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you’ll camp tonight.’ ” Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe. Joshua said to them, “Cross before the ark of Yahweh your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you pick up a stone and put it on your shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;
- Joshua 4:20 Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jos 4:8 And the children of Israel did so…
Jos 4:8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
Ver. 8. And the children of Israel did so,] i.e., The twelve select men, representing the whole people.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the children of Israel did so as Joshua…
And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded,.... That is, the twelve men taken out of the twelve tribes of Israel, and who were the representatives of them in this action:
and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; they took the exact number, and out of the very place Joshua was ordered to direct them to do:
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and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged: which, as Josephus says (i), was fifty furlongs from Jordan, which was above six miles; so far they carried these stones on their shoulders:
and laid them down there; which afterwards were put in proper order by Joshua, or at least by his direction.
(i) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Laid them down there - i. e. in Gilgal…
Laid them down there - i. e. in Gilgal Jos 4:20. Spoken of as the doers of this, because it was done by the twelve who acted for them.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded--that…
the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded--that is, it was done by their twelve representatives.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Israel did so — They did so by…
8. Israel did so — They did so by their twelve representatives, according to the old law-maxim: Qui facit per allure, facit per se — “He who acts through another acts through himself.”
And laid them down — They did not construct them into a monument. This Joshua did afterwards. Jos_4:20.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. unto the place] “On the upper terrace of…
8. unto the place] “On the upper terrace of the plain of the Jordan, which became the centre of the first sanctuary of the Holy Land—the first place pronounced ‘holy,’ the sacred place of the Jordan valley (Jos_5:10-15), where the Tabernacle remained till it was fixed at Shiloh” (Jos_18:1).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8-9) According to the number of the tribes. .…
(8-9) According to the number of the tribes. . . .—Every tribe was represented by a stone on either side Jordan. The two cairns represent a complete Israel in the wilderness, and a complete Israel in the promised land. “Thou shalt remember all the way that the Lord thy God led thee.” “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Joshua and Israel continue to do as Yahweh commanded.
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they picked up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan
This refers to the twelve men picking up stones from the middle of the Jordan River bed. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan
These were twelve additional stones, not the stones that the twelve men carried from the river bed. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
The memorial is there to this day
This means the memorial was there to the day that the author was writing this book.
translationWords
people group
Israel
Joshua
command
Jordan River
Yahweh
priest
ark of the covenant
memorial
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.