Joshua 20:4

Joshua 20:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
• New International Version (NIV)When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

Context of Joshua 20:4

2“Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘Designate the cities of refuge (asylum), of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3so that the person (manslayer) who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall be your refuge from the blood avenger. He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city; and they shall take him into [the protection of] the city and give him a place [to stay], so that he may live among them. 5If the blood avenger pursues him, they shall not hand the offender (manslayer) over to him, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. 6He shall live in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment [and if acquitted of murder he must stay there], until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then the offender (manslayer) shall return to his own city and his own house from which he fled.’ ”

Joshua 20:4 word by word

וְנָ֞ס אֶל־אַחַ֣ת׀ מֵהֶעָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה וְעָמַד֙ פֶּ֚תַח שַׁ֣עַר הָעִ֔יר וְדִבֶּ֛ר בְּאָזְנֵ֛י זִקְנֵ֥י־הָעִֽיר הַהִ֖יא אֶת־דְּבָרָ֑יו וְאָסְפ֨וּ אֹת֤וֹ הָעִ֙ירָה֙ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם וְנָתְנוּ־ל֥וֹ מָק֖וֹם וְיָשַׁ֥ב עִמָּֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when he that doth fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
• unto oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• of those citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• shall standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• at the enteringפֶּ֫תַחpethach · entranceH6607
• of the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• and shall declareדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• his causeדָּבָרdâbâr · word: caseH1697
• in the earsאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · ear: to earsH241
• of the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• they shall takeאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
• unto them, and giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• him a placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• that he may dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Joshua 20:4

• Revelation 4:1After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a [war] trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
• Job 5:4His children are far from safety [and included in their father’s ruin], They are oppressed and crushed in the [court of justice in the city’s] gate, And there is no one to rescue them.
• Job 29:7When I went out to the gate of the city, When I took my seat [as a city father] in the square,
• Proverbs 31:23Her husband is known in the [city’s] gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
• Jeremiah 38:7Now Ebed-melech the Ethiopian (Cushite), one of the eunuchs who was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern, and while the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin,
• Psalms 26:9Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, Nor [sweep away] my life with men of bloodshed,
• Hebrews 6:18so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us.

Commentaries on Joshua 20:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4As soon as the manslayer presented himself at the city of refuge, the elders of the city were to hold an inquiry, and receive him provisionally into the city. Afterward, when the avenger of blood should have tracked his victim to the city, and appear to claim him, a more formal and thorough investigation Joshua 20:6 was to be made. Consult the marginal references.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6These verses review the law about cities of refuge (see also Numbers 35:6–34).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city--It was the place of public resort, and on arriving there he related his tale of distress to the elders, who were bound to give him shelter and the means of support, until the local authorities (Jos 20:6), having carefully investigated the case, should have pronounced the decision. If found guilty, the manslayer was surrendered to the blood-avenger; if…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 20:4

• Avenger of Blood
• Communion
• Court
• Gates
• Government
• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• Appoint
• Refuge
• Cruel; Cruelty
• Dwell
• Elder in the Old Testament
• Goel
• Homicide
• Joshua (2)
• Joshua, Book of
• Palestine Exploration

Commentaries on Joshua 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings