Christian Standard Bible
Joshua 18:3
3So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, gave you?
Joshua 18:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?
- New International Version (NIV)So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?
- English Standard Version (ESV)So Joshua said to the people of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?
Context of Joshua 18:3
1The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land had been subdued before them, 2but seven tribes among the Israelites were left who had not divided up their inheritance. So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, gave you? 4Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They are to go and survey the land, write a description of it for the purpose of their inheritance, and return to me. 5Then they are to divide it into seven portions. Judah is to remain in its territory in the south and Joseph’s family in their territory in the north.
Read all of Joshua 18Joshua 18:3 word by word
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל עַד־אָ֙נָה֙ אַתֶּ֣ם מִתְרַפִּ֔ים לָבוֹא֙ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֔ם יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- ye slackרָפָהrâphâh · to slackenH7503
- to goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
- the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- hath givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
Cross-references for Joshua 18:3
- Judges 18:9They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don’t hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land!
- Proverbs 2:2listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding;
- Proverbs 10:4Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.
- Proverbs 13:4The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied.
- Proverbs 15:19A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge, but the path of the upright is a highway.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
- Zephaniah 3:16On that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.
- Matthew 20:6Then about five he went and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’
- John 6:27Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.”
- Philippians 3:13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,
- 2 Peter 1:10Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.
Commentaries on Joshua 18:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3How long are ye slack to go to possess the land - We find an unaccountable backwardness in this people to enter on the inheritance which God had given them! They had so long been supported by miracle, without any exertions of their own, that they found it difficult to shake themselves from their inactivity. When it was necessary that all the people should go out to battle, they went with a measure of confidence, expecting miraculous help from God, and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3This backwardness probably arose from the indisposition of the people to abandon the nomad life in which they had been born and bred, and to settle in fixed abodes, and perhaps also from a dislike of the exterminating warfare incidental to a complete dispossessing of the Canaanites.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2-10Verses 2-10 After a year or more, Joshua blamed their slackness, and told them how to proceed. God, by his grace, has given us a title to a good land, the heavenly Canaan, but we are slack to take possession of it; we enter not into that rest, as we might by faith, and hope, and holy joy. How long shall it be thus with us? How long shall we thus stand in our own light, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities? Joshua stirs the Israelites up to take…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-28As he had promised, God brought Israel into the land. Joshua then focused on dividing the land among Israel's tribes. The tribal allowances made the covenant of the Israelites with God real. It showed the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since God owned the land, giving it to the tribes was a gift. God gave them the land to live in and guided its distribution. In these lists of tribal allowances, the author describes some borders…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you--This reproof conveys an impression that the seven tribes were dilatory to a criminal extent.Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 18:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 18
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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