Joshua 18:3

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

1And the whole assembly of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them. 2And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not been distributed to them. And Joshua said to the children of Israel, How long will ye shew yourselves slack to go to take possession of the land which Jehovah the God of your fathers hath given you? 4Provide you three men for a tribe; that I may send them, and they shall rise and go through the land, and describe it according to the proportion of their inheritance, and they shall come to me. 5And they shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall remain in their border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their border on the north;

Joshua 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

• Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• slackרָפָהrâphâh · to slackenH7503
• goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• takeיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• possessionיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414

Cross-references for Joshua 18:3

• Judges 18:9And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good; and ye are still! Be not slothful to go, to enter to take possession of the land.
• Proverbs 2:2so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom [and] thou apply thy heart to understanding;
• Proverbs 10:4He cometh to want that dealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
• Proverbs 13:4A sluggard's soul desireth and hath nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
• Proverbs 15:19The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns; but the path of the upright is made plain.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.
• Zephaniah 3:16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; Zion, let not thy hands be slack.
• Matthew 20:6But about the eleventh [hour], having gone out, he found others standing, and says to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
• John 6:27Work not [for] the food which perishes, but [for] the food which abides unto life eternal, which the Son of man shall give to you; for him has the Father sealed, [even] God.
• Philippians 3:13Brethren, I do not count to have got possession myself; but one thing — forgetting the things behind, and stretching out to the things before,
• 2 Peter 1:10Wherefore the rather, brethren, use diligence to make your calling and election sure, for doing these things ye will never fall;

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

• Shiloh

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Joshua
• Children of Israel
• Shiloh
• Chephirah
• Divination
• Joshua (2)
• Joshua, Book of
• Palestine Exploration

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