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‘Tell the Israelite people to choose special cities as safe places. I told Moses that you should do this. 3Anyone can be safe in these cities if he has killed someone but he did not mean to kill. A person like that must run to one of these towns and he will be safe from the dead person's relative. The person who killed someone must go to the special city. When he arrives, he must stand at the gate of the city. There he must tell the leaders what he has done. Then they must take him into the city. They must give him a place to stay so that he can live there. 5The dead person's relative may chase after the killer. The leaders of the city must not let him hurt the killer. This is because the killer did not mean to kill. 6The killer must stay inside that city. The judges there will decide if he is not guilty of murder. Then he must wait until the leader of the priests dies. After that, he is free to return to the town that he came from.’

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. There in front of me was an open door in heaven. I heard the same voice that I had heard before. It spoke like the sound of a trumpet. It said to me, ‘Come up here. I will show you the things that must happen after this.’
• Job 5:4Their children are never truly safe. The judge says that they are guilty, and nobody saves them from punishment.
• Job 29:7I would go to the gate of the city, and sit there as one of the leaders.
• Proverbs 31:23People in the city respect her husband. He meets with the other leaders at the city's gate.
• Jeremiah 38:7There was an officer who served the king in his palace. His name was Ebed-Melech. He came from the country of Ethiopia. He heard the news that some officers had put Jeremiah into the deep hole in the palace yard. At that time the king was sitting as judge at the Benjamin Gate of the city.
• Psalms 26:9Do not take away my life, as you do with sinners. Do not punish me with death, as you do with murderers.
• Hebrews 6:18Those two things can never change. God cannot tell a lie. As a result, we can be brave and strong. We have trusted God to keep us safe with him. We should also expect to receive the good things that he has promised to give 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