Joshua 4:9

Joshua 4:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
• New International Version (NIV)Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

Context of Joshua 4:9

7Then you will tell them that the water in the Jordan River stopped where the Lord's Covenant Box was. When the priests carried the Covenant Box into the river, the water stopped. These stones will help the people of Israel to remember this for ever.’ 8So the 12 men obeyed Joshua's command. They took 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan River, as the Lord had told Joshua. There was one stone for each Israelite tribe. They carried the stones to the place where the people had put their tents. They put the stones down there. Joshua also made a heap of 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan River. He put them in the place where the priests with the Covenant Box had stood. Those stones are still there today. 10The priests had carried the Covenant Box into the middle of the river. They stood there while the people did everything that the Lord had told Joshua. That is what Moses had also told Joshua. The people crossed over the river quickly. 11As soon as everybody was on the other side, the priests also took the Covenant Box to the other side. The people watched them as they did this.

Joshua 4:9 word by word

וּשְׁתֵּ֧ים עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה אֲבָנִ֗ים הֵקִ֣ים יְהוֹשֻׁעַ֮ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַיַּרְדֵּן֒ תַּ֗חַת מַצַּב֙ רַגְלֵ֣י הַכֹּהֲנִ֔ים נֹשְׂאֵ֖י אֲר֣וֹן הַבְּרִ֑ית וַיִּ֣הְיוּ שָׁ֔ם עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• set upקוּםqûm · to arise: establishH6965
• twelveעָשָׂר‛âώâr · tenH6240
• twelveשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• of Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
• in the place where the feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
• of the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• which bareנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
• the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• of the covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• stoodמַצָּבmatstsâb · stationH4673
• and they are there unto this dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117

Cross-references for Joshua 4:9

• Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain. Stay here. I will give you the flat stones with my Law on them. I have written on them my Law and my commands, so that you can teach them to the people.’
• Exodus 28:21There will be 12 jewels, one jewel for each of Israel's sons. You must carefully write one tribe's name on each jewel with a sharp tool.
• 1 Kings 18:31Elijah picked up 12 stones, one for each of the tribes that were Jacob's descendants. Jacob was the man that the Lord had given the new name ‘Israel’.
• Psalms 111:2The Lord does great things! People who enjoy them, think carefully about them.
• Joshua 4:20At Gilgal, Joshua made a heap with the 12 stones that they had taken out of the Jordan River.
• Genesis 26:33Isaac called the well Shibah. So the town is still called Beersheba.
• Deuteronomy 34:6The Lord buried Moses in a valley in Moab, near the town of Beth-Peor. But even today, no one knows the place where God buried him.
• Judges 1:26He went to the land of the Hittites. He built a city there. He called it Luz, and that is still its name.
• 1 Samuel 30:25David made this a rule for the Israelites, and they still obey it.
• 2 Samuel 4:3The people from Beeroth had run away to Gittaim. So Beeroth's people still live there as strangers.
• 2 Chronicles 5:9The poles in the Covenant Box were very long. The priests could see their ends from the Holy Place, if they stood in front of the Most Holy Place. But nobody could see the poles from outside the temple. And they are still there today.
• Matthew 27:8After this, it was called ‘The Field of Blood’. It is still called that even today.
• Matthew 28:15The soldiers took the money. They told people what the Jewish leaders told them to say. Many Jews heard the soldiers' story. Even today they still believe that it happened like that.

Commentaries on Joshua 4:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan - It seems from this chapter that there were two sets of stones erected as a memorial of this great event; twelve at Gilgal, Joshua 4:20; and twelve in the bed of Jordan, Joshua 4:9. The twelve stones in the bed of Jordan might have been so placed on a base of strong stone-work so high as always to be visible, and serve to mark the very spot where the priests stood with the ark. The twelve stones set…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Another set of stones is intended than that before mentioned. The one set was erected by the command of God at the spot where they passed the night Joshua 4:3; the other by Joshua on the spot where the priests‘ feet rested while they bore up the ark during the passage of the people. This spot was near, or perhaps on, the eastern brink (compare Joshua 3:8). These stones would therefore mark the spot at which the people crossed, as the others marked the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9A second memorial of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan River became covered with water when the river resumed its flow. The top of the monument would be visible during the dry summer seasons. are there to this day: This shows that the memorials stood for generations, until the final editing of the book (see Joshua Book Introduction, “Author and Date”).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Joshua set up twelve stones ... in the place where the feet of the priests ... stood--In addition to the memorial just described, there was another memento of the miraculous event, a duplicate of the former, set up in the river itself, on the very spot where the ark had rested. This heap of stones might have been a large and compactly built one and visible in the ordinary state of the river. As nothing is said where these stones were obtained, some…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 4:9

• Instruction
• Pillar
• Stones
• Token

In the dictionaries

• Jordan
• Joshua
• Jordan River, Jordan
• Ark of the Covenant
• Shechem
• Joshua (2)
• Joshua, Book of
• Number
• Priests and Levites
• Sign

Commentaries on Joshua 4

• 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