Joshua 5:14

Joshua 5:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
• New International Version (NIV)“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
• New King James Version (NKJV)So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
• New Living Translation (NLT)“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”

Context of Joshua 5:14

12And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. 13When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" 15And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

Joshua 5:14 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ לֹ֗א כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י שַׂר־צְבָֽא־יְהוָ֖ה עַתָּ֣ה בָ֑אתִי וַיִּפֹּל֩ יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַ אֶל־פָּנָ֥יו אַ֙רְצָה֙ וַיִּשְׁתָּ֔חוּ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מָ֥ה אֲדֹנִ֖י מְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־עַבְדּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• captainשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• of the hostצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · armyH6635
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• am I now comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• fellנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• on his faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• to the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• and did worshipשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
• unto him, What saithדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• unto his servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650

Cross-references for Joshua 5:14

• Exodus 23:20"Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
• Isaiah 55:4Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.
• Daniel 10:13The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,
• Daniel 12:1"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
• Hebrews 2:10For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
• Revelation 12:7Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,
• Revelation 19:11Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
• Genesis 17:3Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
• Leviticus 9:24And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
• Numbers 16:22And they fell on their faces and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?"
• Matthew 8:2And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
• Luke 5:12While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
• Acts 10:25When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.
• Revelation 19:10Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
• Revelation 22:8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,
• 1 Samuel 3:9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Commentaries on Joshua 5:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14But as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come - By this saying Joshua was both encouraged and instructed. As if he had said, "Fear not; Jehovah hath sent from heaven to save thee and thy people from the reproach of them that would swallow thee up. Israel is the Lord's host; and the Lord of hosts is Israel's Captain. Thou thyself shalt only be captain under me, and I am now about to instruct thee relative to thy conduct in this war." And Joshua…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Captain of the host of the Lord - i. e. of the angelic host, the host of heaven (compare 1 Kings 22:19; 1 Samuel 1:3, etc.). The armed people of Israel are never called “the host of the Lord,” though once spoken of in Exodus 12:41 as “all the hosts of the Lord.” The Divine Person intimates that He, the Prince (see the marginal references) of the Angels had come to lead Israel in the coming strife, and to overthrow by heavenly might the armies and the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-15Verses 13-15 We read not of any appearance of God's glory to Joshua till now. There appeared to him one as a man to be noticed. This Man was the Son of God, the eternal Word. Joshua gave him Divine honours: he received them, which a created angel would not have done, and he is called Jehovah, chap. 6:2. To Abraham he appeared as a traveller; to Joshua as a man of war. Christ will be to his people what their faith needs. Christ had his sword drawn, which…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14When Joshua realized who was standing before him, he fell facedown in reverence. This action showed that Joshua was ready to serve God fully and without reservation. Scholars disagree about who this commander was. Some think he was an appearance of God, others think he was Christ before becoming human, and others think he was an angel. The commander called himself the leader of the Lord’s army, which may suggest that he was an angel. However, he did not…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. the host of the Lord--either the Israelitish people (Ex 7:4; 12:41; Is 55:4), or the angels (Psa 148:2), or both included, and the Captain of it was the angel of the covenant, whose visible manifestations were varied according to the occasion. His attitude of equipment betokened his approval of, and interest in, the war of invasion. Joshua fell on his face ..., and did worship--The adoption by Joshua of this absolute form of prostration demonstrates…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 5:14

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Captain
• Jericho
• Jesus Continued
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Joshua
• Bowing
• Captain
• Loose
• Angel
• Attitudes
• Joshua, Book of
• Prince
• Tabernacle

Commentaries on Joshua 5

• 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