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

1The whole congregation of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land was under their control. 2There were still seven tribes in Israel who had not yet received any land as their inheritance. So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long are you going to waste time conquering the land which the Lord God of your ancestors has given you? 4Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They will survey the land and write a description of it which shows ⌞the borders of⌟ their inheritance. Then they will come back to me. 5They will divide the land into seven parts. Judah will stay within its territory in the south, and Joseph’s descendants will stay within their territory in 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

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 replied, “Get up, let’s attack Laish. We saw the land. It’s very good! “Don’t just sit there! Go at once and take the land.
• Proverbs 2:2if you pay close attention to wisdom, and let your mind reach for understanding,
• Proverbs 10:4Lazy hands bring poverty, but hard-working hands bring riches.
• Proverbs 13:4A lazy person craves food and there is none, but the appetite of hard-working people is satisfied.
• Proverbs 15:19The path of lazy people is like a thorny hedge, but the road of decent people is an ⌞open⌟ highway.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever presents itself for you to do, do it with ⌞all⌟ your might, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or skill in the grave where you’re going.
• Zephaniah 3:16On that day Jerusalem will be told, “Do not be afraid, Zion! Do not lose courage!”
• Matthew 20:6About 5 p.m. he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’
• John 6:27Don’t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you. After all, the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.”
• Philippians 3:13Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and
• 2 Peter 1:10Therefore, brothers and sisters, use more effort to make God’s calling and choosing of you secure. If you keep doing this, you will never fall away.

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
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Children of Israel
• Shiloh
• Chephirah
• Divination

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