God’s Word Translation
Joshua 4:6
6This will be a sign for you. In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
Joshua 4:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
- New International Version (NIV)to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’
- English Standard Version (ESV)that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?'
- New King James Version (NKJV)that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
Context of Joshua 4:6
4Joshua called the 12 men whom he had selected (one from each tribe). 5He said to them, “Go to the middle of the Jordan River in front of the ark of the Lord your God. Each man must take a stone on his shoulder, one for each tribe of Israel. This will be a sign for you. In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7You should answer, ‘The water of the Jordan River was cut off in front of the ark of the Lord’s promise. When the ark crossed the Jordan, the river stopped flowing. These stones are a permanent reminder for the people of Israel.’ ” 8The people of Israel did as Joshua had ordered. They took 12 stones, one for each of the tribes of Israel. They took them from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there.
Read all of Joshua 4Joshua 4:6 word by word
לְמַ֗עַן תִּֽהְיֶ֛ה זֹ֥את א֖וֹת בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־יִשְׁאָל֨וּן בְּנֵיכֶ֤ם מָחָר֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר מָ֛ה הָאֲבָנִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Joshua 4:6
- Joshua 22:27but it will stand as a witness between us for generations to come. It will stand as a witness that we may worship in the presence of the Lord with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings.’ Then your descendants cannot say to our descendants, ‘You have no connection with the Lord!’
- Exodus 12:14“This day will be one for you to remember. This is a permanent law for generations to come: You will celebrate this day as a pilgrimage festival in the Lord’s honor.
- Exodus 13:9This ⌞festival⌟ will be ⌞like⌟ a mark on your hand or a reminder on your forehead that the teachings of the Lord are ⌞always⌟ to be a part of your conversation. Because the Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of Egypt,
- Exodus 31:13“Say to the Israelites, ‘Be sure to observe my days of rest as holy days. This will be a sign between me and you for generations to come so that you will know that I am the Lord who makes you holy.
- Numbers 16:38The incense burners of these men who sinned and lost their lives are holy, because they were offered to the Lord. Hammer them into thin metal sheets to cover the altar. This will be a sign to the Israelites.”
- Isaiah 55:13Cypress trees will grow where thornbushes grew. Myrtle trees will grow where briars grew. This will be a reminder of the Lord’s name and an everlasting sign that will never be destroyed.
- Ezekiel 20:12I also gave them certain days to worship me as a sign between us so that they would know that I, the Lord, made them holy.
- Joshua 4:21He said to the people of Israel, “In the future when children ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’
- Exodus 12:26When your children ask you what this ceremony means to you,
- Exodus 13:14“In the future when your children ask you what this means, tell them, ‘The Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of slavery in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 6:20In the future your children will ask you, “What do these regulations, laws, and rules which the Lord our God commanded you mean to you?”
- Deuteronomy 11:19Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up.
- Psalms 44:1O God, we have heard it with our own ears. Our ancestors have told us about the miracle you performed in their day, in days long ago.
- Psalms 71:18Even when I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me live to tell the people of this age what your strength has accomplished, to tell about your power to all who will come.
- Psalms 78:3things that we have heard and known about, things that our parents have told us.
- Isaiah 38:19Those who are living praise you as I do today. Fathers make your faithfulness known to their children.
Commentaries on Joshua 4:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6This may be a sign - Stand as a continual memorial of this miraculous passage, and consequently a proof of their lasting obligation to God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Joshua told the Israelites two times to get ready to explain to future generations. The stone memorial would help teach them (4:21).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-76-7. That this may be a sign among you--The erection of cairns, or huge piles of stones, as monuments of remarkable incidents has been common among all people, especially in the early and rude periods of their history. They are the established means of perpetuating the memory of important transactions, especially among the nomadic people of the East. Although there be no inscription engraved on them, the history and object of such simple monuments are…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 4:6
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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