God’s Word Translation
Joshua 5:1
1All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and all the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea heard that the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so that the Israelites could cross. So they lost heart and had no courage left to face the people of Israel.
Joshua 5:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
- New International Version (NIV)Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
- English Standard Version (ESV)As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
Context of Joshua 5:1
All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and all the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea heard that the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so that the Israelites could cross. So they lost heart and had no courage left to face the people of Israel. 2At that time the Lord spoke to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise the men of Israel.” 3So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the men of Israel at the Hill of Circumcision.
Read all of Joshua 5Joshua 5:1 word by word
וַיְהִ֣י כִשְׁמֹ֣עַ כָּל־מַלְכֵ֣י הָאֱמֹרִ֡י אֲשֶׁר֩ בְּעֵ֨בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֜ן יָ֗מָּה וְכָל־מַלְכֵ֤י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הַיָּ֔ם אֵ֠ת אֲשֶׁר־הוֹבִ֨ישׁ יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־מֵ֧י הַיַּרְדֵּ֛ן מִפְּנֵ֥י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַד־עָבְרָ֑ם וַיִּמַּ֣ס לְבָבָ֗ם וְלֹא־הָ֨יָה בָ֥ם עוֹד֙ ר֔וּחַ מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it came to pass, when all the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of the Amoritesאֱמֹרִי'ĕmôrîy · AmoriteH567
- on the sideעֵ֫בֶר‛êber · side: beyondH5676
- of Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
- westwardיָםyâm · sea: westH3220
- of the Canaanitesכְּנַעֲנִיkena‛anîy · CanaaniteH3669
- by the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- that the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- had dried upיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · to witherH3001
- the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- until we were passed overעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
- that their heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- meltedמָסַסmâsas · to meltH4549
- neither was there spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- in them any more, becauseפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
Cross-references for Joshua 5:1
- Joshua 12:9the king of Jericho, the king of Ai (near Bethel),
- Joshua 24:15But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, my family and I will still serve the Lord.”
- Genesis 10:15Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, then Heth,
- Genesis 15:18At that time the Lord made a promise to Abram. He said, “I will give this land to your descendants. This is the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.
- Genesis 48:22I’m giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.”
- Jeremiah 11:23I will bring a disaster on the people of Anathoth. It will be a year of punishment. There will be no survivors.
- 2 Samuel 21:2(The Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were left over from the Amorites. Although the Israelites had sworn ⌞to spare them⌟, Saul, in his eagerness, tried to destroy them for Israel and Judah.) The king called the Gibeonites
- Ezekiel 16:3Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says to the people of Jerusalem: Your birthplace and your ancestors were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.
- Amos 2:9I destroyed the Amorites in front of them, although the Amorites were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed their fruit above the ground and their roots below it.
- Joshua 17:12But Manasseh was not able to take possession of these cities since the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.
- Genesis 12:6They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
- Exodus 23:28I will spread panic ahead of you to force the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites out of your way.
- Judges 1:1After Joshua’s death the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who will go first to fight the Canaanites for us?”
- Judges 4:2So the Lord used King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled at Hazor, to defeat them. The commander of King Jabin’s army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth Haggoyim.
- Ezra 9:1After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have failed to keep themselves separate from the neighboring groups of people and from the disgusting practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
- Psalms 135:11King Sihon of the Amorites, King Og of Bashan, and all the kingdoms in Canaan.
Commentaries on Joshua 5:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The Amorites which were on the side of Jordan westward - It has already been remarked that the term Amorite is applied sometimes to signify all the nations or tribes of Canaan. It appears from this verse that there were people thus denominated that dwelt on both sides of the Jordan. Those on the east side had already been destroyed in the war which the Israelites had with Sihon and Og; with those on the west side Joshua had not yet waged war. It is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The Amorites were the principal of those nations which occupied the hill country of Judaea (Genesis 10:16 note); the Canaanites of those that dwelt on the coast and low lands. These words are therefore equivalent to “all the kings of the highlanders, and all the kings of the lowlanders:” i. e. the kings of all the tribes of the country. Until we were passed over - The use of the first person has been noted here, and in Joshua 5:6 (compare Acts 16:10), as…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The Canaanites are afraid, Circumcision renewed. (1-9) The passover at Gilgal, The manna ceases. (10-12) The Captain of the Lord's host appears to Joshua. (13-15) Verses 1-9 How dreadful is their case, who see the wrath of God advancing towards them, without being able to turn it aside, or escape it! Such will be the horrible situation of the wicked; nor can words express the anguish of their feelings, or the greatness of their terror. Oh that they would…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1After hearing that Israel crossed the Jordan River, all of southern Canaan was in a state of alert, expecting an invasion. The Canaanites became completely terrified by Israel's amazing crossing of the Jordan River. They realized they were going to encounter a people whose God was more powerful than any false gods they worshiped.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11. the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea--Under the former designation were included the people who inhabited the mountainous region, and under the latter those who were on the seacoast of Palestine. heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan ... that their heart melted--They had probably reckoned on the swollen river interposing for a time a sure barrier…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 5:1
In the dictionaries
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
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