Joshua 4:6

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

4So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. This shall be a sign among you; when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7then you shall say to them, ‘That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.” 8So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the encampment and put them down there.

Joshua 4:6 word by word

לְמַ֗עַן תִּֽהְיֶ֛ה זֹ֥את א֖וֹת בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־יִשְׁאָל֨וּן בְּנֵיכֶ֤ם מָחָר֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר מָ֛ה הָאֲבָנִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• Thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• shall be a signאוֹת'ôth · sign: indicatorH226
• amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• when your childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• askשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• laterמָחָרmâchâr · tomorrowH4279
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• do theseאֵ֫לֶּה'êlleh · theseH428
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68

Cross-references for Joshua 4:6

• Joshua 22:27rather, it shall be a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’
• Exodus 12:14‘Now this day shall be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.
• Exodus 13:9And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.
• Exodus 31:13“Now as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You must keep My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
• Numbers 16:38As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and they shall serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.”
• Isaiah 55:13Instead of the thorn bush, the juniper will come up, And instead of the stinging nettle, the myrtle will come up; And it will be a memorial to the Lord, An everlasting sign which will not be eliminated.”
• Ezekiel 20:12Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
• Joshua 4:21And he said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’
• Exodus 12:26And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’
• Exodus 13:14And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
• Deuteronomy 6:20“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the provisions and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?’
• Deuteronomy 11:19You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.
• Psalms 44:1God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us The work that You did in their days, In the days of old.
• Psalms 71:18And even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.
• Psalms 78:3Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
• Isaiah 38:19It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.

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

• Instruction
• Pillar
• Stones
• Token

In the dictionaries

• Catechist; Catechumen
• Images
• Joshua (2)
• Joshua, Book of
• Priests and Levites
• Sign
• memorial, memorial offering

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