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 entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. Though they had subdued the land, 2seven Israelite tribes had not been assigned their allotted land. So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long do you intend to put off occupying the land the Lord God of your ancestors has given you? 4Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out to walk through the land and make a map of it for me. 5Divide it into seven regions. Judah will stay in its territory in the south, and the family of Joseph in its 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 said, “Come on, let’s attack them, for we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, but don’t hesitate to invade and conquer the land.
• Proverbs 2:2by making your ear attentive to wisdom, and by turning your heart to understanding,
• Proverbs 10:4The one who is lazy becomes poor, but the one who works diligently becomes wealthy.
• Proverbs 13:4The appetite of the sluggard craves but gets nothing, but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied.
• Proverbs 15:19The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is like a highway.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.
• Zephaniah 3:16On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Don’t be afraid, Zion! Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!
• Matthew 20:6And about five o’clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’
• John 6:27Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”
• Philippians 3:13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead,
• 2 Peter 1:10Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin.

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