New English Translation
Joshua 5:1
1When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites.
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
When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites. 2At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” 3So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of the Foreskins.
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 (one), the king of Ai – located near Bethel – (one),
- Joshua 24:15If you have no desire to worship the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, whether it be the gods whom your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family will worship the Lord!”
- Genesis 10:15Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, Heth,
- Genesis 15:18That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River –
- Genesis 48:22As one who is above your brothers, I give to you the mountain slope, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
- Jeremiah 11:23Not one of them will survive. I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. A day of reckoning is coming for them.”
- 2 Samuel 21:2So the king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke with them. (Now the Gibeonites were not descendants of Israel; they were a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had made a promise to them, but Saul tried to kill them because of his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)
- Ezekiel 16:3and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
- Amos 2:9For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.
- Joshua 17:12But the men of Manasseh were unable to conquer these cities; the Canaanites managed to remain in those areas.
- Genesis 12:6Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)
- Exodus 23:28I will send hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.
- Judges 1:1After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?”
- Judges 4:2The Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.
- Ezra 9:1Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
- Psalms 135:11Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of 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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