New International Version
Joshua 5:14
14“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
Joshua 5:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
Context of Joshua 5:14
12The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan. 13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Read all of Joshua 5Joshua 5:14 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ לֹ֗א כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י שַׂר־צְבָֽא־יְהוָ֖ה עַתָּ֣ה בָ֑אתִי וַיִּפֹּל֩ יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַ אֶל־פָּנָ֥יו אַ֙רְצָה֙ וַיִּשְׁתָּ֔חוּ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מָ֥ה אֲדֹנִ֖י מְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־עַבְדּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- captainשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
- of the hostצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · armyH6635
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- am I now comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- fellנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- on his faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- to the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- and did worshipשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
- unto him, What saithדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- unto his servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
Cross-references for Joshua 5:14
- Exodus 23:20“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
- Isaiah 55:4See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.
- Daniel 10:13But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
- Daniel 12:1“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.
- Hebrews 2:10In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.
- Revelation 12:7Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
- Revelation 19:11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.
- Genesis 17:3Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
- Leviticus 9:24Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
- Numbers 16:22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”
- Matthew 8:2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
- Luke 5:12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
- Acts 10:25As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.
- Revelation 19:10At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
- Revelation 22:8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.
- 1 Samuel 3:9So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Commentaries on Joshua 5:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14But as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come - By this saying Joshua was both encouraged and instructed. As if he had said, "Fear not; Jehovah hath sent from heaven to save thee and thy people from the reproach of them that would swallow thee up. Israel is the Lord's host; and the Lord of hosts is Israel's Captain. Thou thyself shalt only be captain under me, and I am now about to instruct thee relative to thy conduct in this war." And Joshua…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Captain of the host of the Lord - i. e. of the angelic host, the host of heaven (compare 1 Kings 22:19; 1 Samuel 1:3, etc.). The armed people of Israel are never called “the host of the Lord,” though once spoken of in Exodus 12:41 as “all the hosts of the Lord.” The Divine Person intimates that He, the Prince (see the marginal references) of the Angels had come to lead Israel in the coming strife, and to overthrow by heavenly might the armies and the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-15Verses 13-15 We read not of any appearance of God's glory to Joshua till now. There appeared to him one as a man to be noticed. This Man was the Son of God, the eternal Word. Joshua gave him Divine honours: he received them, which a created angel would not have done, and he is called Jehovah, chap. 6:2. To Abraham he appeared as a traveller; to Joshua as a man of war. Christ will be to his people what their faith needs. Christ had his sword drawn, which…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14When Joshua realized who was standing before him, he fell facedown in reverence. This action showed that Joshua was ready to serve God fully and without reservation. Scholars disagree about who this commander was. Some think he was an appearance of God, others think he was Christ before becoming human, and others think he was an angel. The commander called himself the leader of the Lord’s army, which may suggest that he was an angel. However, he did not…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. the host of the Lord--either the Israelitish people (Ex 7:4; 12:41; Is 55:4), or the angels (Psa 148:2), or both included, and the Captain of it was the angel of the covenant, whose visible manifestations were varied according to the occasion. His attitude of equipment betokened his approval of, and interest in, the war of invasion. Joshua fell on his face ..., and did worship--The adoption by Joshua of this absolute form of prostration demonstrates…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 5:14
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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