New International Version
Joshua 8:31
31as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.
Joshua 8:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
- English Standard Version (ESV)just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, "an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings.
- New King James Version (NKJV)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He followed the commands that Moses the Lord’s servant had written in the Book of Instruction: “Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools.” Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.
Context of Joshua 8:31
29He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day. 30Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. 33All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
Read all of Joshua 8Joshua 8:31 word by word
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּה֩ מֹשֶׁ֨ה עֶֽבֶד־יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל כַּכָּתוּב֙ בְּסֵ֙פֶר֙ תּוֹרַ֣ת מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִזְבַּח֙ אֲבָנִ֣ים שְׁלֵמ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹֽא־הֵנִ֥יף עֲלֵיהֶ֖ן בַּרְזֶ֑ל וַיַּעֲל֨וּ עָלָ֤יו עֹלוֹת֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה וַֽיִּזְבְּח֖וּ שְׁלָמִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- As Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- the servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
- the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- as it is writtenכָּתַבkâthab · to writeH3789
- in the bookסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: bookH5612
- of the lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451
- an altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- of wholeשָׁלֵםshâlêm · completeH8003
- stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- over which no man hath lift upנוּףnûph · to waveH5130
- ironבַּרְזֶלbarzel · ironH1270
- and they offeredעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: offer upH5927
- thereon burnt offeringsעֹלָה‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · burnt offeringH5930
- and sacrificedזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- peace offeringsשֶׁ֫לֶםshelem · peace offeringH8002
Cross-references for Joshua 8:31
- Joshua 8:34Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.
- Joshua 1:8Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
- 2 Kings 14:6Yet he did not put the children of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses where the Lord commanded: “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”
- 2 Kings 22:8Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
- 2 Chronicles 25:4Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:12They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.
- Ezra 6:18And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.
- Nehemiah 13:1On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God,
- Matthew 12:26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?
- Exodus 20:24“ ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.
- Deuteronomy 27:5Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool on them.
- 1 Kings 18:31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”
- Exodus 18:12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
- Exodus 24:5Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 27:6Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God.
Commentaries on Joshua 8:31
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 30-35Verses 30-35 The account of this solemnity is very brief. An acquaintance with Joshua 8:29, and Joshua 9:1, is natural and obvious; and in Joshua 9:3, the fraud of the Gibeonites is represented as growing out of the alarm caused by the fall of Jericho and Ai. It is, moreover, extremely unlikely that a solemnity of this nature in the very center of the country should be undertaken by Joshua while the whole surrounding district was in the hands of the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-35Verses 30-35 As soon as Joshua got to the mountains Ebal and Gerizim, without delay, and without caring for the unsettled state of Israel, or their enemies, he confirmed the covenant of the Lord with his people, as appointed, De 11; 27. We must not think to defer covenanting with God till we are settled in the world; nor must any business put us from minding and pursuing the one thing needful. The way to prosper is to begin with God, Mt 6:33. They built…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 30-31Archaeologists have recently discovered an altar on Mount Ebal. It was built of uncut stones and was not shaped with iron tools. However, no inscription has been found with the altar (8:32). burnt offerings … peace offerings: These were part of the laws of sacrifice God gave Moses while Israel was at Mount Sinai (Leviticus 1, 3). Moses gave specific commands for this ceremony (see Deuteronomy 11:26–32; 27:1–28:68).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 30-3130-31. Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal--(See on De 27:11). This spot was little short of twenty miles from Ai. The march through a hostile country and the unmolested performance of the religious ceremonial observed at this mountain, would be greatly facilitated, through the blessing of God, by the disastrous fall of Ai. The solemn duty was to be attended to at the first convenient opportunity after the entrance into…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 8:31
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 8
- 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
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