New King James Version
Joshua 4:6
6that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
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 Living Translation (NLT)We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’
Context of Joshua 4:6
4Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” 8And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
Read all of Joshua 4Joshua 4:6 word by word
לְמַ֗עַן תִּֽהְיֶ֛ה זֹ֥את א֖וֹת בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־יִשְׁאָל֨וּן בְּנֵיכֶ֤ם מָחָר֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר מָ֛ה הָאֲבָנִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Joshua 4:6
- Joshua 22:27but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the Lord.” ’
- Exodus 12:14‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
- Exodus 13:9It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
- Exodus 31:13“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
- Numbers 16:38The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”
- Isaiah 55:13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
- Ezekiel 20:12Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
- Joshua 4:21Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’
- Exodus 12:26And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
- Exodus 13:14So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
- Deuteronomy 6:20“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?’
- Deuteronomy 11:19You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
- Psalms 44:1We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old:
- Psalms 71:18Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.
- Psalms 78:3Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
- Isaiah 38:19The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children.
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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries