New Living Translation
Joshua 4:5
5He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Joshua 4:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
- New International Version (NIV)and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel,
- New King James Version (NKJV)and 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,
Context of Joshua 4:5
3Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’” 4So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
Read all of Joshua 4Joshua 4:5 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ עִ֠בְרוּ לִפְנֵ֨י אֲר֧וֹן יְהוָ֛ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֖ם אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן וְהָרִ֨ימוּ לָכֶ֜ם אִ֣ישׁ אֶ֤בֶן אַחַת֙ עַל־שִׁכְמ֔וֹ לְמִסְפַּ֖ר שִׁבְטֵ֥י בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto them, Pass overעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- into the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- of Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
- and take ye upרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
- everyאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- of you a stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- upon his shoulderשְׁכֶםshekem · shoulderH7926
- according unto the numberמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
- of the tribesשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
- of the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Commentaries on Joshua 4:5
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5to take a stone upon his shoulder: This implies that each man chose stones weighing about 100 pounds.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-54-5. Joshua called the twelve men--They had probably, from a feeling of reverence, kept back, and were standing on the eastern bank. They were now ordered to advance. Picking up each a stone, probably as large as he could carry, from around the spot "where the priests stood," they pass over before the ark and deposit the stones in the place of next encampment (Jos 4:19, 20), namely, Gilgal.Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 4:5
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries