New Living Translation
Joshua 8:31
31He 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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.
Context of Joshua 8:31
29Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today. 30Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal. 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. 32And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones of the altar the instructions Moses had given them. 33Then all the Israelites—foreigners and native-born alike—along with the elders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood in front of Mount Gerizim, the other in front of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. This was all done according to the commands that Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously given for blessing 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 8:34Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of Instruction.
- Joshua 1:8Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
- 2 Kings 14:6However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the Lord as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.”
- 2 Kings 22:8Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.
- 2 Chronicles 25:4However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the Lord as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:12They divided the burnt offerings among the people by their family groups, so they could offer them to the Lord as prescribed in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.
- Ezra 6:18Then the priests and Levites were divided into their various divisions to serve at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, as prescribed in the Book of Moses.
- Nehemiah 13:1On that same day, as the Book of Moses was being read to the people, the passage was found that said no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God.
- Matthew 12:26And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.
- Exodus 20:24“Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you.
- Deuteronomy 27:5“Then build an altar there to the Lord your God, using natural, uncut stones. You must not shape the stones with an iron tool.
- 1 Kings 18:31He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel,
- Exodus 18:12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in a sacrificial meal in God’s presence.
- Exodus 24:5Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 27:6Build the altar of uncut stones, and use it to offer burnt offerings 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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