Joshua 18:3

Joshua 18:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?
• New International Version (NIV)So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?
• English Standard Version (ESV)So Joshua said to the people of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?

Context of Joshua 18:3

1And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. 2And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which Yhwh God of your fathers hath given you? 4Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me. 5And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.

Joshua 18:3 word by word

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל עַד־אָ֙נָה֙ אַתֶּ֣ם מִתְרַפִּ֔ים לָבוֹא֙ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֔ם יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• ye slackרָפָהrâphâh · to slackenH7503
• to goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• which Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• hath givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414

Cross-references for Joshua 18:3

• Judges 18:9And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.
• Proverbs 2:2So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
• Proverbs 10:4He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
• Proverbs 13:4The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
• Proverbs 15:19The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
• Zephaniah 3:16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
• Matthew 20:6And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
• John 6:27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
• Philippians 3:13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
• 2 Peter 1:10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Commentaries on Joshua 18:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3How long are ye slack to go to possess the land - We find an unaccountable backwardness in this people to enter on the inheritance which God had given them! They had so long been supported by miracle, without any exertions of their own, that they found it difficult to shake themselves from their inactivity. When it was necessary that all the people should go out to battle, they went with a measure of confidence, expecting miraculous help from God, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3This backwardness probably arose from the indisposition of the people to abandon the nomad life in which they had been born and bred, and to settle in fixed abodes, and perhaps also from a dislike of the exterminating warfare incidental to a complete dispossessing of the Canaanites.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2-10Verses 2-10 After a year or more, Joshua blamed their slackness, and told them how to proceed. God, by his grace, has given us a title to a good land, the heavenly Canaan, but we are slack to take possession of it; we enter not into that rest, as we might by faith, and hope, and holy joy. How long shall it be thus with us? How long shall we thus stand in our own light, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities? Joshua stirs the Israelites up to take…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-28As he had promised, God brought Israel into the land. Joshua then focused on dividing the land among Israel's tribes. The tribal allowances made the covenant of the Israelites with God real. It showed the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since God owned the land, giving it to the tribes was a gift. God gave them the land to live in and guided its distribution. In these lists of tribal allowances, the author describes some borders…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you--This reproof conveys an impression that the seven tribes were dilatory to a criminal extent.Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 18:3

• Shiloh

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Joshua
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Children of Israel
• Shiloh
• Chephirah
• Divination

Commentaries on Joshua 18

• 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