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Sunday, April 19th, 2026
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Read the Bible

The Darby Translation

Joshua 4:2

Take you twelve men out of the people, one man out of every tribe,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Instruction;   Pillar;   Stones;   Token;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Jordan, the River;  

Dictionaries:

- Fausset Bible Dictionary - Joshua, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - God;   Jericho;   Joshua;   Quarry;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jordan ;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Apostle;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Conquest of Canaan;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Joshua, Book of;   Sign;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Choose twelve men from the people, one man for each tribe,
Hebrew Names Version
Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
King James Version
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
Lexham English Bible
"Take twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,
English Standard Version
"Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,
New Century Version
"Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe.
New English Translation
"Select for yourselves twelve men from the people, one per tribe.
Amplified Bible
"Take for yourselves the twelve men [chosen] from among the people, one man from each tribe,
New American Standard Bible
"Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,
Geneva Bible (1587)
Take you twelue me out of the people, out of euery tribe a man,
Legacy Standard Bible
"Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,
Contemporary English Version
Tell one man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a large rock from where the priests are standing. Then have the men set up those rocks as a monument at the place where you camp tonight.
Complete Jewish Bible
"Take for yourselves from the people twelve men, a man from every tribe;
Easy-to-Read Version
"Choose twelve men, one from each tribe.
George Lamsa Translation
Take twelve men from the people, a man out of every tribe,
Good News Translation
"Choose twelve men, one from each tribe,
Literal Translation
Take twelve men for you out of the people, one man of each tribe.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Take vp twolue stones out of Iordane,
American Standard Version
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
Bible in Basic English
Take twelve men from the people, a man for every tribe,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Take you twelue men out of the people, out of euery tribe a man,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
'Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
King James Version (1611)
Take you twelue men out of the people, out of euery tribe a man,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Take men from the people, one of each tribe,
English Revised Version
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
Berean Standard Bible
"Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Chese thou twelue men,
Young's Literal Translation
`Take for you out of the people twelve men, one man -- one man out of a tribe;
Update Bible Version
Take for yourselves twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe one man,
Webster's Bible Translation
Take you twelve men from the people, from every tribe a man,
World English Bible
Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
New King James Version
"Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
New Living Translation
"Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe.
New Life Bible
"Choose twelve men from the people, one man from each family.
New Revised Standard
"Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Take unto you, from among the people, twelve men, one man severally from each tribe;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:
Revised Standard Version
"Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,

Contextual Overview

1 And it came to pass when the whole nation had completely gone over the Jordan, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, one man out of every tribe, 3 and command them, saying, Take up hence out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place where ye shall lodge this night. 4 And Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had appointed of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them, Pass before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan, and lift up each of you a stone [and put it] upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign in your midst. When your children ask hereafter, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7 then ye shall say to them, That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it went through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 8 And the children of Israel did so, as Joshua had commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging-place, and laid them down there. 9 And twelve stones did Joshua set up in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood firm; and they are there to this day.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

twelve men: Joshua 3:12, Numbers 1:4-15, Numbers 13:2, Numbers 34:18, Deuteronomy 1:23, 1 Kings 18:31, Matthew 10:1-5

Reciprocal: Exodus 24:4 - according Joshua 4:4 - prepared Joshua 4:8 - did so as Joshua Joshua 18:4 - three

Cross-References

Genesis 3:23
Therefore Jehovah Elohim sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
Genesis 4:25
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: … For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, because Cain has slain him.
Genesis 4:26
And to Seth, to him also was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then people began to call on the name of Jehovah.
Genesis 9:20
And Noah began [to be] a husbandman, and planted a vineyard.
Genesis 37:13
And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed [the flock] at Shechem? Come, that I may send thee to them. And he said to him, Here am I.
Genesis 47:3
And Pharaoh said to his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.
Exodus 3:1
And Moses tended the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock behind the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God—to Horeb.
Psalms 127:3
Lo, children are an inheritance from Jehovah, [and] the fruit of the womb a reward.
Amos 7:15
And Jehovah took me as I followed the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
Luke 11:51
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yea, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Take you twelve men out of the people,.... Joshua had before this ordered twelve men to be taken from among them, which seems to have been done of himself; and now he has a direction from God for it, and what to employ them in:

out of every tribe a man; so that what they did was in the name of the several tribes, and as representing them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Take you twelve men - The order is given in the plural, because no doubt the tribes themselves were to choose their own representatives, the choice being approved by Joshua Joshua 4:4. These twelve would be left with Joshua on the hither bank of the river, waiting to receive his orders after the rest of the people had made their way across Joshua 3:17; Joshua 4:1.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 4:2. Take you twelve men — From Joshua 3:12, it appears that the twelve men had been before appointed, one taken out of each of the twelve tribes; and now they are employed for that purpose for which they had been before selected.


 
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