Deuteronomy 27:2

Easy-to-Read Version

You will soon go across the Jordan River into the land that the Lord your God is giving you. On that day you must put up large stones. Cover them with plaster.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When you cross the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster.

Hebrew Names Version
It shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Yarden to the land which the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set yourself up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

King James Version
And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

Lexham English Bible
And then on the day that you cross the Jordan to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, then you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and you shall paint them with lime,

English Standard Version
And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster.

New Century Version
Soon you will cross the Jordan River to go into the land the Lord your God is giving you. On that day set up some large stones and cover them with plaster.

New English Translation
When you cross the Jordan River to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover them with plaster.

Amplified Bible
"So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to [enter] the land which the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with plaster (lime, whitewash).

New American Standard Bible
"So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when ye shal passe ouer Iorden vnto the lande which the Lorde thy God giueth thee, thou shalt set thee vp great stones, and playster them with plaister,

Legacy Standard Bible
So it will be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime

Contemporary English Version
Soon you will enter the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. He is the God your ancestors worshiped, and he has promised that this land is rich with milk and honey. After you cross the Jordan River, go to Mount Ebal. Set up large slabs of stone, then cover them with white plaster and write on them a copy of these laws.

Complete Jewish Bible
When you cross the Yarden to the land Adonai your God is giving you, you are to set up large stones, put plaster on them,

Darby Translation
And it shall be on the day when ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

George Lamsa Translation
And it shall be on the day that you cross the Jordan into the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall set up large stones, and cover them with plaster;

Good News Translation
On the day you cross the Jordan River and enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you are to set up some large stones, cover them with plaster,

Literal Translation
and it shall be in the day you cross over the Jordan to the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, that you shall raise up for yourself great stones, and plaster them with plaster.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And what time as ye go ouer Iordane, in to the londe yt ye LORDE thy God shal geue the, thou shalt set vp greate stones, and playster them with playster,

American Standard Version
And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

Bible in Basic English
And on the day when you go over Jordan into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, put up great stones, coating them with building-paste,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And in that day when you shall passe ouer Iordane vnto the lande whiche the Lord thy God geueth thee, thou shalt set thee vp great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster.

King James Version (1611)
And it shall be on the day when you shall passe ouer Iordan, vnto the land which the Lord thy God giueth thee, that thou shalt set thee vp great stones, and plaister them with plaister.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it shall come to pass in the day when ye shall cross over Jordan into the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, that thou shalt set up for thyself great stones, and shalt plaster them with plaster.

English Revised Version
And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

Berean Standard Bible
And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, you are to set up large stones and coat them with plaster.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne ye han passid Jordan, in to the lond which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee, thou schalt reyse grete stoonus, and thou schalt make tho pleyn with chalk,

Young's Literal Translation
and it hath been, in the day that ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, that thou hast raised up for thee great stones, and plaistered them with plaister,

Update Bible Version
And it shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, that you shall set yourself up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan to the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

World English Bible
It shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, that you shall set yourself up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

New King James Version
And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime.

New Living Translation
When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster.

New Life Bible
On the day you cross the Jordan to the land the Lord your God gives you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster.

New Revised Standard
On the day that you cross over the Jordan into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and cover them with plaster.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then it shall be in the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan, into the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, - that thou shalt rear thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when you are passed over the Jordan into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee, thou shalt set up great stones, and shalt plaster them over with plaster,

Revised Standard Version
And on the day you pass over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall set up large stones, and plaster them with plaster;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime

Contextual Overview

¹ Moses and the elders of Israel spoke to the people. Moses said, "Obey all the commands that I give you today. ² You will soon go across the Jordan River into the land that the Lord your God is giving you. On that day you must put up large stones. Cover them with plaster. ³ Then write on the stones all these commands and teachings. You must do this when you go across the Jordan River. Then you may go into the land that the Lord your God is giving you—a land filled with many good things. The Lord , the God of your ancestors, promised to give you this land. ⁴ "After you go across the Jordan River, you must do what I command you today. You must set up the stones on Mount Ebal. You must cover these stones with plaster. ⁵ Also, use some stones there to build an altar to the Lord your God. Don't use iron tools to cut the stones. ⁶ You must not use cut stones to build the altar for the Lord your God. Offer burnt offerings on this altar to the Lord your God. ⁷ And you must sacrifice and eat fellowship offerings there. Eat and enjoy yourselves there together with the Lord your God. ⁸ You must write all these teachings on the stones that you set up. Write clearly so that they are easy to read." ⁹ Moses and the Levite priests spoke to all the Israelites. Moses said, "Be quiet and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ So you must do everything that the Lord your God tells you. You must obey his commands and his laws that I am giving you today."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

on the day: Deuteronomy 6:1, Deuteronomy 9:1, Deuteronomy 11:31, Joshua 1:11, Joshua 4:1, 5-24

unto the: Deuteronomy 27:3, Deuteronomy 26:1

great stones: Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26

and plaster: Houbigant and others are of opinion that the original words, wesadta othom beseed, should be rendered "thou shalt cement them with cement," because this was intended to be a durable monument. Some suppose that the writing was to be in relievo, and that the spaces were to be filled up by the mortar or cement; as is frequently the case with eastern inscriptions.

Reciprocal: Joshua 8:32 - General Job 19:24 - graven

Cross-References

Genesis 47:29
The time came when Israel knew he would soon die, so he called his son Joseph to him. He said, "If you love me, put your hand under my leg and make a promise. Promise that you will do what I say and that you will be truthful with me. When I die, don't bury me in Egypt.

Genesis 48:21
Then Israel said to Joseph, "Look, my time to die is almost here, but God will still be with you. He will lead you back to the land of your ancestors.

1 Samuel 20:3
But David answered, "Your father knows very well that I am your friend. Your father said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it. If he knows, he will tell David.' But as surely as you and the Lord are alive, I am very close to death."

Proverbs 27:1
Never brag about what you will do in the future; you have no idea what tomorrow will bring.

Ecclesiastes 9:10
Every time you find work to do, do it the best you can. In the grave there is no work. There is no thinking, no knowledge, and there is no wisdom. And we are all going to the place of death.

Isaiah 38:1
At that time Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, "The Lord told me to tell you this: ‘You will die soon. So you should tell your family what they should do when you die. You will not get well.'"

Isaiah 38:3
" Lord , remember that I have faithfully served you with all my heart. I have done what you say is good." Then Hezekiah cried very hard.

Mark 13:35
You must always be ready. You don't know when the owner of the house will come back. He might come in the afternoon, or at midnight, or in the early morning, or when the sun rises.

James 4:14
You don't know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a fog. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall be, on the day when you shall pass over Jordan,.... Not the precise day exactly, but about that time, a little after they passed that river, as soon as they conveniently could; for it was not till after Ai was destroyed that the following order was put in execution; indeed as soon as they passed over Jordan, they were ordered to take twelve stones, and did; but then they were set up in a different place, and for a different purpose; see Joshua 4:3;

unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones; not in Jordan, as Jarchi, but on Mount Ebal, Deuteronomy 27:4; nor had the stones set up in Jordan any such inscription as what is here ordered to be set on these:

and plaster them with plaster: that so words might be written upon them, and be more conspicuous, and more easily read.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The stones here named are not those of which the altar Deuteronomy 27:5 was to be built, but are to serve as a separate monument witnessing to the fact that the people took possession of the land by virtue of the Law inscribed on them and with an acknowledgment of its obligations.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 27:2. Thou shalt set thee up great stones — How many is not specified, possibly twelve, and possibly only a sufficient number to make a surface large enough to write the blessings and the curses on.

Plaster them with plaster — Perhaps the original ושדת אתם בשיד vesadta otham bassid should be translated, Thou shalt cement them with cement, because this was intended to be a durable monument. In similar cases it was customary to set up a single stone, or a heap, rudely put together, where no cement or mortar appears to have been used; and because this was common, it was necessary to give particular directions when the usual method was not to be followed. Some suppose that the writing was to be in relievo, and that the spaces between the letters were filled up by the mortar or cement. This is quite a possible case, as the Eastern inscriptions are frequently done in this way. There is now before me a large slab of basaltes, two feet long by sixteen inches wide, on which there is an inscription in Persian, Arabic, and Tamul; in the two former the letters are all raised, the surface of the stone being dug out, but the Tamul is indented. A kind of reddish paint had been smeared over the letters to make them more apparent. Two Arabic marbles in the University of Oxford have the inscriptions in relievo, like those on the slab of basalt in my possession. In the opinion of some even this case may cast light upon the subject in question.