Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 12th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible
JPS Old Testament
Joshua 22:28
Therefore said we: It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say: Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
Hebrew Names Version
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so tell us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so tell us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
King James Version
Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord , which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.
Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord , which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.
Lexham English Bible
And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, ‘Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; rather, it is a witness between us and you.'
And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, ‘Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; rather, it is a witness between us and you.'
English Standard Version
And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, "Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord , which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you."'
And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, "Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord , which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you."'
New Century Version
"In the future if your children say that, our children can say, ‘See the altar made by our ancestors. It is exactly like the Lord 's altar, but we do not use it for sacrifices. It shows that we are part of Israel.'
"In the future if your children say that, our children can say, ‘See the altar made by our ancestors. It is exactly like the Lord 's altar, but we do not use it for sacrifices. It shows that we are part of Israel.'
New English Translation
We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing to us or to our descendants, we will reply, "See the model of the Lord 's altar that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you."'
We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing to us or to our descendants, we will reply, "See the model of the Lord 's altar that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you."'
Amplified Bible
"So we said, 'If your descendants should say this to us or to our descendants in time to come, then we can reply, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but rather it is a witness between us and you."'
"So we said, 'If your descendants should say this to us or to our descendants in time to come, then we can reply, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but rather it is a witness between us and you."'
New American Standard Bible
"Therefore we said, 'It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather, it is a witness between us and you."'
"Therefore we said, 'It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather, it is a witness between us and you."'
Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore said we, If so be that they should so say to vs or to our generations in time to come, then will we answere, Beholde the facion of the altar of the Lorde, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but it is a witnesse betweene vs and you.
Therefore said we, If so be that they should so say to vs or to our generations in time to come, then will we answere, Beholde the facion of the altar of the Lorde, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but it is a witnesse betweene vs and you.
Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore we said, ‘It will also be that if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, "See the copy of the altar of Yahweh which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you."'
Therefore we said, ‘It will also be that if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, "See the copy of the altar of Yahweh which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you."'
Complete Jewish Bible
For this reason we said, ‘When they accuse us or future generations in this way, we will say, "Look! Here is a replica of the altar of Adonai which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you."'
For this reason we said, ‘When they accuse us or future generations in this way, we will say, "Look! Here is a replica of the altar of Adonai which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you."'
Darby Translation
And we said, If it shall be that in future they so say to us and to our generations, we will say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
And we said, If it shall be that in future they so say to us and to our generations, we will say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
Easy-to-Read Version
In the future, if it happens that your children say that we don't belong to Israel, then our children can say, ‘Look, our fathers who lived before us made an altar. That altar is exactly like the Lord 's altar at the Holy Tent. We don't use this altar for sacrifices—this altar is proof that we are part of Israel.'
In the future, if it happens that your children say that we don't belong to Israel, then our children can say, ‘Look, our fathers who lived before us made an altar. That altar is exactly like the Lord 's altar at the Holy Tent. We don't use this altar for sacrifices—this altar is proof that we are part of Israel.'
George Lamsa Translation
Therefore we said that it shall be, if they should ever speak to us or to our generations in time to come, then we may say to them, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but to be a witness between us and you.
Therefore we said that it shall be, if they should ever speak to us or to our generations in time to come, then we may say to them, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but to be a witness between us and you.
Good News Translation
It was our idea that, if this should ever happen, our descendants could say, ‘Look! Our ancestors made an altar just like the Lord 's altar. It was not for burning offerings or for sacrifice, but as a sign for our people and yours.'
It was our idea that, if this should ever happen, our descendants could say, ‘Look! Our ancestors made an altar just like the Lord 's altar. It was not for burning offerings or for sacrifice, but as a sign for our people and yours.'
Literal Translation
And we said, And it shall be, when they say this to us, and to our generations hereafter, that we shall say, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made, not for burntoffering or for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and you.
And we said, And it shall be, when they say this to us, and to our generations hereafter, that we shall say, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made, not for burntoffering or for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And we sayde: But yf they shulde speake so vnto vs, or to oure posterities to daye or tomorow, then maye we saye: Beholde the symilitude of ye altare of the LORDE, which oure fathers made, not for sacrifyce, ner for burntofferynge, but for a wytnesse betwene vs and you.
And we sayde: But yf they shulde speake so vnto vs, or to oure posterities to daye or tomorow, then maye we saye: Beholde the symilitude of ye altare of the LORDE, which oure fathers made, not for sacrifyce, ner for burntofferynge, but for a wytnesse betwene vs and you.
American Standard Version
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Bible in Basic English
For we said to ourselves, If they say this to us or to future generations, then we will say, See this copy of the Lord's altar which our fathers made, not for burned offerings or offerings of beasts, but for a witness between us and you.
For we said to ourselves, If they say this to us or to future generations, then we will say, See this copy of the Lord's altar which our fathers made, not for burned offerings or offerings of beasts, but for a witness between us and you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Therfore sayde we, that yf they should so say to vs or to our generations in tyme to come: that we wolde say again, Behold the fassion of the aulter of the Lord which our fathers made, neither for burnt offringes nor sacrifices, but for a witnesse betweene vs and you.
Therfore sayde we, that yf they should so say to vs or to our generations in tyme to come: that we wolde say again, Behold the fassion of the aulter of the Lord which our fathers made, neither for burnt offringes nor sacrifices, but for a witnesse betweene vs and you.
King James Version (1611)
Therefore said we, that it shalbe, when they should so say to vs, or to our generations in time to come, that wee may say againe, Beholde the paterne of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offrings, nor for sacrifices, but it is a witnes betweene vs and you.
Therefore said we, that it shalbe, when they should so say to vs, or to our generations in time to come, that wee may say againe, Beholde the paterne of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offrings, nor for sacrifices, but it is a witnes betweene vs and you.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And we said, If ever it should come to pass that they should speak so to us, or to our posterity hereafter; then shall they say, Behold the likeness of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for the sake of burnt-offerings, nor for the sake of meat-offerings, but it is a witness between you and us, and between our sons.
And we said, If ever it should come to pass that they should speak so to us, or to our posterity hereafter; then shall they say, Behold the likeness of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for the sake of burnt-offerings, nor for the sake of meat-offerings, but it is a witness between you and us, and between our sons.
English Revised Version
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Berean Standard Bible
Therefore we said, 'If they ever say this to us or to our descendants, we will answer: Here is the copy of the altar of the LORD that our fathers made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.'
Therefore we said, 'If they ever say this to us or to our descendants, we will answer: Here is the copy of the altar of the LORD that our fathers made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.'
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And if `youre sones wolen seie this, `oure sones schulen answere hem, Lo! the auter of the Lord, which oure fadris maden, not in to brent sacrifices, nether in to sacrifice, but in to oure and your witnessing euerlastinge.
And if `youre sones wolen seie this, `oure sones schulen answere hem, Lo! the auter of the Lord, which oure fadris maden, not in to brent sacrifices, nether in to sacrifice, but in to oure and your witnessing euerlastinge.
Young's Literal Translation
`And we say, And it hath been, when they say [so] unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice -- but a witness it [is] between us and you.
`And we say, And it hath been, when they say [so] unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice -- but a witness it [is] between us and you.
Update Bible Version
Therefore we said, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Look at the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Therefore we said, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Look at the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Webster's Bible Translation
Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they shall [so] say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offerings, nor for sacrifices; but [it is] a witness between us and you.
Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they shall [so] say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offerings, nor for sacrifices; but [it is] a witness between us and you.
World English Bible
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so tell us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so tell us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
New King James Version
Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, "Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.'
Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, "Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.'
New Living Translation
"If they say this, our descendants can reply, ‘Look at this copy of the Lord 's altar that our ancestors made. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; it is a reminder of the relationship both of us have with the Lord .'
"If they say this, our descendants can reply, ‘Look at this copy of the Lord 's altar that our ancestors made. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; it is a reminder of the relationship both of us have with the Lord .'
New Life Bible
We thought that if they say this to us or our children in the future we can say, ‘See the altar we have made like the altar of the Lord which our fathers made. It is not for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship. But it is something special to see between us and you.'
We thought that if they say this to us or our children in the future we can say, ‘See the altar we have made like the altar of the Lord which our fathers made. It is not for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship. But it is something special to see between us and you.'
New Revised Standard
And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we could say, ‘Look at this copy of the altar of the Lord , which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.'
And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we could say, ‘Look at this copy of the altar of the Lord , which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.'
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Therefore said we, And it shall be, when they so say to us, or to our generations, in time to come, - that we will say - Behold ye the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for ascending-offerings nor for sacrifice, but that, a witness, it might be between us and you.
Therefore said we, And it shall be, when they so say to us, or to our generations, in time to come, - that we will say - Behold ye the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for ascending-offerings nor for sacrifice, but that, a witness, it might be between us and you.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And if they will say so, they shall answer them: Behold the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for holocausts, nor for sacrifice, but for a testimony between us and you.
And if they will say so, they shall answer them: Behold the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for holocausts, nor for sacrifice, but for a testimony between us and you.
Revised Standard Version
And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, 'Behold the copy of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.'
And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, 'Behold the copy of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.'
THE MESSAGE
"We said to ourselves, ‘If anyone speaks disparagingly to us or to our children in the future, we'll say: Look at this model of God 's Altar which our ancestors made. It's not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices. It's a witness connecting us with you.'
"We said to ourselves, ‘If anyone speaks disparagingly to us or to our children in the future, we'll say: Look at this model of God 's Altar which our ancestors made. It's not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices. It's a witness connecting us with you.'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Therefore we said, 'It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you."'
"Therefore we said, 'It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you."'
Contextual Overview
21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel: 22 'God, God, the LORD, God, God, the LORD, He knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD--save Thou us not this day-- 23 that we have built us an altar to turn away from following the LORD; or if to offer thereon burnt-offering or meal-offering, or if to offer sacrifices of peace-offerings thereon, let the LORD Himself require it; 24 and if we have not rather out of anxiety about a matter done this, saying: In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying: What have ye to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? 25 for the LORD hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no portion in the LORD; so might your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD. 26 Therefore we said: Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; 27 but it shall be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may do the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come: Ye have no portion in the LORD. 28 Therefore said we: It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say: Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you. 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn away this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for meal-offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the LORD our God that is before His tabernacle.'
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Behold: Exodus 25:40, 2 Kings 16:10, Ezekiel 43:10, Ezekiel 43:11, Hebrews 8:5
Reciprocal: Genesis 21:30 - a witness Joshua 24:27 - General Isaiah 19:20 - for a
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Therefore said we,.... To prevent any such usage of our children, and that they might have a ready answer to give:
that it shall be, when they should [so] say unto us, or to our generations, in time to come; as above suggested, that they were a separate people from them, and had no interest in the Lord, nor right to his altar, nor concern in his worship:
that we may say [again]; in reply, that is, our posterity:
behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made; which exactly agrees with the Mosaic altar, and which they could never have framed in so exact a manner if they had not seen it, and served at it; wherefore this was a plain proof of their being originally worshippers of the same God, partakers of the same altar, and were in the faith, fellowship, and communion of Israel. According to Gussetius n, this was not the altar the Reubenites, c. built, which the children of Israel would be bid to behold, but the Mosaic altar at the tabernacle or temple, which was the archetype and exemplar, according to which that of the Reubenites was formed and therefore say not, come and behold, but behold the altar present before them, that of Moses, and acknowledge that to be a type and exemplar, which they had related, and so confess it to be a testimony of their mutual fellowship: and what they had made in imitation of it, which exactly answered to it, was
not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; of any sort, that was not the intention of erecting it:
but it [is] a witness between us and you; that we worship the same God, and are of the same faith and fellowship.
n Ebr. Comment. p. 135.
