Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, July 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

Literal Standard Version

Joshua 4:2

"Take for yourselves twelve men out of the people, one man—one man out of a 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;
Darby Translation
Take you twelve men out of the people, one man out of 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

1And it comes to pass, when all the nation has completed to pass over the Jordan, that YHWH speaks to Joshua, saying, 2"Take for yourselves twelve men out of the people, one man—one man out of a tribe;3and command them, saying, Take up for yourselves from this [place], from the midst of the Jordan, from the established standing-place of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and you have removed them over with you, and placed them in the lodging-place in which you lodge tonight." 4And Joshua calls to the twelve men whom he prepared out of the sons of Israel, one man—one man out of a tribe; 5and Joshua says to them, "Pass over before the Ark of your God YHWH into the midst of the Jordan, and each of you lift up one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 6so that this is a sign in your midst when your children ask hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones to you? 7That you have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH; in its passing over into the Jordan the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel for all time." 8And the sons of Israel do so as Joshua commanded, and take up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as YHWH has spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and remove them over with them to the lodging-place, and place them there, 9even the twelve stones Joshua has raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, 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
YHWH God sends him forth from the Garden of Eden to serve the ground from which he has been taken;
Genesis 4:25
And Adam again knows his wife, and she bears a son, and calls his name Seth, "for God has appointed for me another seed instead of Abel": for Cain had slain him.
Genesis 4:26
And to Seth, to him also a son has been born, and he calls his name Enos; then a beginning was made of preaching in the Name of YHWH.
Genesis 9:20
And Noah remains a man of the ground, and plants a vineyard,
Genesis 37:13
and Israel says to Joseph, "Are your brothers not feeding in Shechem? Come, and I send you to them"; and he says to him, "Here I [am]";
Genesis 47:3
and Pharaoh says to his brothers, "What [are] your works?" And they say to Pharaoh, "Your servants [are] feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers";
Exodus 3:1
And Moses has been feeding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, priest of Midian, and he leads the flock behind the wilderness, and comes to the mountain of God, to Horeb;
Psalms 127:3
Behold, sons [are] an inheritance of YHWH, || The fruit of the womb [is] a reward.
Amos 7:15
and YHWH takes me from after the flock, and YHWH says to me, Go, prophesy to My people Israel.
Luke 11:51
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yes, I say to you, it will be required from 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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