Joshua 18:4

Myles Coverdale Bible

Chose you thre men out of euery trybe, yt I maye sende them, and that they maye get them vp and go thorow the londe, and descrybe it acordinge to the enheritaunces therof, and come vnto me.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They are to go and survey the land, write a description of it for the purpose of their inheritance, and return to me.

Hebrew Names Version
Appoint for you three men of each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come to me.

King James Version
Give 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.

Lexham English Bible
Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them so that they may begin to go through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance, and let them come to me.

English Standard Version
Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me.

New Century Version
Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to study the land. They will describe in writing the land their tribe wants as its share, and then they will come back to me.

New English Translation
Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out to walk through the land and make a map of it for me.

Amplified Bible
"Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may go through the land and write a description of it with regard to their [tribal] inheritance; then they shall return to me.

New American Standard Bible
"Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall return to me.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Giue from among you for euery tribe three men, that I may sende them, and that they may rise, and walke through the land, and distribute it according to their inheritance, & returne to me.

Legacy Standard Bible
Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall return to me.

Complete Jewish Bible
Appoint three men for each tribe; I will commission them; and they are to set out, go through the land and describe it according to their inheritance; then they are to come back to me.

Darby Translation
Provide you three men for a tribe; that I may send them, and they shall rise and go through the land, and describe it according to the proportion of their inheritance, and they shall come to me.

Easy-to-Read Version
So each of your tribes should choose three men. I will send them out to study the land. They will describe that land, and then they will come back to me.

George Lamsa Translation
Choose for yourselves three men from each tribe; and I will send them, and they shall rise and go through the land, and survey and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come again to me.

Good News Translation
Let me have three men from each tribe. I will send them out over the whole country to map out the territory that they would like to have as their possession. Then they are to come back to me.

Literal Translation
Give from among you three men of a tribe, and I shall send them. And they shall go up and down through the land, and map it according to their inheritance; and then come to me.

American Standard Version
Appoint for you three men of each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come unto me.

Bible in Basic English
Take from among you three men from every tribe; and I will send them to go through the land and make a record of it for distribution as their heritage; then let them come back to me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Geue out from among you for euery tribe three men, that I may sende them: and that they may ryse, and walke through the lande, and distribute it accordyng to the inheritaunce therof, & come againe to me.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Appoint for you three men for each tribe; and I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come unto me.

King James Version (1611)
Giue out from among you three men, for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, & goe through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them, and they shal come againe to me.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Appoint of yourselves three men of each tribe, and let them rise up and go through the land, and let them describe it before me, as it will be proper to divide it.

English Revised Version
Appoint for you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come unto me.

Berean Standard Bible
Appoint three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to survey the land and map it out, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Chese ye of ech lynage thre men, that Y sende hem, and thei go, and cumpasse the lond; and that thei discryue `the lond bi the noumbre of ech multitude, and brynge to me that, that ye han discriued.

Young's Literal Translation
Give for you three men for a tribe, and I send them, and they rise and go up and down through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance, and come in unto me,

Update Bible Version
Appoint for yourselves three men of each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come to me.

Webster's Bible Translation
Select 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.

World English Bible
Appoint for you three men of each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come to me.

New King James Version
Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me.

New Living Translation
Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to explore the land and map it out. They will then return to me with a written report of their proposed divisions of their new homeland.

New Life Bible
Choose three men from each of these seven family groups. I will send them to go through the land and write down what they find it to be like, to be shared by each family. Then they will return to me.

New Revised Standard
Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may begin to go throughout the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances. Then come back to me.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Set forth for you three men for each tribe, - that I may send them, that they may arise - and go up and down in the land - and map it out as required for their inheritance, and come in unto me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Choose of every tribe three men, that I may send them, and they may go and compass the land, and mark it out according to the number of each multitude: and bring back to me what they have marked out.

Revised Standard Version
Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall return to me.

Contextual Overview

² But there were yet seuen trybes of the childre of Israel, vnto whom they had not deuyded their enheritaunce. ³ And Iosua sayde vnto the children of Israel: How longe are ye so slowe, to go and coquere the londe, which the LORDE God of youre fathers hath geuen you? ⁴ Chose you thre men out of euery trybe, yt I maye sende them, and that they maye get them vp and go thorow the londe, and descrybe it acordinge to the enheritaunces therof, and come vnto me. ⁵ Deuyde the londe in seuen partes. Iudas shal remayne vpon his borders of the south syde, and the house of Ioseph shal remayne vpon his borders of the north parte: ⁶ but descrybe ye the londe in seuen partes, and brynge them vnto me, then shal I cast ye lot for you before the LORDE oure God. ⁷ For the Leuites haue no porcion amonge you, but the presthode of the LORDE is their enheritaunce. As for Gad & Ruben and ye halfe trybe of Manasse, they haue receaued their enheritaunce beyonde Iordane eastwarde, which Moses the seruaunt of the LORDE gaue them. ⁸ Then the men gat vp, to go their waye. And whan they were aboute to go for to descrybe the londe, Iosua commaunded them, and sayde: Go youre waye, and walke thorow the londe, and descrybe it, and come agayne vnto me, that I maye cast ye lot for you before the LORDE at Silo. ⁹ So the men departed, and wente thorow the londe, and descrybed it in seuen partes vpon a letter acordinge to the cities, and came to Iosua in to the hoost at Silo. ¹⁰ Then Iosua cast the lot ouer them at Silo before the LORDE, and there distributed the londe amonge the children of Israel, vnto euery one his parte.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

three: Joshua 18:3, Joshua 3:12, Joshua 4:2, Numbers 1:4, Numbers 13:2

describe: Joshua 18:6, Joshua 18:9

Reciprocal: Job 42:15 - gave Micah 2:5 - cast

Cross-References

Genesis 18:5
And I wyll fet you a morsell of bred, to comforte youre hertes withall, and then shall ye go youre wayes, for therfore are ye come to youre seruaunt. They sayde: do euen so as thou hast spoken:

Genesis 18:15
Then Sara denyed it, and sayde: I laughed not, for she was afrayed. But he sayde: It is not so, thou dyddest laughe.

Genesis 19:2
& sayde: Se lordes, turne in (I praye you) in to youre seruauntes house, and tarye all night: let youre fete be waßshen, so maye ye ryse tomorow by tymes, and go youre waye. Neuertheles they sayde: Nay, but we wyll byde in the stretes all night.

Genesis 24:32
So he brought the man in to ye house, and vnbridled the Camels, and gaue them litter and prouender, and water to wash his fete, and the mens that were with him,

Genesis 43:24
and led them into Iosephs house, and gaue them water to wash their fete, & gaue their Asses prouender.

1 Samuel 25:41
She rose vp, and worshipped vpon hir face vnto the earth, and sayde: beholde, here is thy handmayde, that she maie do seruyce vnto the seruauntes of my lorde,

Luke 7:44
And he turned him to the woman, and sayde vnto Symo: Seist thou this woma? I am come in to thine house, thou hast geue me no water vnto my fete, but she hath watred my fete with teares, and dryed the wt the hayres of hir heade:

1 Timothy 5:10
and well reported of in good workes, yf she haue brought vp children well, yf she haue bene harberous, yf she haue wasshed the sayntes fete, yf she haue mynistred vnto the which were in aduersite, yf she were continually geuen to all maner of good workes.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Give out from among you three men for [each] tribe,.... That is, for each of the seven tribes, in all twenty one; though some think they were to be taken out of all the nine tribes and a half, and were thirty six; and so Josephus a seems to understand it; but then he makes but one out of each tribe to be sent, and but ten in all, which is a great oversight in that historian:

and I will send them; Joshua would not take upon him to name the persons, but left it to their own choice for their greater satisfaction; but when chosen and presented to him, he would give them a commission and directions what to do:

and they shall rise; gird themselves, and prepare for their journey, and set out:

and go through the land; of Canaan; not the whole of it, but that part which as yet was not disposed of; though some think they were to go through and describe the whole land; but I see no reason for that, for what was described was to be divided into seven parts only, and what belonged already to Judah and Joseph, seem plainly to be excepted in

Joshua 18:5:

and describe it according to the inheritance of them; take the dimensions of it, and divide it into seven parts, according to the number of the tribes that had not received their inheritance. Jarchi thinks this description and division were not to be made equally, but according to the largeness and smallness of the tribes; but this could not be done by the measurers, since the inheritance of each depended on the lot that was afterward to be cast, which by this means would have been rendered needless:

and they shall come [again] to me; which seems to be not only a precept or instruction to them, that when they had done their business, they should come to Joshua and give him an account of it; but an assurance also of their safety, that they should receive no disturbance nor hurt from the remaining Canaanites, but should return safe and well.

a Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 21.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Three men for each tribe - i. e. 21 in all. Their duty would be to describe the land, especially with reference to the cities it contained Joshua 18:9, that Joshua might have the means of making a first apportionment among the tribes according to their varying numbers.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 18:4. Three men for each tribe — Probably meaning only three from each of the seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. It is likely that these twenty-one men were accompanied by a military guard, for without this they might have been easily cut off by straggling parties of the Canaanites.

They shall - describe it — It is likely they were persons well acquainted with geography and mensuration, without which it would have been impossible for them to have divided the land in the way necessary on this occasion.