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Sunday, December 21st, 2025
the Fourth Week of Advent
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Read the Bible

Webster's Bible Translation

Joshua 4:2

Take you twelve men from the people, from every tribe a man,

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,
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 all the people had quite passed over Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 Take you twelve men from the people, from every tribe a man, 3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging-place where ye shall lodge this night. 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, of every tribe a man: 5 And Joshua said to them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6 That this may be a sign among you, [that] when your children ask [their fathers] in time to come, saying, What [mean] ye by these stones? 7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel for ever. 8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of Jordan, as the the LORD commanded Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood: 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 the LORD God 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, [said she], hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Genesis 4:26
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Genesis 9:20
And Noah began [to be] a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
Genesis 37:13
And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed [the flock] in Shechem? Come, and I will 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] also our fathers.
Exodus 3:1
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, [even] to Horeb.
Psalms 127:3
Lo, children [are] a heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
Amos 7:15
And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said 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 temple: verily 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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