Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, July 20th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Joshua 11:4

and they go out, they and all their camps with them, a people numerous, as the sand which [is] on the sea-shore for multitude, and horse and charioteer very many;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Canaanites;   Chariot;   Confederacies;   Jabin;   Thompson Chain Reference - Chariots;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies;   Protection;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Chariots;   Hazor;   Jabin;   Merom;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Amorites;   Animals;   Chariot;   Joshua the son of nun;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Chariot;   Hazor;   Jabin;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Barak;   Hittites;   Jabin;   Syria;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Amorites;   Conquest of Canaan;   Hazor;   Joshua, the Book of;   Merom;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Israel;   Jabin;   Joshua;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Hazor ;   Jabin ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chariots;   Hazor;   Journeyings of israel from egypt to canaan;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Encampment;   Ja'bin;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Chariots of War;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Horse;   Jabin;   Joshua, Book of;   Palestine;   Sand;   Shore;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Amorites;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Chariot;   Horse;   Judges, Period of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They went out with all their armies—a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore—along with a vast number of horses and chariots.
Hebrew Names Version
They went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
King James Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Lexham English Bible
They came out, they and all their armies with them, as a great army like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
English Standard Version
And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
New Century Version
So the armies of all these kings came together with their horses and chariots. There were as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore.
New English Translation
These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots.
Amplified Bible
They went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
New American Standard Bible
Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they came out & all their hostes with them, many people as the sande that is on the sea shore for multitude, with horses and charets exceeding many.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
Contemporary English Version
The kings and their armies went to Merom Pond, where they set up camp, and got ready to fight Israel. It seemed as though there were more soldiers and horses and chariots than there are grains of sand on a beach.
Complete Jewish Bible
So they set out, they and all their armies, many people, in number like the sand at the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
Darby Translation
And they went out, they and all their armies with them, a people numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Easy-to-Read Version
So the armies of all these kings came together. There were many fighting men and many horses and chariots. It was a very large army—it looked as if there were as many men as grains of sand on the seashore.
George Lamsa Translation
And they came out with all their hosts, many people, as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with many horses and chariots.
Good News Translation
They came with all their soldiers—an army with as many men as there are grains of sand on the seashore. They also had many horses and chariots.
Literal Translation
And they went out, they and all their camps with them, a people plentiful as the sand on the seashore in number, and very many horses and chariots.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
These wete out with all their armies, a greate people, as many as ye sonde of the see, and exceadinge many horses and charettes.
American Standard Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Bible in Basic English
And they went out, they and all their armies with them, a great people, in number like the sand on the seaside, with horses and war-carriages in great number.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they came out, & all their hoastes with them, a multitude of folke, euen as the sande that is on the sea shore, in a great number, with horses and charettes exceeding many.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
King James Version (1611)
And they went out, they and all their hostes with them, much people, euen as the sand that is vpon the Seashore in multitude, with horses and charets very many.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they and their kings with them went forth, as the sand of the sea in multitude, and horses, and very many chariots.
English Revised Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Berean Standard Bible
So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And alle yeden out with her cumpanyes, a ful myche puple, as the grauel which is in the `brynk of the see, and horsis, and charis, of greet multitude.
Update Bible Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, many people, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, many people, even as the sand that [is] upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very numerous.
World English Bible
They went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
New King James Version
So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.
New Living Translation
All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore.
New Life Bible
Then they came out, they and all their armies with them. There were as many people as the sand beside the sea. And they had very many horses and war-wagons.
New Revised Standard
They came out, with all their troops, a great army, in number like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and they came out - they, and all their hosts with them, much people, like the sand that is upon the seashore for multitude, - with horses and chariots very many.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they all came out with their troops, a people exceeding numerous as the sand that is on the sea shore, their horses also and chariots a very great multitude,
Revised Standard Version
And they came out, with all their troops, a great host, in number like the sand that is upon the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
THE MESSAGE
They came out in full force, all their troops massed together—a huge army, in number like sand on an ocean beach—to say nothing of all the horses and chariots. All these kings met and set up camp together at the Waters of Merom, ready to fight against Israel.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.

Contextual Overview

1 And it cometh to pass when Jabin king of Hazor heareth, that he sendeth unto Jobab king of Madon, and unto the king of Shimron, and unto the king of Achshaph, 2 and unto the kings who [are] on the north in the hill-country, and in the plain south of Chinneroth, and in the low country, and in the elevations of Dor, on the west, 3 [to] the Canaanite on the east, and on the west, and the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill-country, and the Hivite under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh -- 4 and they go out, they and all their camps with them, a people numerous, as the sand which [is] on the sea-shore for multitude, and horse and charioteer very many; 5 and all these kings are met together, and they come and encamp together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel. 6 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `Be not afraid of their presence, for to-morrow about this time I am giving all of them wounded before Israel; their horses thou dost hough, and their chariots burn with fire.' 7 And Joshua cometh, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly, and they fall on them; 8 and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of Israel, and they smite them and pursue them unto the great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-Maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward, and they smite them, till he hath not left to them a remnant; 9 and Joshua doth to them as Jehovah said to him; their horses he hath houghed, and their chariots burnt with fire.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

as the sand: Genesis 22:17, Genesis 32:12, Judges 7:12, 1 Samuel 13:5, 2 Samuel 17:11, 1 Kings 4:20

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 20:1 - horses Joshua 8:27 - the cattle Joshua 17:18 - for thou shalt Psalms 33:16 - no king Hebrews 11:12 - as the sand

Cross-References

Genesis 6:4
The fallen ones were in the earth in those days, and even afterwards when sons of God come in unto daughters of men, and they have borne to them -- they [are] the heroes, who, from of old, [are] the men of name.
Genesis 11:8
And Jehovah doth scatter them from thence over the face of all the earth, and they cease to build the city;
Genesis 11:9
therefore hath [one] called its name Babel, for there hath Jehovah mingled the pronunciation of all the earth, and from thence hath Jehovah scattered them over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:11
And Shem liveth after his begetting Arphaxad five hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:13
And Arphaxad liveth after his begetting Salah four hundred and three years, and begetteth sons and daughters.
Deuteronomy 1:28
whither are we going up? our brethren have melted our heart, saying, A people greater and taller than we, cities great and fenced to heaven, and also sons of Anakim -- we have seen there.
Deuteronomy 4:27
and Jehovah hath scattered you among the peoples, and ye have been left few in number among the nations, whither Jehovah leadeth you,
Deuteronomy 9:1
`Hear, Israel, thou art passing over to-day the Jordan, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself; cities great and fenced in the heavens;
2 Samuel 8:13
And David maketh a name in his turning back from his smiting Aram in the valley of Salt -- eighteen thousand;
Psalms 92:9
For, lo, Thine enemies, O Jehovah, For, lo, Thine enemies, do perish, Separate themselves do all workers of iniquity.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they went out,.... The several kings and people sent to; these went out from the places they inhabited:

they and all their hosts with them; the kings of those several places, with their armies:

much people, even as the sand that [is] upon the seashore in multitude; a proverbial expression, to denote an exceeding great number:

with horses and chariots very many; being supplied with horses from Egypt, and their chariots were chariots of iron; see Judges 4:3; Josephus z gives us the number of this great army, and says it consisted of three hundred thousand footmen, ten thousand horse, and thirty thousand chariots; some copies read only twenty thousand; and these chariots were armed with iron hooks or scythes, to cut down men as they drove along, and so were very terrible.

z Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 18.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 11:4. Much people, even as the sand — This form of speech, by some called a hyperbole, conveys simply the idea of a vast or unusual number - a number of which no regular estimate could be easily formed. Josephus, who seldom finds difficulties in such cases, and makes no scruple of often speaking without book, tells us that the allied armies amounted to 300,000 foot 10,000 horse, and 20,000 chariots of war. Antiq. lib. v., c. 1.

That chariots were frequently used in war, all the records of antiquity prove; but it is generally supposed that among the Canaanites they were armed with iron scythes fastened to their poles and to the naves of their wheels. Terrible things are spoken of these, and the havoc made by them when furiously driven among the ranks of infantry. Of what sort the cavalry was, we know not; but from the account here given we may see what great advantages these allies possessed over the Israelites, whose armies consisted of infantry only.


 
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