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Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Joshua 4:2

`Take for you out of the people twelve men, 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,
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

1 And it cometh to pass, when all the nation hath completed to pass over the Jordan, that Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying, 2 `Take for you out of the people twelve men, one man -- one man out of a tribe; 3 and command ye them, saying, Take up for you from this [place], from the midst of the Jordan, from the established standing-place of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and ye have removed them over with you, and placed them in the lodging-place in which ye lodge to-night.' 4 And Joshua calleth unto the twelve men whom he prepared out of the sons of Israel, one man -- one man out of a tribe; 5 and Joshua saith to them, `Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God unto the midst of the Jordan and lift up for you each, one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 6 so that this is a sign in your midst, when your children ask hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones to you? 7 that ye have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing over into the Jordan were the waters of the Jordan cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel -- to the age.' 8 And the sons of Israel do so as Joshua commanded, and take up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah hath spoken unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and remove them over with them unto the lodging-place, and place them there, 9 even the twelve stones hath Joshua raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, and they are there unto 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
Jehovah God sendeth him forth from the garden of Eden to serve the ground from which he hath been taken;
Genesis 4:25
And Adam again knoweth his wife, and she beareth a son, and calleth his name Seth, `for God hath appointed for me another seed instead of Abel:' for Cain had slain him.
Genesis 4:26
And to Seth, to him also a son hath been born, and he calleth his name Enos; then a beginning was made of preaching in the name of Jehovah.
Genesis 9:20
And Noah remaineth a man of the ground, and planteth a vineyard,
Genesis 37:13
and Israel saith unto Joseph, `Are not thy brethren feeding in Shechem? come, and I send thee unto them;' and he saith to him, `Here [am] I;'
Genesis 47:3
and Pharaoh saith unto his brethren, `What [are] your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thy servants [are] feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;'
Exodus 3:1
And Moses hath been feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian, and he leadeth the flock behind the wilderness, and cometh in unto the mount of God, to Horeb;
Psalms 127:3
Lo, an inheritance of Jehovah [are] sons, A reward [is] the fruit of the womb.
Amos 7:15
and Jehovah taketh me from after the flock, and Jehovah saith unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.
Luke 11:51
from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yes, I say to you, It shall 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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