JOS 4:21 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX λέγων, ὅταν ἐρωτῶσιν ὑμᾶς οἱ υἱοι ὑμῶν λέγοντες, τί εἰσιν οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι;
(legōn, hotan erōtōsin humas hoi huioi humōn legontes, ti eisin hoi lithoi houtoi; )

ULT And he spoke to the sons of Israel, saying, “When your sons ask their fathers tomorrow, saying, ‘What are these stones?’

UST Then Joshua said to the people of Israel, “In the future, when your descendants ask, ‘Why are these stones here?’

OEB He said to the Israelites, ‘When in the future your children ask what these stones mean,

WEBBE He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’

WMBB (Same as above)

NET He told the Israelites, “When your children someday ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones represent?’

LSV And he speaks to the sons of Israel, saying, “When your sons ask their fathers hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones?

FBV He told the Israelites, “When some day your children ask you their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’

T4T Joshua said to the Israeli people, “In the future, when your children and grandchildren ask, ‘◄What do these stones mean/Why are these stones here►?’,

LEB And he said to the _⌊Israelites_⌋,[fn] “When your children ask in the future _⌊their parents_⌋,[fn] ‘_⌊What is the meaning of these stones_⌋?’[fn]

4:21 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

4:21 Literally “their fathers”

4:21 Literally “What are these stones?”

BBE And he said to the children of Israel, When your children say to their fathers in time to come, What is the reason for these stones?

Moff He said to the Israelites, ”When your children in after days ask their fathers what these stones mean,

JPS And he spoke unto the children of Israel, saying: 'When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying: What mean these stones?

ASV And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

DRA And said to the children of Israel: When your children shall ask their fathers, tomorrow, and shall say to them: What mean these stones?

YLT And he speaketh unto the sons of Israel, saying, 'When your sons ask their fathers hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones?

Drby And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children hereafter ask their fathers, saying, What [mean] these stones?

RV And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

SLT And he will say to the sons of Israel, saying, When your sons shall ask their fathers to-morrow, saying, What these stones?

Wbstr And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

KJB-1769 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?[fn]

4.21 in time…: Heb. to morrow

KJB-1611 And he spake vnto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shal aske their fathers [fn]in time to come, saying, What meane these stones?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes))

4:21 Hebr. to morrow.

Bshps And he spake vnto the chyldren of Israel, saying: If your chyldren aske their fathers in tyme to come, and saye: What meane these stones?
(And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying: If your children ask their fathers in time to come, and say: What mean these stones?)

Gnva And he spake vnto ye childre of Israel, saying, When your children shall aske their fathers in time to come, and say, What meane these stones?
(And he spake unto ye/you_all children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, and say, What mean these stones? )

Cvdl & saide vnto the children of Israel: Whan youre children are their fathers herafter, & saie: What meane these stones?
(and said unto the children of Israel: When your(pl) children are their fathers hereafter, and saie: What mean these stones?)

Wycl And he seide to the sones of Israel, Whanne youre sones schulen axe to morewe her fadris, and schulen seie to hem, What wolen these stoonys `to hem silf?
(And he said to the sons of Israel, When your(pl) sons should axe to morning her fathers, and should say to hem, What woollen these stones to himself?)

Luth Und sprach zu den Kindern Israel: Wenn eure Kinder hernachmals ihre Väter fragen werden und sagen: Was sollen diese Steine?
(And spoke to/for the children Israel: When your(pl) children afterwardsmals their/her fathers asks become and say: What should this/these stones?)

ClVg et dixit ad filios Israël: Quando interrogaverint filii vestri cras patres suos, et dixerint eis: Quid sibi volunt lapides isti?
(and he/she_said to children Israel: When interrogaverint children yours tomorrow fathers his_own, and dixerint to_them: What to_himself they_want stones these? )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–5:1 The Israelites commemorated the crossing of the Jordan River

Twelve men from among the Israelites each took a stone from the middle of the Jordan River. With these stones Joshua built a monument to remind the Israelite people, and their descendants, about how God helped them cross the river.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Setting up memorial stones

Twelve memorial stones

A reminder that God brought them to the promised land

4:21a

Then Joshua said to the Israelites,

Then Joshua told the Israelites:
Then he said to the Israelites:

Then Joshua said to the Israelites: Joshua spoke to all the people of Israel. Earlier in 4:6 he spoke only to the twelve chosen men.

4:21b

“In the future, when your children ask their fathers,

“The children of future generations may ask their parents,
“When your children ask you in the future

In the future, when your children ask their fathers: The word when creates a subordinate clause. In some languages, it may be more natural to use an independent clause. For example:

Years from now your children will ask you why these rocks are here. (CEV)

your children: The phrase your children refers to the present and future generations of Israelite children.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

your descendants

your children and grandchildren

ask their fathers: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as fathers can refer to both mothers and fathers.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

When your children ask their fathers (ESV)

When your children ask their parents (NRSV)

In the future your children will ask (NLT)

4:21c

‘What is the meaning of these stones?’

‘Why are these rocks here?’
what these stones represent.

What is the meaning of these stones?: The children will ask the question What is the meaning of these stones? because they want to know why the stones are there. The children of future generations will see the stones and wonder why they are arranged as a memorial in that place.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

אֲשֶׁר֩ יִשְׁאָל֨וּ⁠ן בְּנֵי⁠כֶ֤ם מָחָר֙ אֶת־אֲבוֹתָ֣⁠ם לֵ⁠אמֹ֔ר מָ֖ה הָ⁠אֲבָנִ֥ים הָ⁠אֵֽלֶּה

which/who they,will_ask children_of,your(pl) in_the_future DOM fathers_of,their to=say what [are]_the,stones the=these

If your language would not use a direct quotation inside of a direct quotation, you could translate the second direct quotation as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: [When your sons ask their fathers tomorrow what these stones are]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

בְּנֵי⁠כֶ֤ם

children_of,your(pl)

Although the term sons is masculine, Joshua is using the word here in a generic sense that includes both male and female descendants. Alternate translation: [your children]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מָחָר֙

in_the_future

See how you translated the same expression in [4:6](../04/06.md). Alternate translation: [in the future]

Parallel JOS 4:21

Section 4:1–5:1 The Israelites commemorated the crossing of the Jordan River

4:21a

4:21b

4:21c