JOS 4:3 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

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

OET (OET-RV) and give them these instructions: Pick up twelve boulders from here in the middle of the Yordan from near where the priests are standing, and bring them over with you, and put them in the place where you all camp tonight.”

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 σύνταξον αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἀνέλεσθε ἐκ μέσου τοῦ Ἰορδάνου ἑτοίμους δώδεκα λίθους, καὶ τούτους διακομίσαντες ἅμα ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, θέτε αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ στρατοπεδίᾳ ὑμῶν, οὗ ἐὰν παρεμβάλητε ἐκεῖ τὴν νύκτα.
(suntaxon autois; kai anelesthe ek mesou tou Yordanou hetoimous dōdeka lithous, kai toutous diakomisantes hama humin autois, thete autous en taʸ stratopedia humōn, hou ean parembalaʸte ekei taʸn nukta. )

BrTr and charge them; and ye shall take out of the midst of Jordan twelve [fn]fit stones, and having carried them across together with yourselves, place them in your camp, where ye shall encamp for the night.

4:3 Gr. ready. Heb. הכין. A. V. firm, applied to the foot of the priests.

ULT and command them, saying: ‘Lift up for yourselves from here, from the midst of the Jordan, from the firm standing place of the feet of the priests, 12 stones. And you shall bring them over with you and you shall leave them in the lodging place in which you will lodge tonight.’ ”

UST Tell them to pick up 12 stones from the middle of the dry Jordan riverbed where the priests are standing. Tell them to carry those stones and put them down at the place you will stay tonight.”

OEB and order them to take twelve stones out of the Jordan from the spot where the feet of the priests stood firm. They must carry these stones across and place them on the spot where you spend the night.’

WEBBE and command them, saying, ‘Take from out of the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you’ll camp tonight.’ ”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Instruct them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests stand firmly, and carry them over with you and put them in the place where you camp tonight.’ ”

LSV and command them, saying, Take up for yourselves from this [place], from the midst of the Jordan, from the established standing-place of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and you have removed them over with you, and placed them in the lodging-place in which you lodge tonight.”

FBV and tell them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing. Then carry them and set them down at the place where you will camp tonight.’ ”

T4T Tell them to carry the stones with you and put them down at the place where you will stay tonight.”

LEB and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and set them up in _⌊the place where you will camp tonight_⌋.’ ”[fn]

4:3 Literally “the lodging place where you will lodge tonight”

BBE And say to them, Take up from the middle of Jordan, from the place where the feet of the priests were resting, twelve stones, and take them over with you and put them down in the place where you take your rest tonight.

Moff and order them to take twelve stones out of the Jordan from the spot where the feet of the priests stood firm; they must carry these stones across and place them on the spot where you spend the night.”

JPS and command ye them, saying: Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood, twelve stones made ready, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place, where ye shall lodge this night.'

ASV and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place, where ye shall lodge this night.

DRA And command them to take out of the midst of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, twelve very hard stones, which you shall set in the place of the camp, where you shall pitch your tents this night.

YLT 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.'

Drby and command them, saying, Take up hence out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place where ye shall lodge this night.

RV and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
(and command ye/you_all them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Yordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where ye/you_all shall lodge this night. )

SLT And command ye them, saying, Take up to you from hence out of the midst of Jordan from the firm standing of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and pass them over with you, and deposit them in the lodging place where ye shall remain in it the night.

Wbstr 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.

KJB-1769 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of 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.
(And command ye/you_all them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Yordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye/you_all shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye/you_all shall lodge this night. )

KJB-1611 And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the mids of Iordan, out of the place where the Priests feet stood firme, twelue stones, and yee shal cary them ouer with you, and leaue them in the lodging place where you shall lodge this night.
(And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Yordan, out of the place where the Priests feet stood firme, twelve stones, and ye/you_all shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place where you shall lodge this night.)

Bshps And commaunde you them, saying: Take you hence out of the middes of Iordane euen out of the place where the priestes stoode in a redinesse, twelue stones, which ye shall take away with you, and leaue them in the lodgyng where you shall lodge this nyght)
(And command you them, saying: Take you hence out of the midst of Yordan even out of the place where the priests stood in a rediness, twelve stones, which ye/you_all shall take away with you, and leave them in the lodging where you shall lodge this night))

Gnva And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the middes of Iorden, out of the place where the Priestes stoode in a readinesse, twelue stones, which ye shall take away with you, and leaue them in the lodging where you shall lodge this night)
(And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Yordan, out of the place where the Priests stood in a readiness, twelve stones, which ye/you_all shall take away with you, and leave them in the lodging where you shall lodge this night) )

Cvdl from the place where the fete of the prestes stode in their araye: & cary them with you, yt ye maie leaue them in ye lodginge, where ye shal lodge this night.
(from the place where the feet of the priests stood in their araye: and carry them with you, it ye/you_all may leave them in ye/you_all lodging, where ye/you_all shall lodge this night.)

Wycl by ech lynage o man, and comaunde thou to hem, that thei take fro the myddis of the trow of Jordan, where the `feet of preestis stoden, twelue hardiste stoonys; whiche thou schalt sette in the place of castels, where ye schulen sette tentis in this nyyt.
(by each lineage o man, and command thou/you to hem, that they take from the midst of the trow of Yordan, where the feet of priests stood, twelve hardiste stones; which thou/you shalt/shall set in the place of castles, where ye/you_all should set tents in this night.)

Luth Und gebietet ihnen und sprecht: Hebet auf aus dem Jordan zwölf Steine von dem Ort, da die Füße der Priester also stehen, und bringet sie mit euch hinüber, daß ihr sie in der Herberge lasset, da ihr diese Nacht herbergen werdet.
(And areast to_them and speak: Lift on/in/to out_of to_him Yordan twelve stones from to_him place/location, there the feet the/of_the priest(s) also stand, and brings/gets they/she/them with you over, that you(pl)/their/her they/she/them in the/of_the Herberge let, there you(pl)/their/her this/these night hostels become.)

ClVg et præcipe eis ut tollant de medio Jordanis alveo, ubi steterunt pedes sacerdotum, duodecim durissimos lapides, quos ponetis in loco castrorum, ubi fixeritis hac nocte tentoria.
(and command to_them as tollant from/about in_the_middle Yordanis alveo, where they_stood feet priests, twelve durissimos stones, which will_putis in/into/on instead of_the_camp, where fixeritis this_way at_night tents. )

SOTN SIL Open Translation 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

4:3a-b

The BSB uses a direct quote. In some languages it may be more natural to use an indirect quote. For example, you could say:

Command them to take twelve stones

4:3a

and command them:

Tell them,
You must command them to do this:

and command them: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as command them is imperative. It means that God commanded Joshua to give a command (4:3b-e) to the group of men he chose.

4:3b

‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan

‘Each one of you must take a stone from the middle of the Jordan River
‘You must each pick up a rock from the middle of the river.

Take up for yourselves twelve stones: The phrase Take up for yourselves twelve stones means that each of the twelve men must pick up one stone.

stones: These would have been large stones, about as large as a single person could carry.

from the middle of the Jordan: The phrase from the middle of the Jordan indicates that the men must take stones from the place where the priests were standing. The priests were standing in the middle of the Jordan river. The water had stopped flowing when the priests entered the water, which allowed the people to walk across the bottom of the (dry) river bed (see 3:17b-c). The men were supposed to take the twelve rocks from the bottom of the river from that same area. Here are some other ways to translate these verse part:

Take twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan (GNT)

Tell them to get twelve rocks from the middle of the river (NCV)

4:3c

where the priests were standing,

from the exact place where the priests’ feet are standing.
You must take the rocks from the same place where the priests are standing.

where the priests were standing: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as where the priests were standing is more literally “the firm standing place of the feet of the priests.” The twelve men picked up the stones while the priests were still standing in the middle of the river. Another way to translate this is:

from right where the priests are standing (NIV)

where: The Hebrew word translated as where emphasizes that the men must pick up stones from the exact place where the priests are standing. Another way to show this emphasis would be:

from the very place where the priests’ feet stood (RSV)

4:3d

carry them with you,

Carry them over to the other side,
Carry the stones to the west bank of the river.

carry them with you: The phrase carry them with you means that each man must carry the stone he picked up, and take it to the other side of the river.

4:3e

and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”

and lay them down at the camping place where you will sleep tonight.’”
Then put them down in the same place that you will stay tonight.’”

and set them down: The phrase set them down means that each man is to put his rock down on the ground.

in the place where you spend the night: The phrase in the place where you spend the night indicates the place where they were to put down the stones.

spend the night: The phrase spend the night means that the Israelites lived in that place for a short time (probably a few days or weeks).

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

וְ⁠צַוּ֣וּ אוֹתָ⁠ם֮ לֵ⁠אמֹר֒ שְׂאֽוּ־לָ⁠כֶ֨ם מִ⁠זֶּ֜ה מִ⁠תּ֣וֹךְ הַ⁠יַּרְדֵּ֗ן מִ⁠מַּצַּב֙ רַגְלֵ֣י הַ⁠כֹּהֲנִ֔ים הָכִ֖ין שְׁתֵּים־עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה אֲבָנִ֑ים וְ⁠הַעֲבַרְתֶּ֤ם אוֹתָ⁠ם֙ עִמָּ⁠כֶ֔ם וְ⁠הִנַּחְתֶּ֣ם אוֹתָ֔⁠ם בַּ⁠מָּל֕וֹן אֲשֶׁר־תָּלִ֥ינוּ ב֖⁠וֹ הַ⁠לָּֽיְלָה

and,command ,them to=say take to/for=you(pl) from,here from,the_middle_of of,the_Jordan from,the_standing-place_of feet_of of,the_priests firmly two/dual teen stones and,you(pl)_will_take_over ,them with,you(pl) and,you(pl)_will_set_down ,them at,place which/who camp in=him/it the=night

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: [And command them to lift up for themselves 12 stones from the midst of the Jordan, from the firm standing place of the feet of the priests, and tell them to bring those stones over with them and leave them in the lodging place in which they will lodge tonight]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

מִ⁠מַּצַּב֙ רַגְלֵ֣י הַ⁠כֹּהֲנִ֔ים הָכִ֖ין

from,the_standing-place_of feet_of of,the_priests firmly

Joshua is using one part of the priests, their feet, to mean all of them in the act of standing in the Jordan riverbed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [from the firm place on which the priests are now standing]