Joshua 4:6

that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in time to come, saying: What mean ye by these stones?

JPS TaNaKH 1917

In The King James Version

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?

In Context

5and Joshua said unto them: 'Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;

7then ye shall say unto them: Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.'

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Cross References

Exodus 12:14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Exodus 13:9And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in thy mouth; for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

Exodus 31:13'Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying: Verily ye shall keep My sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the LORD who sanctify you.

Deuteronomy 6:20When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying: 'What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

Joshua 4:21And he spoke unto the children of Israel, saying: 'When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying: What mean these stones?

Psalms 44:1(44-1) For the Leader; a Psalm of the sons of Korah. Maschil. (44-2) O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us; a work Thou didst in their days, in the days of old.

Matthew Henry on Joshua 4:2-10

The Passage over the Jordan. ( b. c. 1451.) 1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3 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. 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom… Read the whole commentary →

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