Joshua - 3:13



13 It shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap."

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Explanation and meaning of Joshua 3:13.

Differing Translations

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And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
And when the priests, that carry the ark of the Lord the God of the whole earth, shall set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are beneath shall run down and go off: and those that come from above, shall stand together upon a heap.
And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan, the waters flowing down from above, shall be cut off, and shall stand up in a heap.
and it hath been, at the resting of the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of Jehovah, Lord of all the earth, in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan are cut off, the waters which are coming down from above, and they stand, one heap.'
And when the feet of the priests who take up the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan will be cut off, all the waters flowing down from higher up, and will come together in a mass.
And when the priests who are carrying the ark of the Lord, the God of the entire earth, will have placed the steps of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are lower will run down and pass away, and those that are approaching above will stand together in a mass."
Quum autem quieverint plantae pedum sacerdotum portantium arcam Jehovae Dominatoris universae terrae in aquis Jordanis, aquae Jordanis intercidentur, et aquae superne (vel desuper, vel desursum) fluentes, consistent in acervo uno.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord,.... Which they were bid to take up and carry, Joshua 3:6,
the Lord of all the earth; this shows that not the ark, but the Lord, is called "the Lord of all the earth"; see Gill on Joshua 3:11,
shall rest in the waters of Jordan; the meaning is, as soon as their feet should touch them, or they should set their feet in them, when they came to the brink of them:
that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; from above the place where the priests came, and the children of Israel after passed over:
and they shall stand upon an heap; or one heap; stop and rise up high, as if piled up one upon another, and stand unmoved. This had been made known to Joshua by divine revelation, and is what he hints at, Joshua 3:5; and now plainly speaks out, and foretells before it came to pass; and which must serve to magnify Joshua, as in Joshua 3:7; and give him great credit and honour among the people.

The ark of the Lord - That so it may appear this is the Lord's doing, and that in pursuance of his covenant made with Israel. Of all the earth - The Lord of all this globe of earth and water, who therefore can dispose of this river and the adjoining land as he pleaseth. Cut off - The waters which now are united now shall be divided, and part shall flow down the channel towards the dead sea, and the other part that is nearer the spring of the river, and flows down from it, shall stand still. An heap - Being as it were congealed, as the Red - Sea was, Exodus 15:8, and so kept from overflowing the country.

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