Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.’”
- BSB “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’”
- NKJV “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
- NASB “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are going to cross this Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’ ”
- NLT “Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua instructs the people to prepare provisions because in three days they will cross the Jordan to possess the land. The promised inheritance is now imminent.
Overview
The command to 'prepare food' shows practical readiness joined to faith in God's promise. The land is again called a gift that Yahweh 'gives you to possess,' holding together divine grace and human responsibility. The imminent crossing marks the threshold between wilderness wandering and inheritance, a transition that pictures the believer's passage from this present struggle into promised rest.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Deut 9:1Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,
- Hos 6:2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
- 2 Kgs 20:5Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
- Josh 3:2And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
- Deut 11:31For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.
- Exod 19:11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 1:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.