And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Parallel translations
- WEB They went out, they and all their armies with them, many people, even as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.
- BSB So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.
- NKJV So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.
- NASB Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
- NLT All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore.
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
The allied armies are vast as the sand of the seashore, with many horses and chariots. The military force is overwhelming by human measure.
Overview
The northern coalition fields an immense army equipped with chariots, the most fearsome weaponry of the age. The seashore-sand imagery stresses how impossible the odds appear from a human viewpoint. This setup heightens the wonder of the LORD's promised deliverance against superior force.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Judg 7:12And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
- 1 Sam 13:5And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
- Gen 32:12And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
- Gen 22:17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- 1 Kgs 4:20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
- 2 Sam 17:11Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 11:4 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.