Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
Parallel translations
- KJV The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,
- BSB Then the LORD said to Joshua,
- ESV Then the LORD said to Joshua,
- NKJV The Lord also spoke to Joshua, saying,
- NASB Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
- NLT The Lord said to Joshua,
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 LORD speaks to Joshua, introducing His command about the cities of refuge. God Himself initiates this provision of mercy and justice.
Overview
This brief verse marks a new word from Yahweh, turning from land distribution to the establishment of refuge cities. That God directly commands this provision shows His deep concern for justice and for protecting the innocent. The cities of refuge reveal a God who tempers law with mercy, anticipating the ultimate refuge found in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Josh 6:2Yahweh said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor.
- Josh 7:10Yahweh said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face like that?
- Josh 5:14He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of Yahweh’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and asked him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
- Josh 13:1–7Now Joshua was old and well advanced in years. Yahweh said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 20:1 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.