I gave you land you had not worked on, and I gave you towns you did not build—the towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.
Parallel translations
- WEB I gave you a land whereon you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’
- KJV And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
- BSB So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities that you did not build, and now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
- NKJV I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
- NASB And I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
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
God gave Israel a land, cities, vineyards, and olive groves they did not labor to produce, freely providing what they enjoyed. It matters because it shows their blessings were gifts of grace, calling for gratitude and faithfulness.
Overview
The verse highlights the sheer gift-character of Israel's inheritance, fulfilling the promise of Deuteronomy 6:10-11. Receiving unearned blessing was meant to humble Israel and bind them to grateful obedience. This pattern of grace finds its fullest expression in the gospel, where believers receive an inheritance they could never earn through the finished work of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Deut 6:10–12It shall be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and goodly cities, which you didn’t build,
- Deut 8:7For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and hills;
- Josh 21:45Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
- Prov 13:22A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored for the righteous.
- Josh 11:13But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only. Joshua burned that.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 24:13 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.