Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into the Jordan.
- BSB Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan.
- NKJV Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan.
- NASB Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.
- NLT Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River!
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 announces that the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will cross over before them into the Jordan. God, sovereign over all, leads the way.
Overview
The title 'Lord of all the earth' asserts Yahweh's universal sovereignty, not merely over Israel but over all nations and creation. As such, He has full right to give Canaan to His people and to lead them across the Jordan. The ark going first proclaims that the conquest is God's work, accomplished under His authority over the whole world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Zech 6:5And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the LORD of all the earth.
- Zech 4:14Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.
- Ps 24:1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
- Mic 4:13Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
- Josh 3:13And 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.
- Isa 54:5For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
- Josh 3:3–6And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
- Zech 14:9And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
- Job 41:11Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
- Isa 3:12As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
- Jer 10:7Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
- Zeph 2:11The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.
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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 3:11 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
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