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And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
Joshua 4:1 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB When all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan, Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
  • BSB When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,
  • NKJV And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:
  • NASB Now when the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
  • NLT When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,

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

Once the whole nation has crossed the Jordan, God speaks again to Joshua. God now directs the establishing of a lasting memorial.

Overview

With the crossing complete, God's word comes once more to guide the next step. The repeated emphasis that 'all the nation' had crossed highlights the completeness of God's deliverance. God's continued speaking shows that His acts of salvation are to be remembered and proclaimed, not merely experienced and forgotten.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Deut 27:2And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:
  • Josh 3:17And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joshua videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joshua 4:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoshuaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 4:1 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.