And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal.
- KJV And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
- NKJV And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.
- NASB As for those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up at Gilgal.
- NLT It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from 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 set up at Gilgal the twelve stones taken from the Jordan. They formed a lasting memorial of God's miraculous crossing.
Overview
The twelve stones, one for each tribe, made the crossing a permanent, visible testimony. Memorials like this anchored Israel's memory in God's saving deeds so future generations would not forget. God's people are meant to mark and remember His acts of deliverance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Josh 4:8Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down.
- Josh 4:3and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 4:20 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.