That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Parallel translations
- WEB that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in the future, saying, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’
- BSB to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
- NKJV that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
- NASB This shall be a sign among you; when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
- NLT We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’
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 stones are to be a sign so that when children ask their meaning, the story can be told. The memorial is meant to teach future generations about God.
Overview
God designs the memorial to prompt questions from children, opening the way to pass on the account of His salvation. This reflects the biblical emphasis on teaching the next generation God's mighty works (Deuteronomy 6:7, 20-25). Faith is meant to be transmitted, so that each generation knows and trusts the God who delivers His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Exod 13:14And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
- Josh 4:21And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
- Ps 44:1We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
- Deut 6:20–21And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
- Josh 22:27But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.
- Deut 11:19And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
- Ps 78:3–8Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
- Isa 38:19The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
- Exod 12:26–27And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
- Ps 71:18Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
- Isa 55:13Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
- Ezek 20:12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
- Exod 12:14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
- Exod 31:13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
- Acts 2:39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
- Exod 13:9And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.
- Num 16:38The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
- Ezek 20:20And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
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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 4:6 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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