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Joshua 24:27

in Joshua 24

And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.

KJV

And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

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This verse in Joshua 24

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Basil of Caesarea

ON THE SPIRIT 13.30 · Written before 379.

Moreover, Joshua, the son of Nun, even set up a stone as witness of his words (already a heap somewhere had been called a witness by Jacob), for he says, "Behold this stone shall be a witness unto you this day to the end of days, when ye lie to the Lord our God," perhaps believing that by God's power even the stones would speak to the conviction of the transgressors; or, if not, that at least each man's conscience would be wounded by the force of the reminder.

This site's exposition

You see this stone

Genesis 31:45-52 has Jacob and Laban raise a mound as a witness, and Joshua 22:26-28 has the eastern tribes build an altar as one. Clarke takes permanence as the point, a stone fit in every age to witness that it heard the words, should they ever deny their God.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

That Christ is called a stone.… Also in Joshua: "And he took a great stone, and placed it there before the Lord; and Joshua said unto the people, Behold, this stone shall be a testimony to you, because it has heard all the things which were spoken by the Lord, which he has spoken to you today; and it shall be for a testimony to you in the last of the days, when you shall have departed from your God."

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

It hath heard - It shall be as sure a witness against you, as if it had heard. This is a common figure, whereby the sense of hearing is often ascribed to the heavens and the earth, and other senseless creatures.
And Joshua said unto all the people,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

He set up a great stone under an oak, as a monument of this covenant, and perhaps wrote an inscription upon it (by which stones are made to speak) signifying the intention of it.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth--After having enumerated so many grounds for national gratitude, Joshua calls on them to declare, in a public and solemn manner, whether they will be faithful and obedient to the God of Israel.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

This stone - hath heard all the words - That is, the stone itself, from its permanency, shall be in all succeeding ages as competent and as substantial a witness as one who had been present at the transaction, and heard all the words which on both sides were spoken on the occasion.

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַJoshua

    yehoshua'H3091 →218 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָעָ֗םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • הִנֵּ֨הhere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • הָאֶ֤בֶןthe stone

    haevenH68 →273 times

  • הַזֹּאת֙<the> this

    hazotH2063 →603 times

  • תִּֽהְיֶה־it will become

    tihyeh-H1961 →3559 times

  • בָּ֣נוּon <the> us

    banu

  • לְעֵדָ֔ה<into> a witness

    leedahH5713 →

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • הִ֣יאit

    hi'H1931 →1879 times

  • שָׁמְעָ֗הit has heard

    shameahH8085 →1159 times

  • אֵ֚ת<obj.>

    ʾetH853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • אִמְרֵ֣י[the] words of

    ʾimreiH561 →

  • יְהוָ֔הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • דִּבֶּ֖רhe has spoken

    diberH1696 →1141 times

  • עִמָּ֑נוּwith us

    ʾimanuH5973 →1050 times

  • וְהָיְתָ֤הand it will become

    vehayetahH1961 →3559 times

  • בָכֶם֙on <the> you

    vakhem

  • לְעֵדָ֔ה<into> a witness

    leedahH5713 →

  • פֶּֽן־lest

    pen-H6435 →133 times

  • תְּכַחֲשׁ֖וּןyou should deny !

    tekhachashunH3584 →

  • בֵּאלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃<in> God your

    beloheikhemH430 →2601 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Luke 19:40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”8 worksHabakkuk 2:11For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork.7 worksJoshua 22:34So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar Witness, for they said, “It is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”6 worksJoshua 22:27Rather, let it be a witness between us and you and the generations to come, that we will worship the LORD in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings.’ Then in the future, your descendants cannot say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD!’6 worksProverbs 30:9Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.5 worksDeuteronomy 31:26“Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Matthew 10:33But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.4 worksGenesis 31:48Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed.4 worksJob 31:23For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.3 worksIsaiah 1:2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.3 works1 Samuel 7:12Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”3 works2 Timothy 2:12–13if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;3 worksDeuteronomy 31:21And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.”3 worksDeuteronomy 32:1Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.3 worksJob 31:28this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high.3 worksTitus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.2 worksDeuteronomy 30:19I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,2 worksDeuteronomy 31:19Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Luke 19:40

    “I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

    it leads to

    • Habakkuk 2:11

      For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork.

    • Isaiah 55:12

      You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

    • Matthew 3:9

      And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

    • Psalms 96:11

      Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea resound, and all that fills it.

  • Through

    Matthew 10:33

    But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

    it leads to

    • 2 Timothy 2:12

      if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;

    • Luke 9:26

      If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the…

    • Luke 12:9

      But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

    • 1 John 2:23

      Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 24 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Basil of Caesarea, ON THE SPIRIT 13.30; Cyprian, Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.16; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Joshua 24 →