Deuteronomy 27 · Verse 2

Deuteronomy 27:2

And 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:
Deuteronomy 27:2, King James Version

Deuteronomy 27:2 in other translations

BSBAnd on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and coat them with plaster.
WEBIt shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set yourself up great stones, and coat them with plaster.
ASVAnd it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:
YLTand it hath been, in the day that ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, that thou hast raised up for thee great stones, and plaistered them with plaister,
DARBYAnd it shall be on the day when ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:
BBEAnd on the day when you go over Jordan into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, put up great stones, coating them with building-paste,
WebsterAnd it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan to the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

What does Deuteronomy 27:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

De 27:1-10. The People Are to Write the Law upon Stones.

2. it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan--"Day" is often put for "time"; and it was not till some days after the passage that the following instructions were acted upon. thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister--These stones were to be taken in their natural state, unhewn, and unpolished--the occasion on which they were used not admitting of long or elaborate preparation; and they were to be daubed over with paint or whitewash, to render them more conspicuous. Stones and even rocks are seen in Egypt and the peninsula of Sinai, containing inscriptions made three thousand years ago, in paint or plaister. By some similar method those stones may have been inscribed, and it is most probable that Moses learned the art from the Egyptians.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Thou shalt set thee up great stones - How many is not specified, possibly twelve, and possibly only a sufficient number to make a surface large enough to write the blessings and the curses on. Plaster them with plaster - Perhaps the original ושדת אתם בשיד vesadta otham bassid should be translated, Thou shalt cement them with cement, because this was intended to be a durable monument. In similar cases it was customary to set up a single stone, or a heap, rudely put together, where no cement or mortar appears to have been used; and because this was common, it was necessary to give particular directions when the usual method was not to be followed. Some suppose that the writing was to be in relievo, and that the spaces between the letters were filled up by the mortar or cement. This is quite a possible case, as the Eastern inscriptions are frequently done in this way. There is now before me a large slab of basaltes, two feet long by sixteen inches wide, on which there is an inscription in Persian, Arabic, and Tamul; in the two former the letters are all raised, the surface of the stone being dug out, but the Tamul is indented. A kind of reddish paint had been smeared over the letters to make them more apparent. Two Arabic marbles in the University of Oxford have the inscriptions in relievo, like those on the slab of basalt in my possession. In the opinion of some even this case may cast light upon the subject in question

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 27:1-10

As soon as they were come into Canaan, they must set up a monument, on which they must write the words of this law. They must set up an altar. The word and prayer must go together. Though they might not, of their own heads, set up any altar besides that at the tabernacle; yet, by the appointment of God, they might, upon special occasion. This altar must be made of unhewn stones, such as they found upon the field…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 27:1-10 →

Deuteronomy 27:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהָיָ֗הve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
בַּיּוֹם֮bai.yOmon the dayH3117
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhenH834
תַּעַבְר֣וּta.'av.Ruyou will pass overH5674
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַיַּרְדֵּן֒hai.yar.Denthe JordanH3383
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הָאָ֕רֶץha.'A.retzthe landH776
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whichH834
יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
נֹתֵ֣ןno.Ten[is] about to giveH5414
לָ֑ךְLakhto <the> you
וַהֲקֵמֹתָ֤va.ha.ke.mo.Taand you will set upH6965
לְךָ֙le.Khafor <the> yourself
אֲבָנִ֣ים'a.va.NimstonesH68
גְּדֹל֔וֹתge.do.LotlargeH1419
וְשַׂדְתָּ֥ve.sad.Taand you will whitewashH7874
אֹתָ֖ם'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
בַּשִּֽׂיד\׃ba.Sidwith <the> limeH7875

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 27:2

  • Ezekiel 36:26

    A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

  • Joshua 4:1

    And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,

  • Joshua 8:31

    As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.

  • Deuteronomy 9:1

    Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,

  • Deuteronomy 26:1

    And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;

  • Ezekiel 11:19

    And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

  • Deuteronomy 11:31

    For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.

  • Deuteronomy 27:3

    And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

  • Deuteronomy 6:1

    Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

  • Joshua 1:11

    Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

  • Joshua 4:5-24

    And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 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? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
on the day.
6:1; 9:1; 11:31; Jos 1:11; 4:1,5-24
unto the.
3; 26:1
great stones.
Eze 11:19; 36:26
and plaister.Houbigant and others are of opinion that the original words, {wesadta othom beseed}, should be rendered "thou shalt cement them with cement," because this was intended to be a durable monument. Some suppose that the writing was to be in relievo, and that the spaces were to be filled up by the mortar or cement; as is frequently the case with eastern inscriptions.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 27:1

    And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

  • Deuteronomy 27:2

    And 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:

  • Deuteronomy 27:3

    And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

Read all of Deuteronomy 27

Deuteronomy 27:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y será que, el día que pasareis el Jordán á la tierra que Jehová tu Dios te da, te has de levantar piedras grandes, las cuales revocarás con cal:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et il arrivera que le jour où vous passerez le Jourdain, pour entrer dans le pays que l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, te donne, tu te dresseras de grandes pierres, et tu les enduiras de chaux;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und es soll geschehen, an dem Tage, da ihr über den Jordan in das Land hinüberziehet, das Jehova, dein Gott, dir gibt, sollst du dir große Steine aufrichten und sie mit Kalk bestreichen;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cumque transieritis Jordanem in terram, quam Dominus Deus tuus dabit tibi, eriges ingentes lapides, et calce lævigabis eos,