Deuteronomy 27 · Verse 4

Deuteronomy 27:4

Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.
Deuteronomy 27:4, King James Version

Deuteronomy 27:4 in other translations

BSBAnd when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster.
WEBIt shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall coat them with plaster.
ASVAnd it shall be, when ye are passed over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.
YLT‘And it hath been, in your passing over the Jordan, ye raise up these stones which I am commanding you to-day, in mount Ebal, and thou hast plaistered them with plaister,
DARBYAnd it shall be when ye go over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, as I command you this day, on mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.
BBEAnd when you have gone over Jordan, you are to put up these stones, as I have said to you today, in Mount Ebal, and have them coated with building-paste.
WebsterTherefore it shall be when ye have gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.

What does Deuteronomy 27:4 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 Set up these stones - in Mount Ebal - So the present Hebrew text, but the Samaritan has Mount Gerizim. Dr. Kennicott has largely defended the reading of the Samaritan in his second dissertation on the present state of the Hebrew text, and Dr. Parry has defended the Hebrew against the Samaritan in his Case between Gerizim and Ebal fairly stated. So has J. H. Verschuir, in his Dissert. Critica. Many still think Dr. Kennicott's arguments unanswerable, and have no doubt that the Jews have here corrupted the text through their enmity to the Samaritans. On all hands it is allowed that Gerizim abounds with springs, gardens, and orchards, and that it is covered with a beautiful verdure, while Ebal is as naked and as barren as a rock. On this very account the former was highly proper for the ceremony of blessing, and the latter for the ceremony of cursing.

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 27:4 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.

וְהָיָה֮ve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
בְּעָבְרְכֶ֣םbe.'a.ve.re.Khemwhen have passed over youH5674
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַיַּרְדֵּן֒hai.yar.Denthe JordanH3383
תָּקִ֜ימוּta.Ki.muyou will set upH6965
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאֲבָנִ֣יםha.'a.va.Nimthe stonesH68
הָאֵ֗לֶּהha.'E.leh<the> theseH428
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherwhichH834
אָנֹכִ֜י'a.no.KhiIH595
מְצַוֶּ֥הme.tza.Veh[am] commandingH6680
אֶתְכֶ֛ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
הַיּ֖וֹםhai.Yomthis dayH3117
בְּהַ֣רbe.Haron [the] mountain ofH2022
עֵיבָ֑ל'ei.ValEbalH5858
וְשַׂדְתָּ֥ve.sad.Taand you will whitewashH7874
אוֹתָ֖ם'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
בַּשִּֽׂיד\׃ba.Sidwith <the> limeH7875

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

Cross references for Deuteronomy 27:4

  • Deuteronomy 11:29-30

    And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?

  • Joshua 8:30-33

    Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal, 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. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
in mount Ebal.The Samaritan text has in mount Gerizim; which has given rise to a violent controversy. Dr. Kennicott suppose that the Jews corrupted this passage out of their enmity to the Samaritans, who had their temple on mount Gerizim; while Dr. Parry and H. Verschuir defend the present reading: to the writings of these authors the reader is referred.
11:29,30; Jos 8:30-33

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

Context

  • 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 27:4

    Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.

  • Deuteronomy 27:5

    And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

Read all of Deuteronomy 27

Deuteronomy 27:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Será pues, cuando hubieres pasado el Jordán, que levantaréis estas piedras que yo os mando hoy, en el monte de Ebal, y las revocarás con cal:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il arrivera, quand vous passerez le Jourdain, que vous dresserez ces pierres sur la montagne d’Ébal, selon ce que je vous commande aujourd’hui, et tu les enduiras de chaux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und es soll geschehen, wenn ihr über den Jordan gezogen seid, so sollt ihr diese Steine, betreffs welcher ich euch heute gebiete, auf dem Berge Ebal aufrichten; und du sollst sie mit Kalk bestreichen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quando ergo transieritis Jordanem, erigite lapides, quos ego hodie præcipio vobis in monte Hebal, et lævigabis eos calce: