Joshua 3 · Verse 14

Joshua 3:14

And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
Joshua 3:14, King James Version

Joshua 3:14 in other translations

BSBSo when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
WEBWhen the people moved from their tents to pass over the Jordan, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant being before the people,
ASVAnd it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, the priests that bare the ark of the covenant being before the people;
YLTAnd it cometh to pass, in the journeying of the people from their tents to pass over the Jordan, and of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
DARBYAnd it came to pass when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, that the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people;
BBESo when the people went out from their tents to go over Jordan, the priests who took up the ark of the agreement were in front of the people;
WebsterAnd it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

What does Joshua 3:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 3:14-16

Jos 3:14-17. The Waters of Jordan Are Divided.

14-16. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, &c.--To understand the scene described we must imagine the band of priests with the ark on their shoulders, standing on the depressed edge of the river, while the mass of the people were at a mile's distance. Suddenly the whole bed of the river was dried up; a spectacle the more extraordinary in that it took place in the time of harvest, corresponding to our April or May--when "the Jordan overfloweth all its banks." The original words may be more properly rendered "fills all its banks." Its channel, snow-fed from Lebanon, was at its greatest height--brimful; a translation which gives the only true description of the state of Jordan in harvest as observed by modern travellers. The river about Jericho is, in ordinary appearance, about fifty or sixty yards in breadth. But as seen in harvest, it is twice as broad; and in ancient times, when the hills on the right and left were much more drenched with rain and snow than since the forests have disappeared, the river must, from a greater accession of water, have been broader still than at harvest-time in the present day.

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

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 3:14-17
Jordan overflowed all its banks. This magnified the power of God, and his kindness to Israel. Although those who oppose the salvation of God's people have all advantages, yet God can and will conquer. This passage over Jordan, as an entrance to Canaan, after their long, weary wanderings in the wilderness, shadowed out the believer's passage through death to heaven, after he has finished his wanderings in this sinful world. Jesus, typified by the ark, hath gone before, and he crossed the river when it most flooded the country around. Let us treasure up experiences of His faithful and tender care, that they may help our faith and hope in the last conflict.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Joshua 3:14 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.

וַיְהִ֗יvay.Hiand it wasH1961
בִּנְסֹ֤עַbin.So.a'when set outH5265
הָעָם֙ha.'Amthe peopleH5971
מֵאָ֣הֳלֵיהֶ֔םme.'O.ho.lei.Hemfrom tents theirH168
לַעֲבֹ֖רla.'a.Vorto pass overH5674
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןhai.yar.Denthe JordanH3383
וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֗יםve.ha.ko.ha.Nimand the priestsH3548
נֹֽשְׂאֵ֛יno.se.'Ei[the] bearers ofH5375
הָאָר֥וֹןha.'a.Ronthe arkH727
הַבְּרִ֖יתha.be.Ritthe covenantH1285
לִפְנֵ֥יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
הָעָֽם\׃ha.'Amthe peopleH5971

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

Cross references for Joshua 3:14

  • Acts 7:44-45

    Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen. Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

  • Psalms 132:8

    Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.

  • Joshua 3:3

    And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

  • Hebrews 9:4

    Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

  • 1 Corinthians 1:24-25

    But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

  • Deuteronomy 31:26

    Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

  • Joshua 6:6

    And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.

  • Jeremiah 3:16

    And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

  • Joshua 3:6

    And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
bearing the ark.
3,6; 6:6; De 31:26; Jer 3:16; Ac 7:44,45; 1Co 1:24,25; Heb 9:4

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

Context

  • Joshua 3:13

    And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

  • Joshua 3:14

    And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

  • Joshua 3:15

    And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

Read all of Joshua 3

Joshua 3:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y aconteció, que partiendo el pueblo de sus tiendas para pasar el Jordán, y los sacerdotes delante del pueblo llevando el arca del pacto,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il arriva que, lorsque le peuple partit de ses tentes pour passer le Jourdain, les sacrificateurs qui portaient l’arche de l’alliance étaient devant le peuple.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und es geschah, als das Volk aus seinen Zelten aufbrach, um über den Jordan zu ziehen, indem die Priester die Lade des Bundes vor dem Volke hertrugen,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Igitur egressus est populus de tabernaculis suis, ut transiret Jordanem: et sacerdotes, qui portabant arcam fœderis, pergebant ante eum.