Joshua 22:28 · King James Version

Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.
Joshua 22:28 in the King James Version reads: “Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.”. Read it in the full context of Joshua 22, or compare how other translations render it below.

Joshua 22:28 in Other Translations

KJV Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.
WEB “Therefore we said, ‘It shall be, when they tell us or our generations this in time to come, that we shall say, “Behold the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.”’
ASV Therefore said we, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
YLT ‘And we say, And it hath been, when they say so unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made—not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice—but a witness it is between us and you.
WBT Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they shall [so] say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offerings, nor for sacrifices; but [it is] a witness between us and you.
DBY And we said, If it shall be that in future they so say to us and to our generations, we will say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.

Commentary on Joshua 22:28

Expositions from classic Bible commentators.

Adam Clarke · Joshua 22:26–28

An altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice - Because this would have been in flat opposition to the law, Lev 17:8, Lev 17:9; Deu 12:4-6, Deu 12:10, Deu 12:11, Deu 12:13, Deu 12:14, which most positively forbade any sacrifice or offering to be made in any other place than that one which the Lord should choose. Therefore the altar built by the Reubenites, etc., was for no religious purpose, but merely to serve as a testimony that they were one people with those on the west of Jordan, having the same religious and civil constitution, and bound by the same interests to keep that constitution inviolate.

Read Adam Clarke's full commentary on Joshua 22 →

John Gill · Joshua 22:28

God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord,.... Against the command of the Lord, who ordered one altar to be made, to which all sacrifices were to be brought from the several parts of the land of Israel, and there to be offered on it; or

"against the Word of the Lord,''as the Targum, Christ typified both by the altar and the sacrifices on it; and who is but one, one priest, one sacrifice, one altar, one Mediator and Saviour:

and turn this day from following the Lord; apostatize from him, and from his worship:

to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices; which was never our intention, or ever entered into our hearts to erect one for such a purpose:

besides the altar of the Lord our God, that is before his tabernacle; it standing in the court of the tabernacle before the holy place.

Read John Gill's full commentary on Joshua 22 →

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Joshua 22:21–32

Then the children of Reuben . . . answered--repudiating, in the strongest terms, the alleged crime, and deponing that so far from entertaining the intention imputed to them, their only object was to perpetuate the memory of their alliance with Israel [Jos 22:24-25], and their adherence to the worship of Israel's God [Jos 22:26-27].

Read Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's full commentary on Joshua 22 →

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Cross References for Joshua 22:28

Related passages, ranked by how often readers connect them. Cross-reference data from openbible.info (CC-BY).

Questions about Joshua 22:28

What does Joshua 22:28 say?

Joshua 22:28 in the King James Version reads: “Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.” Read it in the full context of Joshua 22, alongside the classic commentary on this page.

Where is Joshua 22:28 found in the Bible?

Joshua 22:28 is in the book of Joshua, chapter 22, verse 28, in the Old Testament.

What Bible translation is Joshua 22:28 shown in?

This is the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation. You can compare how other translations render Joshua 22:28 in the table on this page.

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