Joshua 4:6

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

⁵ 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?

⁷ 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.

⁸ 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.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
KJV: 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?
WEB: that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in the future, saying, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’
ASV: that this may be a sign among you, that, when your children ask in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
DARBY: that this may be a sign in your midst. When your children ask hereafter, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
BLB: so that this may be a sign among you⁺ when your⁺ children ask hereafter, saying, ‘What [are] these stones to you⁺?’

ÅB: Disse steiner skal være et tegn blant dere. Når deres barn i fremtiden spør: Hva er dette for steiner?
OTB: Dette skal tjene som et tegn blant dere. I fremtiden, når deres barn spør: 'Hva betyr disse steinene?'
B1930: Disse stener skal være et tegn blandt eder. Når eders barn i fremtiden spør: Hvad er dette for stener?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Exodus 13:14
And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
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Joshua 4:21
And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
Read in context
Psalms 44:1
We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 6:20–21
And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
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Deuteronomy 11:19
And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
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Joshua 22:27
But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.
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Isaiah 38:19
The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
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Psalms 71:18
Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
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