Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 11:31
For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites camped east of the Jordan, immediately preceding their scheduled entry into Canaan. He places the upcoming territorial acquisition directly before the covenant statutes he is about to reiterate.
The words — עֹבְרִים ('oe.Rim) means "about to pass over," and לָ/רֶ֣שֶׁת (la./Re.shet) translates to "to take possession of," marking the immediate shift from wilderness wandering to settled inheritance.
The thread — The same imminent crossing and settlement command appears in Deuteronomy 9:1 and Joshua 1:11, where the transition into the land is repeatedly framed as the immediate context for covenant obedience.
Why it lands — The text states that possession and settlement will follow the crossing, then commands adherence to the statutes in the very next verse. It requires readers to anchor their obedience to the concrete reality of living in the promised territory.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Joshua 1:11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’”
- Deuteronomy 9:1 Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
- Joshua 3:13 When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.”