Joshua 3–4

3 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed afrom Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 And it came to pass bafter three days, that cthe officers went through the host; 3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and dthe priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 4 eYet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way †heretofore. 5 And Joshua said unto the people, fSanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you. 6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, gTake 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.

7 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to hmagnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, ias I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8 And thou shalt command jthe priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, kye shall stand still in Jordan. 9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God. 10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that lthe living God is among you, and that he will without fail mdrive out from before you nthe Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of othe Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 12 Now therefore ptake you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, qout of every tribe a man. 13 And it shall come to pass, ras soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, othe 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 sshall stand upon an heap.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the tark of the covenant before the people; 15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and uthe feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for xJordan overfloweth all his banks yall the time of harvest,) 16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside zZaretan: and those that came down atoward the sea of the plain, even bthe salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, cand all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

4 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed aover Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 bTake you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where cthe priests’ feet stood firm, dtwelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in ethe lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 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: 6 That this may be a sign among you, that fwhen your children ask their fathers †in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7 Then ye shall answer them, That gthe 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 ha 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. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, iin the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. 10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. 11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over karmed before the children of Israel, las Moses spake unto them: 13 About forty thousand ||prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord mmagnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 16 Command the priests that bear nthe ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were †lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and †flowed over all his banks, oas they did before. 19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped pin Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. 20 And qthose twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, rWhen your children shall ask their fathers †in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, sIsrael came over this Jordan on dry land. 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, twhich he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 24 uThat all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is xmighty: that ye might yfear the Lord your God †for ever.