^3:1Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.¹ They camped there before crossing the river.²^3:2After three days the leaders went through the camp ^3:3and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God³ being carried by the Levitical priests, you must leave here⁴ and walk⁵ behind it. ^3:4But stay about three thousand feet behind it.⁶ Keep your distance⁷ so you can see⁸ which way you should go, for you have not traveled this way before.”

^3:5Joshua told the people, “Ritually consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform miraculous deeds among you.” ^3:6Joshua told the priests, “Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

^3:7The Lord told Joshua, “This very day I will begin to honor you before all Israel⁹ so they will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. ^3:8Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, ‘When you reach the bank of the Jordan River,¹⁰ wade into the water.’ ”¹¹

^3:9Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God!” ^3:10Joshua continued,¹² “This is how you will know the living God is among you and that he will truly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. ^3:11Look! The ark of the covenant of the Ruler¹³ of the whole earth is ready to enter the Jordan ahead of you. ^3:12Now select for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe. ^3:13When the feet¹⁴ of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Ruler¹⁵ of the whole earth, touch¹⁶ the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up.”¹⁷

^3:14So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went¹⁸ ahead of them. ^3:15When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface¹⁹ of the water—(the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time)²⁰—^3:16the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing.²¹ It piled up far upstream²² at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea).²³ The people crossed the river opposite Jericho.²⁴^3:17The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire nation was on the other side.²⁵

Israel Commemorates the Crossing

^4:1When the entire nation was on the other side,¹ the Lord told Joshua, ^4:2“Select for yourselves twelve men from the people, one per tribe. ^4:3Instruct them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests² stand firmly, and carry them over with you and put them in the place where you camp tonight.’ ”

^4:4Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one per tribe. ^4:5Joshua told them, “Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes. ^4:6The stones³ will be a reminder to you.⁴ When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ ^4:7tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing⁵ before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing.⁶ These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.”

^4:8The Israelites did just as Joshua commanded. They picked up twelve stones, according to the number of the Israelite tribes, from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried them over with them to the camp and put them there. ^4:9Joshua also set up twelve stones⁷ in the middle of the Jordan in the very place where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this very day.

^4:10Now the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people was accomplished, in accordance with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people went across quickly, ^4:11and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed as the people looked on.⁸^4:12The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed for battle ahead of the Israelites, just as Moses had instructed them. ^4:13About forty thousand battle-ready troops⁹ marched past the Lord to fight¹⁰ on the plains of Jericho.¹¹^4:14That day the Lord brought honor to Joshua before all Israel. They respected¹² him all his life,¹³ just as they had respected¹⁴ Moses.

^4:15The Lord told Joshua, ^4:16“Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenantal laws¹⁵ to come up from the Jordan.” ^4:17So Joshua instructed the priests, “Come up from the Jordan!” ^4:18The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, and as soon as they set foot on dry land,¹⁶ the water of the Jordan flowed again and returned to flood stage.¹⁷

^4:19The people went up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month¹⁸ and camped in Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.¹⁹^4:20Now Joshua set up in Gilgal the²⁰ twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. ^4:21He told the Israelites, “When your children someday ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones represent?’²¹^4:22explain²² to your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River²³ on dry ground.’ ^4:23For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you while you crossed over. It was just like when the Lord your God dried up the Red Sea before us while we crossed it.²⁴^4:24He has done this so²⁵ all the nations²⁶ of the earth might recognize the Lord’s power²⁷ and so you might always obey²⁸ the Lord your God.”

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Footnotes

1 Heb “And Joshua arose early in the morning and he and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.”
2 The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 The ark of the covenant refers to the wooden chest that symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people.
4 Heb “set out from your place.”
5 Or “march.”
6 Heb “But there should be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits in measurement.” The precise distance is uncertain, but the measurement designated אַמָּה (’ammah, “cubit”) was probably equivalent to approximately eighteen inches (one and one-half feet, or 45 cm) in length.
7 Heb “do not approach it.”
8 Heb “know.”
9 Or more literally, “to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel.”
10 Heb “the edge of the waters of the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
11 Heb “stand in the Jordan.” Here the repetition of the word “Jordan” would be redundant according to contemporary English style, so it was not included in the translation.
12 Heb “said.”
13 Or “Lord”; or “Master.”
14 Heb “the soles of the feet.”
15 Or “Lord”; or “Master.”
16 Or “rest in.”
17 Heb “the waters of the Jordan, the waters descending from above, will be cut off so that they will stand in one pile.”
18 The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.
19 Heb “dipped into the edge.”
20 Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.” The lengthy description of the priests’ arrival at the Jordan and the parenthetical reminder that the Jordan was at flood stage delay the climax of the story and add to its dramatic buildup.
21 Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”
22 Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”
23 Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.” The Salt Sea is an ancient name for the Dead Sea.
24 For the location of Jericho see ; ; ; ; ; .
25 Heb “and all Israel was crossing over on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
1 Heb “And when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
2 Heb “the feet of the priests.”
3 Heb “that this may be”; the referent of “this” (the twelve stones) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 Heb “in order that this might be a sign among you.”
5 Heb “were cut off from before.”
6 Heb “how the waters descending from above stood still.”
7 Here “also” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear (as indicated by v. 20) that these are not the same stones the men took from the river bed.
8 Heb “in the presence of the people.”
9 Heb “men equipped for battle.”
10 Heb “for war.”
11 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
12 Heb “feared.”
13 Heb “all the days of his life.”
14 Heb “had feared.”
15 Traditionally, “the ark of the testimony,” another name for the ark of the covenant. The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut, “testimony” or “witness”) here refers to the Mosaic covenant and the body of stipulations contained within it (see 2:).
16 Heb “and the soles of the feet of the priests were brought up to the dry land.”
17 Heb “and the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went as formerly over their banks.” Verses 15–18 give a more detailed account of the priests’ crossing that had been briefly described in v. 11.
18 The first month was the month Abib (= late March-early April in the modern calendar). The Passover in Egypt also occurred on the tenth day of the first month (Exod 12:2; 13:4).
19 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
20 Heb “these,” referring specifically to the twelve stones mentioned in vv. 3–7.
21 Heb “What are these stones?”
22 Heb “make known.”
23 Heb “crossed this Jordan”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
24 Heb “just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea when he dried [it] up before us while we crossed over.”
25 Heb “in order that.”
26 Or “peoples.”
27 Heb “know the hand of the Lord that it is strong.”
28 Heb “fear.”