Joshua 4:1–7

The Memorial Stones

4And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed ^aover the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: ^2b“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, ³and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where ^cthe priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in ^dthe lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”

⁴Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; ⁵and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶that this may be ^ea sign among you ^fwhen your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷Then you shall answer them that ^gthe waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for ^ha memorial to the children of Israel forever.”