Joshua 3–4

Crossing the Jordan

Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim^a and went to the Jordan,^b where they camped before crossing over. After three days^c the officers^d went throughout the camp,^e giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant^f of the Lord your God, and the Levitical^g priests^h carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubitsⁱ between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,^j for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things^k among you.”

Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you^l in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.^m Tell the priestsⁿ who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ ”

Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God^o is among you^p and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites,^q Hivites, Perizzites,^r Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.^s See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth^t will go into the Jordan ahead of you.^u Now then, choose twelve men^v from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth^w—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream^x will be cut off^y and stand up in a heap.^z”

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant^a went ahead^b of them. Now the Jordan^c is at flood stage^d all during harvest.^e Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.^f It piled up in a heap^g a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,^h while the water flowing downⁱ to the Sea of the Arabah^j (that is, the Dead Sea^k) was completely cut off.^l So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.^m The priestsⁿ who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground,^o while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.^p

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,^q the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men^r from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones^s from the middle of the Jordan,^t from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.^u”

So Joshua called together the twelve men^v he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan.^w Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign^x among you. In the future, when your children^y ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’^z tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off^a before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial^b to the people of Israel forever.”

So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones^c from the middle of the Jordan,^d according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua;^e and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones^f that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.^g

Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. The men of Reuben,^h Gadⁱ and the half-tribe of Manasseh^j crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites,^k as Moses had directed them.^l About forty thousand armed for battle^m crossed overⁿ before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.

That day the Lord exalted^o Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law^p to come up out of the Jordan.”

So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place^q and ran at flood stage^r as before.

On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal^s on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones^t they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’^u tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’^v For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.^w He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know^x that the hand of the Lord is powerful^y and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.^z”