Joshua 4:1-9

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 4

The Twelve Memorial Stones. ¹ When the entire people had passed over the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ² “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each of the tribes, ³ and tell them to take twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan where the priests had been standing, and to carry them over with you, depositing them at the place where you will be camping this evening.”

⁴ So Joshua called the twelve men together whom the Israelites had chosen, one man from each tribe, ⁵ and Joshua said to them, “Cross over in front of the Ark of the Lord, your God, into the middle of the Jordan and have each man place a rock on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites. ^6 [a]These will serve as a reminder for you when, in the future, your children ask, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ ⁷ you will answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan stopped flowing before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan ceased to flow.’ These stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”

⁸ The Israelites did just what Joshua had commanded them to do. They picked up twelve stones from the Jordan’s riverbed, just as the Lord had instructed Joshua to do, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, and they brought them out to the place where they were camping that night and they laid them down there. ⁹ Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the Jordan’s riverbed, where the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had been standing. They are still there today.