约书亚记 3

Chinese New Version (Traditional)

約書亞率領以色列人過約旦河

3 約書亞清早起來，和全體以色列人從什亭出發，來到約旦河，在那裡住宿，等候過河。 ²過了三天，官長走遍營中， ³吩咐人民說：“你們看見耶和華你們的　神的約櫃，又看見抬約櫃的利未支派的祭司的時候，就要從你們所住的地方出發，跟在約櫃後面走。 ⁴只是你們和約櫃之間應有一段距離，相隔約一公里，不可走近約櫃，好使你們知道你們應走的路，因為這條路你們以前沒有走過。”

⁵約書亞對人民說：“你們要自潔，因為明天耶和華要在你們中間行奇事。” ⁶約書亞又吩咐祭司說：“你們要抬起約櫃，在人民前面過河去。”於是他們抬起約櫃，走在人民的前面。 ⁷耶和華對約書亞說：“今天起，我要使你在以色列眾人眼中成為尊大，這樣他們就知道我怎樣與摩西同在，也必照樣與你同在。 ⁸你要吩咐抬著約櫃的祭司說：‘你們到了約旦河水邊的時候，要站在約旦河中。’” ⁹約書亞對以色列人說：“你們走近這裡來，聆聽耶和華你們的　神的話。 ^10-11約書亞說：“看哪，全地之主的約櫃（“全地之主的約櫃”或譯：“約櫃，全地之主”）必在你們前面過約旦河，你們因此就知道永活的　神是在你們中間，他必把迦南人、赫人、希未人、比利洗人、革迦撒人、亞摩利人和耶布斯人，從你們面前驅逐出去。 ¹²現在你們要從以色列眾支派中選十二個人，每支派一人。 ¹³抬全地之主耶和華約櫃的祭司的腳掌一踏進約旦河水裡，約旦河的水必被截斷，那從上游流下來的水必立起成壘。”

¹⁴人民離開帳棚出發，要過約旦河的時候，抬約櫃的祭司在人民的前面。 ¹⁵抬約櫃的祭司來到約旦河，他們的腳碰到水邊的時候（原來約旦河水在收割的日子，常是漲過兩岸的）， ¹⁶水就停住了，那從上游流下來的水立起成壘，在很遠的地方，就是在撒拉但旁邊的亞當城那裡停住；那往下流入亞拉巴海，就是鹽海的水完全被截斷；於是人民就在耶利哥的對面過了河。 ¹⁷抬耶和華約櫃的祭司在約旦河中間的乾地上站住，等以色列眾人都在乾地上走過去，直到全國的人都完全走過了約旦河為止。

Joshua 3

King James Version

3 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

²And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;

³And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

⁴Yet 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.

⁵And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

⁶And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take 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.

⁷And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

⁸And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.

⁹And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.

¹⁰And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

¹¹Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.

¹²Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

¹³And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the 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 shall stand upon an heap.

¹⁴And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

¹⁵And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

¹⁶That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

¹⁷And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Joshua 3

New King James Version

Israel Crosses the Jordan

3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out ^(A)from ^[a]Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. ²So it was, ^(B)after three days, that the officers went through the camp; ³and they commanded the people, saying, ^(C)“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, ^(D)and the priests, the Levites, ^[b]bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. ⁴^(E)Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

⁵And Joshua said to the people, ^(F)“Sanctify^[c] yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” ⁶Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, ^(G)“Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.”

So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

⁷And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to ^(H)exalt^[d] you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, ^(I)as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. ⁸You shall command ^(J)the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, ^(K)you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”

⁹So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that ^(L)the living God is among you, and that He will without fail ^(M)drive out from before you the ^(N)Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: ¹¹Behold, the ark of the covenant of ^(O)the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. ¹²Now therefore, ^(P)take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. ¹³And it shall come to pass, ^(Q)as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, ^(R)the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they ^(S)shall stand as a heap.”

¹⁴So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ^(T)ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and ^(U)the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the ^(V)Jordan overflows all its banks ^(W)during the whole time of harvest), ¹⁶that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away ^[e]at Adam, the city that is beside ^(X)Zaretan. So the waters that went down ^(Y)into the Sea of the Arabah, ^(Z)the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; ^(AA)and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

Footnotes

Joshua 3:1 Heb. Shittim
Joshua 3:3 carrying
Joshua 3:5 Consecrate
Joshua 3:7 make you great
Joshua 3:16 Qr., many mss. and vss. from Adam

Joshua 3

International Children’s Bible

Crossing the Jordan

3 Early the next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel left Acacia. They traveled to the Jordan River and camped there before crossing it. ²After three days the officers went through the camp. ³They gave orders to the people. They said, “You will see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord your God. Then you should leave where you are and follow it. ⁴That way you will know which way to go. You have never traveled this way before. But do not follow too closely. Stay about a thousand yards behind the Ark of the Covenant.”

⁵Then Joshua told the people, “Make yourselves holy for the Lord. Tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

⁶Joshua said to the priests, “Take the Ark of the Covenant. Cross over the river ahead of the people.” So the priests lifted the Ark of the Covenant and carried it ahead of the people.

⁷Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great man to all the Israelites. So the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses. ⁸The priests will carry the Ark of the Covenant. Tell them this: ‘Go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water.’”

⁹Then Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here. Listen to the words of the Lord your God. ¹⁰Here is proof that the living God is with you. Here is proof that he will drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and the Jebusites. ¹¹This is the proof: The Ark of the Covenant will go ahead of you into the Jordan River. It is the Agreement with the Lord of the whole world. ¹²Now choose 12 men from among you. Choose 1 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. ¹³The priests will carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the Master of the whole world. They will carry it into the Jordan ahead of you. When they enter the water, the river will stop flowing. The water will be stopped. It will stand up in a heap as if a dam were there.”

¹⁴So the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant. And the people left the place where they had camped. Then they started across the Jordan River. ¹⁵During harvest the Jordan is flooded. So the river was at its fullest. The priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant came to the edge of the river. And they stepped into the water. ¹⁶Just at that moment, the water stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam. This is a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river near Jericho. ¹⁷The ground there became dry. The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord to the middle of the river and stopped. They waited there while all the people of Israel walked across. They crossed the Jordan River on dry land.