⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you^(A) in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.^{(B) 8} Tell the priests^(C) who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

⁹ Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ This is how you will know that the living God^(D) is among you^(E) and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites,^(F) Hivites, Perizzites,^(G) Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.^{(H) 11} See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth^(I) will go into the Jordan ahead of you.^{(J) 12} Now then, choose twelve men^(K) from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³ And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth^(L)—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream^(M) will be cut off^(N) and stand up in a heap.^(O)”

¹⁴ So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant^(P) went ahead^(Q) of them. ¹⁵ Now the Jordan^(R) is at flood stage^(S) all during harvest.^(T) Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶ the water from upstream stopped flowing.^(U) It piled up in a heap^(V) a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,^(W) while the water flowing down^(X) to the Sea of the Arabah^(Y) (that is, the Dead Sea^(Z)) was completely cut off.^(AA) So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.^{(AB) 17} The priests^(AC) who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground,^(AD) while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.^(AE)

4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,^(A) the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Choose twelve men^(B) from among the people, one from each tribe, ³ and tell them to take up twelve stones^(C) from the middle of the Jordan,^(D) from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.^(E)”

¹⁹ On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal^(A) on the eastern border of Jericho. ²⁰ And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones^(B) they had taken out of the Jordan. ²¹ He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’^{(C) 22} tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’^{(D) 23} 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^[a] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.^{(E) 24} He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know^(F) that the hand of the Lord is powerful^(G) and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.^(H)”