And 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.

And 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.

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

10 And 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.

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

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

13 And 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.

14 And 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;

15 And 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,)

16 That 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.

17 And 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.

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.

11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.

12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:

13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

14 On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,

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) 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.’”

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)

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,(AF) the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men(AG) from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones(AH) from the middle of the Jordan,(AI) from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.(AJ)

So Joshua called together the twelve men(AK) 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.(AL) 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(AM) among you. In the future, when your children(AN) ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’(AO) tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off(AP) 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(AQ) to the people of Israel forever.”

So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones(AR) from the middle of the Jordan,(AS) according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua;(AT) and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones(AU) that had been[a] 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.(AV)

10 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, 11 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. 12 The men of Reuben,(AW) Gad(AX) and the half-tribe of Manasseh(AY) crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites,(AZ) as Moses had directed them.(BA) 13 About forty thousand armed for battle(BB) crossed over(BC) before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.

14 That day the Lord exalted(BD) 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.

15 Then the Lord said to Joshua,

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 4:9 Or Joshua also set up twelve stones