Joshua 3:9-4:7

English Standard Version

⁹ And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that ^(A)the living God is among you and that he will without fail ^(B)drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of ^(C)the Lord of all the earth^{[a] (D)}is passing over before you into the Jordan. ¹² Now therefore ^(E)take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, ^(F)from each tribe a man. ¹³ And ^(G)when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, ^(H)the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall ^(I)stand in one heap.”

¹⁴ So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing ^(J)the ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and ^(K)the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now ^(L)the Jordan overflows all its banks ^(M)throughout the time of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside ^(N)Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of ^(O)the Arabah, ^(P)the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, ^(Q)and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan

4 When all the nation had finished passing ^(R)over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, ^2 (S)“Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, ³ and command them, saying, ‘Take ^(T)twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place ^(U)where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in ^(V)the place where you lodge tonight.’” ⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. ⁵ And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, ⁶ that this may be a sign among you. ^(W)When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ ⁷ then you shall tell them that ^(X)the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel ^(Y)a memorial forever.”