Joshua 3
English Standard Version
Israel Crosses the Jordan
3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out (A)from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 (B)At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by (C)the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 (D)Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits[a] in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, (E)“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, (F)“Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to (G)exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, (H)as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command (I)the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, (J)you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 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 (K)the living God is among you and that he will without fail (L)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 (M)the Lord of all the earth[b] (N)is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore (O)take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, (P)from each tribe a man. 13 And (Q)when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, (R)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 (S)stand in one heap.”
14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing (T)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 (U)the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now (V)the Jordan overflows all its banks (W)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 (X)Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of (Y)the Arabah, (Z)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, (AA)and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
Footnotes
- Joshua 3:4 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Joshua 3:11 Hebrew the ark of the covenant, the Lord of all the earth
Joshua 3
Tree of Life Version
Crossing the Jordan
3 Then Joshua rose up early in the morning, and he and all Bnei-Yisrael set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan. They lodged there before crossing over. 2 Now it came about after three days that the officials went through the camp 3 and they charged the people saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of Adonai your God and the Levitical kohanim carrying it, then you must set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet keep a distance between you and it of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Don’t come near it, so you may know the way by which you should go, for you haven’t travelled this way before.”
5 Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow Adonai will do wonders in your midst.” 6 Joshua spoke to the kohanim saying: “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
7 Now Adonai said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 You are to command the kohanim who are carrying the ark of the covenant saying: ‘When you reach the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you are to stand still in the Jordan.’”
9 So Joshua said to Bnei-Yisrael, “Come here, and listen to the words of Adonai your God.” 10 Joshua said, “By this you will know that the living God is among you, and that He will certainly drive out from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite and the Jebusite. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Sovereign of all the earth is advancing before you into the Jordan. 12 So now, take for yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13 It will come to pass when the soles of the feet of the kohanim who are carrying the ark of Adonai, Sovereign of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the Jordan’s waters will be cut off. The waters coming downstream will stand up in one heap.”
14 So it came to pass. When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the kohanim were carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as those who were carrying the ark came into the Jordan and the feet of the kohanim carrying the ark dipped in the edge of the water, 16 the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the town next to Zarethan. What was flowing down to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 Yet the kohanim carrying the ark of the covenant of Adonai stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.