Joshua 3
New English Translation
Israel Crosses the Jordan
3 Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.[a] They camped there before crossing the river.[b] 2 After three days the leaders went through the camp 3 and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God[c] being carried by the Levitical priests, you must leave here[d] and walk[e] behind it. 4 But stay about 3,000 feet behind it.[f] Keep your distance[g] so you can see[h] which way you should go, for you have not traveled this way before.”
5 Joshua told the people, “Ritually consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform miraculous deeds among you.” 6 Joshua told the priests, “Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
7 The Lord told Joshua, “This very day I will begin to honor you before all Israel,[i] so they will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. 8 Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, ‘When you reach the bank of the Jordan River,[j] wade into the water.’”[k]
9 Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God!” 10 Joshua continued,[l] “This is how you will know the living God is among you and that he will truly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. 11 Look! The ark of the covenant of the Lord[m] of the whole earth is ready to enter the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now select for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe. 13 When the feet[n] of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Lord[o] of the whole earth, touch[p] the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up.”[q]
14 So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went[r] ahead of them. 15 When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface[s] of the water—(the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time)[t]— 16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing.[u] It piled up far upstream[v] at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the rift valley (the Salt Sea).[w] The people crossed the river opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire nation was on the other side.[x]
Footnotes
- Joshua 3:1 tn Heb “And Joshua arose early in the morning and he and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.”
- Joshua 3:1 tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Joshua 3:3 sn The ark of the covenant refers to the wooden chest that symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people.
- Joshua 3:3 tn Heb “set out from your place.”
- Joshua 3:3 tn Or “march.”
- Joshua 3:4 tn Heb “But there should be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in measurement.”sn The precise distance is uncertain, but the measurement designated אַמָּה (ʾammah, “cubit”) was probably equivalent to approximately 18 inches, or 45 cm) in length.
- Joshua 3:4 tn Heb “do not approach it.”
- Joshua 3:4 tn Heb “know.”
- Joshua 3:7 tn Or more literally, “to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel.”
- Joshua 3:8 tn Heb “the edge of the waters of the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
- Joshua 3:8 tn Heb “stand in the Jordan.” Here the repetition of the word “Jordan” would be redundant according to contemporary English style, so it was not included in the translation.
- Joshua 3:10 tn Heb “said.”
- Joshua 3:11 tn Or “Ruler”; or “Master.”
- Joshua 3:13 tn Heb “the soles of the feet.”
- Joshua 3:13 tn Or “Ruler”; or “Master.”
- Joshua 3:13 tn Or “rest in.”
- Joshua 3:13 tn Heb “the waters of the Jordan, the waters descending from above, will be cut off so that they will stand in one pile.”
- Joshua 3:14 tn The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.
- Joshua 3:15 tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”
- Joshua 3:15 tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”sn The lengthy description of the priests’ arrival at the Jordan and the parenthetical reminder that the Jordan was at flood stage delay the climax of the story and add to its dramatic buildup.
- Joshua 3:16 tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”
- Joshua 3:16 tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”
- Joshua 3:16 tn Heb “the [waters] descending… were completely cut off.”sn The Salt Sea is an ancient name for the Dead Sea.
- Joshua 3:17 tn Heb “and all Israel was crossing over on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
Joshua 3
Contemporary English Version
Israel Crosses the Jordan River
3 Early the next morning, Joshua and the Israelites packed up and left Acacia. They went to the Jordan River and camped there that night. 2 Two days later[a] their leaders went through the camp, 3-4 shouting, “When you see some of the priests[b] carrying the sacred chest, you'll know it is time to cross to the other side. You've never been there before, and you won't know the way, unless you follow the chest. But don't get too close! Stay about a kilometer back.”
5 Joshua told the people, “Make yourselves acceptable[c] to worship the Lord, because he is going to do some amazing things for us.”
6 Then Joshua turned to the priests and said, “Take the chest and cross the Jordan River ahead of us.” So the priests picked up the chest by its carrying poles and went on ahead.
7 The Lord told Joshua, “Beginning today I will show the people that you are their leader, and they will know that I am helping you as I helped Moses. 8 Now, tell the priests who are carrying the chest to go a little way into the river and stand there.”
9 Joshua spoke to the people:
Come here and listen to what the Lord our God said he will do! 10 The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites control the land on the other side of the river. But the living God will be with you and will force them out of the land when you attack. And now, God is going to prove that he's powerful enough to force them out. 11-13 Just watch the sacred chest that belongs to the Lord, the ruler of the whole earth. As soon as the priests carrying the chest step into the Jordan, the water will stop flowing and pile up as if someone had built a dam across the river.
The Lord has also said that each of the twelve tribes should choose one man to represent it.
14 The Israelites packed up and left camp. The priests carrying the chest walked in front, 15 until they came to the Jordan River. The water in the river had risen over its banks, as it often does in springtime.[d] But as soon as the feet of the priests touched the water, 16-17 the river stopped flowing, and the water started piling up at the town of Adam near Zarethan. No water flowed toward the Dead Sea, and the priests stood in the middle of the dry riverbed near Jericho while everyone else crossed over.
Footnotes
- 3.2 Two days later: The Hebrew text has “At the end of three days,” two days after they had set up camp.
- 3.3,4 the priests: The Hebrew text has “the priests, the Levites”; priests belonged to the tribe of Levi.
- 3.5 Make yourselves acceptable: People had to do certain things to make themselves acceptable to worship the Lord (see Leviticus 7.20,21; 15.2,33; 22.4-8; Deuteronomy 23.10,11).
- 3.15 springtime: Or “harvest time”; the grain harvest was in late spring.
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