Joshua 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
Crossing the Jordan River
3 Joshua got up early the next morning. He and all the Israelites left Shittim. They came to the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.
2 Three days later the officers went through the camp. 3 They told the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the promise of the Lord your God and the Levitical priests who carry it, break camp and follow them. 4 However, stay about half a mile behind them. Don’t come any closer to them so that you will know which way to go because you have not gone this way before.”
5 Joshua told the people, “Perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy because tomorrow the Lord will do miracles among you.”
6 Joshua also told the priests, “Take the ark of the promise, and go ahead of the people.” They did as they were told.
7 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to honor you in front of all the people of Israel. I will do this to let them know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. 8 Order the priests who carry the ark of the promise, ‘When you step into the water of the Jordan River, stand there.’ ”
9 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here, and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 Joshua continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly force the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites out of your way. 11 Watch the ark of the promise of the Lord of the whole earth as it goes ahead of you into the Jordan River. 12 Choose one man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. 13 The priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, will stand in the water of the Jordan. Then the water flowing from upstream will stop and stand up like a dam.”
14 So they broke camp to cross the Jordan River. The priests who carried the ark of the promise went ahead of the people. 15 (The Jordan overflows all its banks during the harvest season.) [a] When the priests who were carrying the ark came to the edge of the Jordan River and set foot in 16 the water, the water stopped flowing from upstream. The water rose up like a dam as far away as the city of Adam near Zarethan. The water flowing down toward the Sea of the Plains (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. Then the people crossed from the east side ⌞of the Jordan River⌟ directly opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the Lord’s promise stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan River on dry ground.
Footnotes
- 3:15 This sentence has been moved from verse 16 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.
Yehoshua 3
Orthodox Jewish Bible
3 And Yehoshua rose early in the boker; and they set out from Sheetim, and came to the Yarden, he and Kol Bnei Yisroel, and camped there before they crossed over.
2 And it came to pass after shloshet yamim, that the Shoterim went through the Machaneh;
3 And they commanded HaAm, saying, When ye see the Aron Brit Hashem Eloheichem, and the Kohanim who are Levi’im bearing it, then ye shall move out from your makom, and follow after it.
4 Yet there shall be a rachok (distance, space) between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; come not near unto it, that ye have da’as of the Derech by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
5 And Yehoshua said unto HaAm, Set yourselves apart as kodesh; for tomorrow Hashem will do nifla’ot among you.
6 And Yehoshua spoke unto the Kohanim, saying, Take up the Aron HaBrit, and cross over before HaAm. And they took up the Aron HaBrit, and went before HaAm.
7 And Hashem said unto Yehoshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of kol Yisroel, that they may know that, as I was with Moshe, so I will be with thee.
8 And thou shalt command the Kohanim that bear the Aron HaBrit, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of the Yarden, ye shall stand still in the Yarden.
9 And Yehoshua said unto the Bnei Yisroel, Come here, and hear the Divrei Hashem Eloheichem.
10 And Yehoshua said, Hereby ye shall have da’as that the El Chai is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Kena’ani, and the Chitti, and the Chivi, and the Perizzi, and the Girgashi, and HaEmori, and the Yevusi.
11 Hinei, the Aron HaBrit Adon Kol HaAretz passeth over before you into the Yarden.
12 Now therefore take you Shnei Asar Ish out of the Shivtei Yisroel, out of every tribe an ish.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the Kohanim bearing the Aron Hashem, Adon Kol HaAretz, shall rest in the waters of the Yarden, that the waters of the Yarden shall be cut off from the waters that flow down from above; and they shall stand in a heap.
14 So it came to pass, when HaAm moved out from their ohalim, to cross over the Yarden, and the Kohanim bearing the Aron HaBrit ahead of HaAm;
15 And as they bearing the Aron were come unto the Yarden, and the feet of the Kohanim bearing the Aron touched the edge of the mayim, (for the Yarden overfloweth all its banks all the days of katzir [harvest]),
16 That the waters which flowed down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Tzartan; and that which flowed down toward Yam HaAravah, the Yam HaMelach was completely cut off; and HaAm crossed over right by Yericho.
17 And the Kohanim bearing the Aron Brit Hashem stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Yarden, and Kol Yisroel passed over on dry ground, until Kol HaGoy were passed completely over the Yarden.
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