Joshua 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Memorial Stones. 1 After the entire nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan, 2 the Lord said to Joshua: Choose twelve men(A) from the people, one from each tribe, 3 and command them, “Take up twelve stones from this spot in the Jordan riverbed where the priests have been standing.(B) Carry them over with you, and place them where you are to stay tonight.”
4 Summoning the twelve men he had selected from among the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 Joshua said to them: “Go to the Jordan riverbed in front of the ark of the Lord, your God; lift to your shoulders one stone apiece, so that they will equal in number the tribes of the Israelites. 6 In the future, these are to be a sign among you. When your children ask you,[a] ‘What do these stones mean to you?’(C) 7 you shall answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan ceased to flow before the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it crossed the Jordan.’(D) Thus these stones are to serve as a perpetual memorial to the Israelites.” 8 The twelve Israelites did as Joshua had commanded: they took up twelve stones from the Jordan riverbed as the Lord had said to Joshua, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites. They carried them along to the camp site, and there they placed them. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the Jordan riverbed on the spot where the priests stood who were carrying the ark of the covenant. They are there to this day.
10 [b]The priests carrying the ark stood in the Jordan riverbed until everything had been done that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, just as Moses had commanded Joshua. The people crossed over quickly, 11 and when all the people had completed the crossing, the ark of the Lord also crossed; and the priests were now in front of them. 12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh, armed, marched in the vanguard of the Israelites, as Moses had ordered. 13 About forty thousand troops, equipped for battle, crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.
14 That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel,(E) and so during his whole life they feared him as they had feared Moses.
15 Then the Lord said to Joshua: 16 Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come up from the Jordan. 17 Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan,” 18 and when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the Jordan riverbed, as the soles of their feet regained the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their course and as before overflowed all its banks.
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho.(F) 20 At Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been taken from the Jordan, 21 saying to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 you shall inform them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan here on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the Lord, your God, had done at the Red Sea, drying it up in front of us until we crossed over,(G) 24 in order that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and that you may fear the Lord, your God, forever.”(H)
Footnotes
- 4:6 When your children ask you: reminiscent of the question and response at the Passover meal, Ex 12:26–27.
- 4:10–18 After the digression about the memorial stones, the author resumes the narrative by briefly repeating the story of the crossing, which had already been told in 3:14–17.
Joshua 4
New King James Version
The Memorial Stones
4 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed (A)over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 (B)“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where (C)the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in (D)the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be (E)a sign among you (F)when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that (G)the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for (H)a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
8 And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
10 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. 11 Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the (I)ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. 12 And (J)the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. 13 About forty thousand [a]prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord (K)exalted[b] Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests who bear (L)the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place (M)and overflowed all its banks as before.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped (N)in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And (O)those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: (P)“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, saying, (Q)‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on (R)dry land’; 23 for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, (S)which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 (T)that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is (U)mighty, that you may (V)fear the Lord your God [c]forever.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 4:13 equipped
- Joshua 4:14 made Joshua great
- Joshua 4:24 Lit. all days
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
