Joshua 4
Jubilee Bible 2000
4 ¶ And it came to pass when all the people were finished passing the Jordan, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying,
2 Take twelve men out of the people, out of each tribe a man,
3 and command them, saying, Take from here of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the sons of Israel, out of each tribe a man;
5 and Joshua said unto them, Pass before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan and take ye up each one of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel,
6 that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean unto you?
7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the sons of Israel for ever.
8 And the sons of Israel did so as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD spoke unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged and laid them down there.
9 Joshua also 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 had stood; and they are there unto this day.
10 ¶ For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people made haste and passed.
11 And when all the people were finished passing, the ark of the LORD passed, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh passed armed before the sons of Israel, as Moses had said unto them.
13 About forty thousand men prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, towards the plains of Jericho.
14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15 And the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying,
16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.
17 Joshua, therefore, commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of the Jordan.
18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the midst of the Jordan and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, flowing as before over all its banks.
19 And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped in Gilgal, on the east side of Jericho.
20 ¶ And Joshua raised up in Gilgal the twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan.
21 And he spoke unto the sons of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean unto you?
22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you until ye had passed, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us until we had passed,
24 that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty; that ye might fear the LORD your God all the days.
Joshua 4
English Standard Version
Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan
4 When all the nation had finished passing (A)over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 (B)“Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take (C)twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place (D)where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in (E)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. (F)When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that (G)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 (H)a memorial forever.”
8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down[a] there. 9 And Joshua set up[b] twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, (I)in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.
The people passed over in haste. 11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests passed over before the people. 12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh (J)passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord (K)exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
15 And the Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests bearing (L)the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, (M)as before.
19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at (N)Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And (O)those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, (P)“When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, (Q)‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, (R)which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 (S)so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is (T)mighty, that you may (U)fear the Lord your God forever.”[c]
Footnotes
- Joshua 4:8 Or to rest
- Joshua 4:9 Or Joshua had set up
- Joshua 4:24 Or all the days
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
