Joshua 4
New Century Version
Rocks to Remind the People
4 After all the people had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe. 3 Tell them to get twelve rocks from the middle of the river, from where the priests stood. Carry the rocks and put them down where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua chose one man from each tribe. Then he called the twelve men together 5 and said to them, “Go out into the river where the Ark of the Lord your God is. Each of you bring back one rock, one for each tribe of Israel, and carry it on your shoulder. 6 They will be a sign among you. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’ 7 Tell them the water stopped flowing in the Jordan when the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord crossed the river. These rocks will always remind the Israelites of this.”
8 So the Israelites obeyed Joshua and carried twelve rocks from the middle of the Jordan River, one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Joshua. They carried the rocks with them and put them down where they made their camp. 9 Joshua also put twelve rocks in the middle of the Jordan River where the priests had stood while carrying the Ark of the Agreement. These rocks are still there today.
10 The priests carrying the Ark continued standing in the middle of the river until everything was done that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, just as Moses had told Joshua. The people hurried across the river. 11 After they finished crossing the river, the priests carried the Ark of the Lord to the other side as the people watched. 12 The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh obeyed what Moses had told them. They were dressed for war, and they crossed the river ahead of the other people. 13 About forty thousand soldiers prepared for war passed before the Lord as they marched across the river, going toward the plains of Jericho.
14 That day the Lord made Joshua great in the opinion of all the Israelites. They respected Joshua all his life, just as they had respected Moses.
15 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests to bring the Ark of the Agreement out of the river.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
18 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord out of the river. As soon as their feet touched dry land, the water began flowing again. The river again overflowed its banks, just as it had before they crossed.
19 The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho. 20 They carried with them the twelve rocks taken from the Jordan, and Joshua set them up at Gilgal. 21 Then he spoke to the Israelites: “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’ 22 Tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry land. 23 The Lord your God caused the water to stop flowing until you finished crossing it, just as the Lord did to the Red Sea. He stopped the water until we crossed it. 24 The Lord did this so all people would know he has great power and so you would always respect the Lord your God.’”
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
Joshua 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
The Twelve Memorial Stones. 1 When the entire people had passed over the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each of the tribes, 3 and tell them to take twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan where the priests had been standing, and to carry them over with you, depositing them at the place where you will be camping this evening.”
4 So Joshua called the twelve men together whom the Israelites had chosen, one man from each tribe, 5 and Joshua said to them, “Cross over in front of the Ark of the Lord, your God, into the middle of the Jordan and have each man place a rock on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites. 6 [a]These will serve as a reminder for you when, in the future, your children ask, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 7 you will answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan stopped flowing before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan ceased to flow.’ These stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”
8 The Israelites did just what Joshua had commanded them to do. They picked up twelve stones from the Jordan’s riverbed, just as the Lord had instructed Joshua to do, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, and they brought them out to the place where they were camping that night and they laid them down there. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the Jordan’s riverbed, where the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had been standing. They are still there today.
10 Now the priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything that the Lord had directed Joshua to tell the people had been done, the things that Moses had ordered Joshua to do. The people hurried over, 11 and when all the people had completed the crossing, the Ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests crossed over in front of the people. 12 The men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and the men of one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh passed in front of the Israelites, clad in battle gear, as Moses had instructed them to do. 13 About forty thousand men clad in battle gear passed over before the Lord into the plains of Jericho to do battle. 14 That day the Lord exalted Joshua before all of Israel. They revered him as long as he lived, even as they had revered Moses.
15 The Lord then said to Joshua, 16 “Tell the priests who are carrying the Ark of Testimony[b] to come up out of the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 So the priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, came up out of the Jordan. As soon as the priests’ feet touched dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned back to their place, flowing at flood stage as they had before.
19 [c]The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month,[d] and they camped at Gilgal to the east of Jericho. 20 Joshua erected the twelve stones that had been taken out of the Jordan at Gilgal. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 tell your children, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry land.’ 23 The Lord, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you could cross over, just as the Lord, your God, had dried up the Red Sea before us until we had crossed over it. 24 He did this so that everyone upon the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is mighty and so that you might always fear the Lord, your God.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 4:6 What is the meaning of these stones?: the Israelites were taught about God’s plan and reminded of his faithfulness by seeing the stones and repeating the stories connected to them. This continues with the question and response at the Passover meal each year.
- Joshua 4:16 Ark of Testimony: an infrequently used name for the Ark of the Covenant (see Ex 25:22; 31:7; Num 4:5), derived from the fact that the Testimony, that is, the tablets of the Decalogue, was kept in the Ark.
- Joshua 4:19 Like the deliverance from Egypt, the crossing of the Jordan shows all future generations the power God exercises in saving his people. The first great sanctuary in Palestine will preserve the sacred tradition regarding this miracle. The author places two supremely important events during the stay at Gilgal: the circumcision of the entire male population (see Gen 17) and the Feast of Passover.
- Joshua 4:19 On the tenth day of the first month: that is, a few days before Passover (see 5:10).
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
