Joshua 4:1-5
Legacy Standard Bible
Memorial Stones from the Jordan
4 Now it happened when all the nation had completed crossing the (A)Jordan, that Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “(B)Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Carry for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in (C)the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’” 4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them, “[a]Cross again before the ark of Yahweh your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you carry a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 6 in order that this would be a sign among you, so that (D)when your children ask [b]later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall say to them, ‘Because the (E)waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a (F)memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
8 Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded and carried twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to (G)the lodging place and laid them down there. 9 But Joshua set up twelve (H)stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. 10 Now the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that Yahweh had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed. 11 And it happened when all the people had completed crossing, that the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed before the people. 12 (I)And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13 about 40,000 equipped for war crossed for battle before Yahweh to the desert plains of Jericho.
14 (J)On that day, Yahweh magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they [c]feared him, just as they had [d]feared Moses all the days of his life.
15 Then Yahweh said to [e]Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry (K)the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 So it happened when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were [f]lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went over all its banks as before.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the (L)tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20 [g](M)And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up (N)at Gilgal. 21 Then he said to the sons of [h]Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall make your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on (O)dry land.’ 23 For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God had done to the [i]Red Sea, (P)which He dried up before us until we had crossed, 24 that (Q)all the peoples of the earth may know that the (R)hand of Yahweh is strong, so that you may [j](S)fear Yahweh your God [k]forever.”
The Men of Israel Circumcised
5 Now it happened when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the (T)Canaanites who were by the sea, (U)heard how Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until [l]they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.
Footnotes
- Joshua 4:5 Lit Cross before the ark
- Joshua 4:6 Lit tomorrow
- Joshua 4:14 Or reverenced
- Joshua 4:14 Or reverenced
- Joshua 4:15 Lit Joshua, saying
- Joshua 4:18 Lit drawn out
- Joshua 4:20 Lit these
- Joshua 4:21 Lit Israel, saying,
- Joshua 4:23 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 4:24 Or reverence
- Joshua 4:24 Lit all the days
- Joshua 5:1 Other mss we
Joshua 4:1-5
New Living Translation
Memorials to the Jordan Crossing
4 When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3 Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
8 So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.
9 Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.
10 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed. 11 And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.
12 The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. 13 These armed men—about 40,000 strong—were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.
14 That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.
15 The Lord had said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant[a] to come up out of the riverbed.” 17 So Joshua gave the command. 18 As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.
19 The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.[b] Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.
21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea[c] when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”
5 When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast[d] heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.
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