Joshua 3-4
Expanded Bible
Crossing the Jordan
3 Early the next morning Joshua and all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] left ·Acacia [C Hebrew: Shittim; 2:1]. They traveled to the Jordan River and camped there before crossing it. 2 After three days the ·officers [leaders] went through the camp 3 and gave orders to the people: “When you see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord your God [Ex. 25:10–22], leave where you are and follow it. 4 That way you will know which way to go since you have never ·been here [passed this way] before. But do not ·follow too closely [come near it]. Stay about ·a thousand yards [L two thousand cubits] behind the Ark.”
5 Then Joshua told the people, “·Make yourselves holy [Consecrate yourselves], because tomorrow the Lord will do ·amazing [miraculous] things among you.”
6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] and go ahead of the people.” So the priests lifted the Ark and carried it ahead of the people.
7 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to ·make you great [exalt/honor you] in the ·opinion [L eyes] of all the Israelites so the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses. 8 ·Tell [Command] the priests who carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] to go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water.”
9 Then Joshua said to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 Here is proof that the living God is ·with [among] you and that he will ·force [drive] out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. 11 [L Look; T Behold] The Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord of the whole world will go ahead of you into the Jordan River. 12 Now choose twelve men from among you, one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the ·Master [Ruler; Lord] of the whole world [Ex. 9:29], into the Jordan ahead of you. When they step into the water, it will stop. The ·river will stop flowing [L waters going down will be cut off from above] and will stand up in a heap [C thus reminding them of the crossing of the sea in Ex. 14].”
14 So the people left ·the place where they had camped [their camp/L tents], and they followed the priests who carried the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] across the Jordan River. 15 During harvest the Jordan overflows its banks. When the priests carrying the Ark came to the edge of the river and stepped into the water, 16 the water ·upstream [L going down from above] stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam, a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the ·Dead [L Salt] Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river ·near [opposite; across from] Jericho. 17 The priests carried the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord to the middle of the river and stood there on dry ground. They waited there while ·all the people [the whole nation] of Israel walked across the Jordan River on dry land.
Rocks to Remind the People
4 After all the ·people [nation] had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe. 3 ·Tell [Command; Instruct] 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 [camp; lodge] tonight.”
4 So Joshua ·chose [appointed] 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 [reminder; memorial] among you. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean [L to you]?’ 7 Tell them the water stopped flowing in the Jordan when the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord crossed the ·river [L Jordan]. These rocks will always remind the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] of this [C stone memorials are common in the OT; 7:26; 24:26–27; Gen. 28:18–22; 31:45–47].”
8 So the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] 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 [Covenant; Treaty]. 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 [L the half-tribe of] 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 [honored/exalted Joshua] in the ·opinion [L eyes] of all the Israelites. They ·respected [revered; stood in awe of] Joshua all his life, just as they had ·respected [revered; stood in awe of] Moses.
15 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests to bring the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; L Testimony] 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 [Covenant/Treaty of] 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 [L came up from] the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal, ·east [on the eastern border] 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 [L sons/T children of Israel]: “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What ·do these rocks mean [L are these stones]?’ 22 Tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry land. 23 The Lord your God ·caused the water to stop flowing [L dried up the river before you] until you finished crossing it, just as the Lord did to the ·Red Sea [or Sea of Reeds; Ex. 14–15]. He ·stopped the water [L dried it up] until we crossed it. 24 The Lord did this so all ·people [L the nations/people of the earth] would know ·he has great power [L that the hand of the Lord is powerful] and so you would always ·respect [revere; fear] the Lord your God.’”
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