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And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and they journey from Shittim, and come in unto the Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel, and they lodge there before they pass over.

And it cometh to pass, at the end of three days, that the authorities pass over into the midst of the camp,

and command the people, saying, `When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then ye journey from your place, and have gone after it;

only, a distance is between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; ye do not come near unto it, so that ye know the way in which ye go, for ye have not passed over in the way heretofore.'

And Joshua saith unto the people, `Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow doth Jehovah do in your midst wonders.'

And Joshua speaketh unto the priests, saying, `Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people;' and they take up the ark of the covenant, and go before the people.

And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `This day I begin to make thee great in the eyes of all Israel, so that they know that as I was with Moses I am with thee;

and thou, thou dost command the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye come unto the extremity of the waters of the Jordan -- in the Jordan ye stand.'

And Joshua saith unto the sons of Israel, `Come nigh hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God;

10 and Joshua saith, `By this ye know that the living God [is] in your midst, and He doth certainly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite:

11 lo, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into Jordan;

12 and now, take for you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man -- one man for a tribe;

13 and it hath been, at the resting of the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of Jehovah, Lord of all the earth, in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan are cut off -- the waters which are coming down from above -- and they stand -- one heap.'

14 And it cometh to pass, in the journeying of the people from their tents to pass over the Jordan, and of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,

15 and at those bearing the ark coming in unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark have been dipped in the extremity of the waters (and the Jordan is full over all its banks all the days of harvest) --

16 that the waters stand; those coming down from above have risen -- one heap, very far above Adam the city, which [is] at the side of Zaretan; and those going down by the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, have been completely cut off; and the people have passed through over-against Jericho;

17 and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stand on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan -- established, and all Israel are passing over on dry ground till that all the nation hath completed to pass over the Jordan.

Crossing the Jordan

Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim(A) and went to the Jordan,(B) where they camped before crossing over. After three days(C) the officers(D) went throughout the camp,(E) giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant(F) of the Lord your God, and the Levitical(G) priests(H) carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[a](I) between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,(J) for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things(K) among you.”

Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you(L) in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.(M) Tell the priests(N) who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God(O) is among you(P) and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites,(Q) Hivites, Perizzites,(R) Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.(S) 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth(T) will go into the Jordan ahead of you.(U) 12 Now then, choose twelve men(V) from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth(W)—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream(X) will be cut off(Y) and stand up in a heap.(Z)

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant(AA) went ahead(AB) of them. 15 Now the Jordan(AC) is at flood stage(AD) all during harvest.(AE) Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing.(AF) It piled up in a heap(AG) a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,(AH) while the water flowing down(AI) to the Sea of the Arabah(AJ) (that is, the Dead Sea(AK)) was completely cut off.(AL) So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.(AM) 17 The priests(AN) who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground,(AO) while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.(AP)

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 3:4 That is, about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters

And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;

And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.

And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.

10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.

12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.