Joshua 3

Complete Jewish Bible

3 Y’hoshua got up early in the morning, and they left Sheetim and came to the Yarden, he with all the people of Isra’el; they camped there before crossing. ² After three days, the officials circulated through the camp ³ and gave the people these orders: “When you see the ark for the covenant of Adonai your God and the cohanim, who are L’vi’im, carrying it, you are to leave your position and follow it. ⁴ But keep a distance between yourelves and it of about a thousand yards — don’t come any closer, so that you will understand which way to go, because you haven’t gone this way before.”

⁵ Y’hoshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because tomorrow Adonai is going to work wonders among you.” ⁶ Then Y’hoshua said to the cohanim, “Take the ark for the covenant, and go on ahead of the people.” They took the ark for the covenant and went ahead of the people.

⁷ Adonai said to Y’hoshua, “Starting today, I will make you great in full view of all Isra’el; so that they will know that just as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you. ⁸ Now you are to order the cohanim carrying the ark for the covenant as follows: ‘When you come to the edge of the Yarden River, you are to stop in the Yarden itself.’”

⁹ Y’hoshua said to the people of Isra’el, “Come here, and listen to the words of Adonai your God.” ¹⁰ Then Y’hoshua said, “Here is how you will know that the living God is here with you and that, without fail, he will drive out from before you the Kena‘ani, the Hitti, the Hivi, the P’rizi, the Girgashi, the Emori and the Y’vusi: ¹¹ the ark for the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going on ahead of you across the Yarden. ¹² Now choose yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Isra’el, one man for each tribe. ¹³ As soon as the cohanim carrying the ark of Adonai, the Lord of all the earth, put the soles of their feet in the water of the Yarden, the water of the Yarden will be cut off upstream and stand piled up like an embankment.”

¹⁴ So the people left their tents to cross the Yarden, with the cohanim carrying the ark for the covenant ahead of the people. ¹⁵ When those carrying the ark had come to the Yarden, and the cohanim carrying the ark had waded into the water (for throughout harvest season the Yarden overflows its banks), ¹⁶ the water upstream stood piled up like an embankment for a great distance at Adam, the city next to Tzartan; so that the water flowing downstream toward the Sea of the ‘Aravah, the Dead Sea, was completely cut off; and the people crossed over right by Yericho. ¹⁷ The cohanim carrying the ark for the covenant of Adonai stood fast on dry ground in the middle of the Yarden, while all Isra’el crossed on dry ground, until the entire nation had finished crossing the Yarden.