Add parallel Print Page Options

Therefore Joshua rose by night, and moved thence the tents; and they went out of Shittim, and came to (the) Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel (he and all the Israelites), and dwelled there three days.

And when those days were passed, criers/beadles went through the midst of the tents,

and began to cry, When ye see the ark of [the] bond of peace of your Lord God, and the priests of the generation of Levi bearing it, also then rise ye, and follow the before-goers; (and began to cry, When ye see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the levitical priests carrying it, then ye shall rise up, and follow them;)

and a space of two thousand cubits be betwixt you and the ark, (so) that ye may see (it from) [a]far, and (so that ye can) know by which way ye shall enter, for ye have not gone before by it (for ye have not gone this way before); and be ye ware, that ye nigh not to the ark.

And Joshua said to the people, Be ye hallowed, for tomorrow the Lord shall make marvels among you.

And Joshua said to the priests, Take ye the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord, and go ye before the people. The which fulfilled the behests of Joshua, and they took the ark, and went before the people. (And Joshua said to the priests, Take ye the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and go ye before the people. And they obeyed Joshua’s commands, and they took the Ark, and went before the people.)

And the Lord said to Joshua, Today I shall begin to enhance thee before all Israel (Today I shall begin to magnify thee before all Israel), (so) that they know, that as I was with Moses, so I am also with thee.

Forsooth command thou to the priests, that bear the ark of [the] bond of peace, and say thou to them, When ye have entered into a part of the water of (the) Jordan, stand ye therein. (And command thou to the priests, who carry the Ark of the Covenant, and say thou to them, When ye have entered into a part of the water of the Jordan River, stand ye there.)

And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, Nigh ye hither, and hear ye the word of your Lord God. (And Joshua said to the Israelites, Come ye here, and hear ye the word of the Lord your God.)

10 And again he said, In this ye shall know that the Lord God living is in the midst of you (And he said, By this ye shall know that the living God is in the midst of you); and he shall destroy in your sight (the) Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, and Perizzites, and Girgashites, and Jebusites, and Amorites.

11 Lo! the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord of all earth shall go before you through Jordan. (Lo! the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you across the Jordan River.)

12 Make ye ready twelve men of the twelve lineages of Israel, by each lineage one man. (Make ye ready twelve men of the twelve tribes of Israel, one man out of each tribe.)

13 And when the priests, that bear the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord God of all earth (who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord God of all the earth), have set the steps of their feet in the waters of (the) Jordan, the waters that be lower shall run down, and shall fail; soothly the waters that come from above shall stand together in one gathering, or (in) a certain place.

14 Therefore the people went out of their tabernacles for to pass over (the) Jordan; and the priests that bare the ark of [the] bond of peace went before the people. (And so the people went out of their tents to cross over the Jordan River; and the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant went before the people.)

15 And when the priests entered into (the) Jordan, and their feet were dipped in the part of [the] water; forsooth (the) Jordan had filled the brinks of his trough in the time of ripe corn (for the Jordan River was filled to the brim of its trough at that time of harvest);

16 the waters (that) went down (from above halted), and stood in one place, and waxed great at the likeness of an hill, and appeared far from the city that was called Adam, till to the place of Zaretan; soothly the waters that were lower went down into the sea of (the) wilderness, which is now called the dead sea, till the waters failed utterly. Forsooth the people went through (the) Jordan; (the waters, that went down from above, stood in one place, and grew great like a hill, going back as far away as the city called Adam, which is close to the city of Zaretan; and the waters that were lower, or below, went down into the Sea of the Wilderness, which is now called the Dead Sea, until there was no water. And then the people crossed over opposite Jericho;)

17 and the priests, that bare the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord, stood girded on the dry earth in the midst of (the) Jordan, and all the people passed [over] through the dry trough. (and the priests, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, stood firmly on the dry earth in the midst of the Jordan River, until all the people had crossed over through the dry trough.)

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