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And Yehoshua rose early in the boker; and they set out from Sheetim, and came to the Yarden, he and Kol Bnei Yisroel, and camped there before they crossed over.

And it came to pass after shloshet yamim, that the Shoterim went through the Machaneh;

And they commanded HaAm, saying, When ye see the Aron Brit Hashem Eloheichem, and the Kohanim who are Levi’im bearing it, then ye shall move out from your makom, and follow after it.

Yet there shall be a rachok (distance, space) between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; come not near unto it, that ye have da’as of the Derech by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

And Yehoshua said unto HaAm, Set yourselves apart as kodesh; for tomorrow Hashem will do nifla’ot among you.

And Yehoshua spoke unto the Kohanim, saying, Take up the Aron HaBrit, and cross over before HaAm. And they took up the Aron HaBrit, and went before HaAm.

And Hashem said unto Yehoshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of kol Yisroel, that they may know that, as I was with Moshe, so I will be with thee.

And thou shalt command the Kohanim that bear the Aron HaBrit, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of the Yarden, ye shall stand still in the Yarden.

And Yehoshua said unto the Bnei Yisroel, Come here, and hear the Divrei Hashem Eloheichem.

10 And Yehoshua said, Hereby ye shall have da’as that the El Chai is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Kena’ani, and the Chitti, and the Chivi, and the Perizzi, and the Girgashi, and HaEmori, and the Yevusi.

11 Hinei, the Aron HaBrit Adon Kol HaAretz passeth over before you into the Yarden.

12 Now therefore take you Shnei Asar Ish out of the Shivtei Yisroel, out of every tribe an ish.

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the Kohanim bearing the Aron Hashem, Adon Kol HaAretz, shall rest in the waters of the Yarden, that the waters of the Yarden shall be cut off from the waters that flow down from above; and they shall stand in a heap.

14 So it came to pass, when HaAm moved out from their ohalim, to cross over the Yarden, and the Kohanim bearing the Aron HaBrit ahead of HaAm;

15 And as they bearing the Aron were come unto the Yarden, and the feet of the Kohanim bearing the Aron touched the edge of the mayim, (for the Yarden overfloweth all its banks all the days of katzir [harvest]),

16 That the waters which flowed down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Tzartan; and that which flowed down toward Yam HaAravah, the Yam HaMelach was completely cut off; and HaAm crossed over right by Yericho.

17 And the Kohanim bearing the Aron Brit Hashem stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Yarden, and Kol Yisroel passed over on dry ground, until Kol HaGoy were passed completely over the Yarden.

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