Joshua 4

1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

3 and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”

And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the middle of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and you shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where you shall lodge this night.

4 So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,

Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

5 and said to them, “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Israel,

And Joshua said to them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean you by these stones?

7 you are to tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”

Then you shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel for ever.

8 Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down.

And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the middle of Jordan, as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

9 Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bore the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there to this day.

10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until the people had completed everything the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell them, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried across,

For the priests which bore the ark stood in the middle of Jordan, until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hurried and passed over.

11 and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the LORD crossed in the sight of the people.

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.

12 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over before the Israelites, armed for battle as Moses had instructed them.

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them:

13 About 40,000 troops armed for battle crossed over before the LORD into the plains of Jericho.

About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD to battle, to the plains of Jericho.

14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.

On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

15 Then the LORD said to Joshua,

And the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”

Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.

17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.”

Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come you up out of Jordan.

18 When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course and overflowed all the banks as before.

And it came to pass, when the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the middle of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned to their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.

And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

20 And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.

And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.

21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’

And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

22 you are to tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’

Then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as He did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over.

For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until you were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”

That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that you might fear the LORD your God for ever.