Joshua 4

1 Now when all the nation had come to the other side of Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,

And it came to pass, when all the people had finished passing over the Jordan, That the Lord said unto Joshua, as followeth,

2 Take twelve men from the people, a man for every tribe,

Take yourselves twelve men out of the people, one man each out of every tribe,

3 And say to them, Take up from the middle of Jordan, from the place where the feet of the priests were resting, twelve stones, and take them over with you and put them down in the place where you take your rest tonight.

And command ye them, saying, Take yourselves hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firmly, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging-place, where ye will lodge this night.

4 So Joshua sent for the twelve men, whom he had ready, one man out of every tribe of the children of Israel,

Then did Joshua call the twelve men, whom he had appointed out of the children of Israel, one man each out of every tribe:

5 And he said to them, Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of Jordan, and let every one of you take up a stone on his back, one for every tribe of the children of Israel:

And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take yourselves up every man one stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;

6 So that this may be a sign among you; when your children say to you in time to come, What is the reason for these stones?

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

7 Then you will say to them, Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the Lord's agreement; when it went over Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones will be a sign for the children of Israel, keeping it in their memory for ever.

That ye shall answer them, That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

8 So the children of Israel did as Joshua gave them orders, and took twelve stones from the middle of Jordan, as the Lord had said to Joshua, one for every tribe of the children of Israel; these they took across with them to their night's resting-place and put them down there.

And the children of Israel did so as Joshua had commanded; and they took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

9 And Joshua put up twelve stones in the middle of Jordan, where the feet of the priests who took up the ark of the agreement had been placed: and there they are to this day.

Twelve stones also did Joshua set up in the midst of the Jordan, on the spot where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood: and they have remained there unto this day.

10 For the priests who took up the ark kept there in the middle of Jordan till all the orders given to Joshua by Moses from the Lord had been done: then the people went over quickly.

But the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until every thing was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hastened and passed over.

11 And when all the people had come to the other side, the ark of the Lord went over, and the priests, before the eyes of the people.

And it came to pass, when all the people had finished passing over, that the ark of the Lord passed over with the priests in the presence of the people.

12 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went over armed before the children of Israel as Moses had said to them:

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Menasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken unto them:

13 About forty thousand armed for war went over before the Lord to the fight, to the lowlands of Jericho.

About forty thousand ready armed for war, did they pass over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

14 That day the Lord made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel; and all the days of his life they went in fear of him, as they had gone in fear of Moses.

On that day the Lord made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

15 Then the Lord said to Joshua,

And the Lord said unto Joshua, as followeth,

16 Give orders to the priests who take up the ark of witness, to come up out of Jordan.

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

17 So Joshua gave orders to the priests, saying, Come up now out of Jordan.

And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of the Jordan.

18 And when the priests who took up the ark of the Lord's agreement came up out of Jordan and their feet came out on to dry land, the waters of Jordan went back to their place, overflowing its edges 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 midst of the Jordan, the soles of the feet of the priests were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all its banks, as on the preceding days.

19 So on the tenth day of the first month the people came up out of Jordan, and put up their tents in Gilgal, on the east side of Jericho.

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

20 And the twelve stones which they took out of Jordan, Joshua put up in Gilgal.

And those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal.

21 And he said to the children of Israel, When your children say to their fathers in time to come, What is the reason for these stones?

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

22 Then give your children the story, and say, Israel came over this river Jordan on dry land.

Then shall ye let your children know, saying, On dry land did Israel pass over this Jordan;

23 For the Lord your God made the waters of Jordan dry before you till you had gone across, as he did to the Red Sea, drying it up before us till we had gone across:

That the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye 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 So that all the peoples of the earth may see that the hand of the Lord is strong; and that they may go in fear of the Lord your God for ever.

In order that all the nations of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty; in order that ye may fear the Lord your God all the days.