Joshua 3
1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
Early the following morning Joshua and the Israelites set out from Shittim and arrived at the banks of the Jordan. There they all spent the night before crossing over.
2 And it came to pass at the end of three days, that the officers went through the camp;
Three days later those in charge of the people went through the camp
3 and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then remove from your place, and go after it;
telling the people, “When you see the Ark of the Agreement of the Lord your God carried by the priests, the Levites, you must leave the place where you are and follow it.
4 yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Ye shall not come near it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
That way you'll know which way to go, since you haven't been here before. Leave about 3,000 feet between you and the Ark. Don't go near it!”
5 And Joshua said to the people, Hallow yourselves; for to-morrow Jehovah will do wonders in your midst.
Then Joshua said to the people, “Make sure you are pure, because tomorrow the Lord is going to do amazing things among you.”
6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and go over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
Joshua spoke to the priests, “Pick up the Ark of the Agreement and go before the people.” So they picked up the Ark of the Agreement and went ahead of the people.
7 And Jehovah said to Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee.
The Lord said to Joshua, “What I do today will confirm you as great leader in the sight of all the Israelites, so that they'll realize that just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
8 And thou shalt command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan.
Tell the priests carrying the Ark of the Agreement, ‘When you get to the edge of the Jordan, take a few steps into the water and then stop.’”
9 And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God.
So Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to what the Lord your God has to say to you.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby shall ye know that the living God is in your midst, and [that] he will without fail dispossess from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
This is how you will know that the living God is right here with you,” he told them. “You can be sure that he will drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going over before you into the Jordan.
Just watch—the Ark of the Agreement of the Lord of all the earth will cross in front of you through the Jordan.
12 And now take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
Choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe.
13 And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan, the waters flowing down from above, shall be cut off, and shall stand up in a heap.
The moment the priests carrying the Ark step into the water the river will stop flowing and the water will pile up.”
14 And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, that the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people;
So the people broke camp and set out to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the Ark ahead of them.
15 and when they that bore the ark were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (and the Jordan is full over all its banks throughout the days of harvest),
As it was harvest season, the Jordan was full of water, overflowing its banks. But at the very moment the priests carrying the Ark stepped into the water, the river stopped flowing.
16 the waters which flowed down from above stood [and] rose up in a heap, very far, by Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan; and those that flowed down towards the sea of the plain, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people went over opposite to Jericho.
The water piled up a long way upstream, at the town of Adam, near Zarethan, while downstream no more water flowed into the Dead Sea. So the people crossed over, opposite Jericho.
17 And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. And all Israel went over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely gone over the Jordan.
The priests carrying the Ark stood on the dried-up riverbed of the Jordan as all the people went by, staying there until everyone had crossed over on dry ground.
