< Joshua 3 >
1 Then Ioshua rose very earely, and they remoued from Shittim, and came to Iorden, he, and all the children of Israel, and lodged there, before they went ouer.
And so, Joshua arose in the night, and he moved the camp. And they departed from Shittim, and they went to the Jordan: he, and all the sons of Israel, and they remained there for three days.
2 And after three dayes the officers went throughout the hoste,
After these things unfolded, announcers passed through the midst of the camp,
3 And commanded the people, saying, When ye see the Arke of the couenat of the Lord your God, and the Priestes of the Leuites bearing it, ye shall depart from your place, and goe after it.
and they began to proclaim: “When you will see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the stock of Levi carrying it, you also shall rise up and follow those who are going before you.
4 Yet there shalbe a space betweene you and it, about two thousande cubites by measure: ye shall not come neere vnto it, that ye may knowe the way, by the which ye shall goe: for ye haue not gone this way in times past.
And let there be, between you and the ark, the space of two thousand cubits, so that you may be able to see it from far away, and to know along which way you should advance. For you have not walked this way before. And be careful that you do not approach the ark.”
5 (Nowe Ioshua had saide vnto the people, Sanctifie your selues: for to morowe the Lord will doe wonders among you)
And Joshua said to the people: “Be sanctified. For tomorrow the Lord will accomplish miracles among you.”
6 Also Ioshua spake vnto the Priestes, saying, Take vp the Arke of the couenant, and goe ouer before the people: so they tooke vp the Arke of the couenant, and went before the people.
And he said to the priests: “Take up the ark of the covenant, and go before the people.” And they fulfilled the orders, and they took it and walked before them.
7 Then the Lord saide vnto Ioshua, This day will I begin to magnifie thee in the sight of all Israel, which shall knowe, that as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee.
And the Lord said to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that, just as I was with Moses, so also am I with you.
8 Thou shalt therefore command the Priests that beare the Arke of the Couenant, saying, When ye are come to the brinke of the waters of Iorden, ye shall stande still in Iorden.
Now instruct the priests, who are carrying the ark of the covenant, and say to them, ‘When you will have entered into a part of the water of the Jordan, stand still in it.’”
9 Then Ioshua said vnto the children of Israel, Come hither, and heare the wordes of the Lord your God.
And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Approach to here, and listen to the word of the Lord your God.”
10 And Ioshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the liuing God is among you, and that he will certainely cast out before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hiuites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Iebusites.
And again, he said: “By this shall you know that the Lord, the living God, is in your midst, and that he shall scatter in your sight, the Canaanite and the Hittite, the Hivite and the Perizzite, likewise the Girgashite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite.
11 Beholde, the Arke of the couenant of the Lord of all the worlde passeth before you into Iorden.
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you through the Jordan.
12 Nowe therefore take from among you twelue men out of the tribes of Israel, out of euery tribe a man.
Prepare twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
13 And assoone as the soles of the feete of the Priestes (that beare the Arke of the Lord God the Lord of all the worlde) shall stay in the waters of Iorden, the waters of Iorden shall be cut off: for the waters that come from aboue, shall stande still vpon an heape.
And when the priests who are carrying the ark of the Lord, the God of the entire earth, will have placed the steps of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are lower will run down and pass away, and those that are approaching above will stand together in a mass.”
14 Then when the people were departed from their tentes to goe ouer Iorden, the Priestes bearing the Arke of the Couenant, went before people.
And the people departed from their tents, so that they might cross the Jordan. And the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant were advancing before them.
15 And as they that bare the Arke came vnto Iorden, and the feete of the Priestes that bare the Arke were dipped in the brinke of the water, (for Iorden vseth to fill all his bankes all the time of haruest)
And as soon as they entered into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in a portion of the water, (now the Jordan, since it was the time of the harvest, had filled the banks of its channel, )
16 Then the waters that came downe from aboue, stayed and rose vpon an heape and departed farre from the citie of Adam, that was beside Zaretan: but the waters that came downe towarde the Sea of the wildernes, euen the salt Sea, failed, and were cut off: so the people went right ouer against Iericho.
the descending waters stood still in one place, and, swelling up like a mountain, they were seen from far away, from the city that is called Adam, even as far as the place of Zarethan. But those that were lower ran down into the Sea of the Wilderness, (which is now called the Dead Sea, ) until they entirely passed away.
17 But the Priestes that bare the Arke of the couenant of the Lord, stoode drie within Iorden readie prepared, and all the Israelites went ouer dry, vntill all the people were gone cleane ouer through Iorden.
Then the people advanced opposite Jericho. And the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord were standing, fully-dressed, upon dry soil in the midst of the Jordan, and all the people passed over, through the channel that was dried up.