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.
Joshua [and all the other Israelis] got up early [the next] morning. They left [their camp at] Acacia and went [down] to the Jordan [River]. They camped there for two nights.
2 And after three dayes the officers went throughout the hoste,
Then the leaders went throughout 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.
telling the people, “You will see some of the priests, who are descendants of Levi, carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments that Yahweh our God gave us. When you see them, leave the places where you are camped and follow them.
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.
You have not been (here/along this road) before, [so you must follow the priests]. But do not walk close to the chest. Stay (1,000 yards/900 meters) from the chest. [The chest is sacred, so (God will punish you/you will be punished) if you come close to it].”
5 (Nowe Ioshua had saide vnto the people, Sanctifie your selues: for to morowe the Lord will doe wonders among you)
Then Joshua told the people, “Perform the ceremonies needed to make yourselves acceptable to Yahweh, because tomorrow he is going to do things for you that will amaze 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.
Then Joshua said to the priests, “Carry the chest and go in front of the [rest of the] people.” So they lifted up the chest and went ahead.
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.
Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “This is the day that I will begin to show all the Israeli people that you are a great leader. Then they will honor you, and know that I am with/helping you as I (was with/helped) Moses.
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.
Tell the priests who are carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments, ‘When you come to the edge of the Jordan [River], stand in the water.’”
9 Then Ioshua said vnto the children of Israel, Come hither, and heare the wordes of the Lord your God.
Then Joshua said to the Israeli people, “Come close to me in order that you can listen to what Yahweh, your God, is saying.”
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.
[When they came near], he said to them, “This is how you will know that God, who is all-powerful, is among you, and that he will expel for you the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Hiv, Periz, Girgash, Amor, and Jebus [who are now living in that land].
11 Beholde, the Arke of the couenant of the Lord of all the worlde passeth before you into Iorden.
Keep in mind that Yahweh is the one who rules over all the earth. The chest belongs to him, and it will be carried into the Jordan River ahead of you.
12 Nowe therefore take from among you twelue men out of the tribes of Israel, out of euery tribe a man.
So choose twelve men, [one from each] of the tribes of Israel, [and I will tell you later what I want them to do].
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.
As for the priests who are carrying the chest, as soon as they put their feet into the Jordan [River], the water will stop flowing. It will pile up because I will cause it to be blocked upstream.”
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.
So when the [Israeli] people packed up their tents in order to cross the river, the priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments went in front of 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)
[It was springtime], when people harvest their crops, [and] at that time the river floods over its banks. But as soon as the priests reached the edge of the river and stepped into the water,
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 water stopped flowing. The water piled up far [upstream], at a town named Adam, near Zarethan. The water stopped flowing down to the Dead Sea. So the people were able to cross the river near Jericho.
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.
The priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments that Yahweh [had given them] stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan [riverbed], while the rest of the Israeli people crossed the river [as though they were crossing] dry ground.
