Joshua 4

1 And when all the people were wholy gone ouer Iorden, (after the Lord had spoken vnto Ioshua, saying,

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

2 Take you twelue me out of the people, out of euery tribe a man,

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

3 And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the middes of Iorden, out of the place where the Priestes stoode in a readinesse, twelue stones, which ye shall take away with you, and leaue them in the lodging where you shall lodge this night)

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.’”

4 Then Ioshua called the twelue men, whome he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of euery tribe a man,

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

5 And Ioshua said vnto them, Go ouer before the Arke of the Lord your God, euen through the middes of Iorden, and take vp euery man of you a stone vpon his shoulder according vnto the nomber of the tribes of the children of Israel,

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,

6 That this may bee a signe among you, that whe your children shall aske their fathers in time to come, saying, What meane you by these stones?

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

7 Then ye may answere them, That the waters of Iorden were cut off before the Arke of the couenant of the Lord: for when it passed through Iorden, the waters of Iorden were cut off: therefore these stones are a memoriall vnto the children of Israel for euer.

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.”

8 Then ye children of Israel did euen so as Ioshua had commanded, and tooke vp twelue stones out of the mids of Iorden as ye Lord had said vnto Ioshua, according to the nomber of the tribes of the children of Israel, and caried them away with them vnto the lodging, and layd them down there.

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.

9 And Ioshua set vp twelue stones in the middes of Iorden, in the place where the feete of the Priests, which bare the Arke of the couenant stood, and there haue they continued vnto this day.

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.

10 So the Priests, which bare ye Arke, stoode in the middes of Iorden, vntill euery thing was finished that ye Lord had comanded Ioshua to say vnto the people, according to all that Moses charged Ioshua: then the people hasted and went ouer.

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,

11 When all the people were cleane passed ouer, the Arke of the Lord went ouer also, and the Priests before the people.

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

12 And the sonnes of Reuben, and the sonnes of Gad, and halfe the tribe of Manasseh went ouer before the children of Israel armed, as Moses had charged them.

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

13 Euen fourty thousand prepared for warre, went before the Lord vnto battel, into ye plaine of Iericho.

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

14 That day the Lord magnified Ioshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him, as they feared Moses all dayes of his life.

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.

15 And the Lord spake vnto Ioshua, saying,

Then the LORD said to Joshua,

16 Commande the Priests that beare ye Arke of the testimonie, to come vp out of Iorden.

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

17 Ioshua therefore commanded the Priests, saying, Come ye vp out of Iorden.

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

18 And when the Priests that bare the Arke of the couenant of ye Lord were come vp out of the middes of Iorden, and assoone as the soles of the Priests feete were set on the dry land, the waters of Iorde returned vnto their place, and flowed ouer all the bankes thereof, as they did before.

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.

19 So the people came vp out of Iorden the tenth day of the first moneth, and pitched in Gilgal, in the Eastside of Iericho.

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.

20 Also the twelue stones, which they tooke out of Iorden, did Ioshua pitch in Gilgal.

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

21 And he spake vnto ye childre of Israel, saying, When your children shall aske their fathers in time to come, and say, What meane these stones?

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

22 Then ye shall shew your children, and say, Israel came ouer this Iorden on dry land:

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

23 For the Lord your God dryed vp ye waters of Iorden before you, vntill ye were gone ouer, as the Lord your God did the red Sea, which hee dryed vp before vs, till we were gone ouer,

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.

24 That all the people of the worlde may know that the hand of the Lord is mightie, that ye might feare the Lord your God continually.

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.”