Joshua 3
1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
Joshua got up early in the morning, and they set out from Shittim. They came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and they camped there before they crossed over.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
After three days, the officers went through the middle of the camp;
3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
they commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and the priests from the Levites carrying it, you must leave this place and follow it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed [this] way heretofore.
There must be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits. Do not come close to it, so that you can see which way to go, since you have not gone this way before.”
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves tomorrow, for Yahweh will do wonders among you.”
6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
Then Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass in front of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went in front of people.
7 And the LORD said unto 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] I will be with thee.
Yahweh said to Joshua, “This day I will make you a great man in the eyes of all Israel. They will know that as I was with Moses, I will be with you.
8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
You will command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, 'When you have come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you must stand still in the Jordan River.'”
9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
Then Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here, and listen to the words of Yahweh your God.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God [is] among you, and [that] he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
By this you will know that the living God is among you and will drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
Look! The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth crosses over ahead of you into the Jordan.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, [that] the waters of Jordan shall be cut off [from] the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
When the soles of the feet of the priests that carry the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, touch the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and even the waters that flow down from upstream will stop flowing and they will stand in one heap.”
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
So when the people set out to cross over the Jordan, the priests that carried the ark of the covenant went ahead of the people.
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest, )
As soon as those who were carrying the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of those who carried the chest were dipped in the edge of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of the harvest),
16 That the waters which came down from above stood [and] rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that [is] beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, [even] the salt sea, failed, [and] were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
the waters that flowed down from upstream stood up in one heap. The water stopped flowing from a great distance. The waters stopped flowing from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, all the way down to the sea of the Negev, the Salt Sea. The people crossed over near Jericho.
17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
The priests that carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until all the people of Israel crossed over on dry ground.
