Joshua 3
1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they broke up from Shittim, and came close to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over.
Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
2 And it came to pass at the end of three days, that the officers passed through the midst of the camp.
After three days the officers went through 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 shall ye break up from your place, and go after it.
and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
4 Nevertheless there shall be a space between you and it, of about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, in order that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this way before.”
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow will the Lord do wonders in the midst of you.
Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
6 And Joshua said unto the priests, as followeth, 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.
And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
7 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to make thee great in the eyes of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee.
Now the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.
8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, ye shall stand still in the Jordan.
Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.’”
9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Approach hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.
So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.”
10 And Joshua said, Hereby shall ye know that the living God is in the midst of 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 Emorites, and the Jebusites.
He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely 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 passeth over before you into the Jordan.
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan.
12 And now take yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man each out of every tribe.
Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
13 And it shall come to pass, that 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 the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, namely, the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand up as a wall.
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.”
14 And it came to pass, when the people broke up from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, and the priests the bearers of the ark of the covenant were before the people;
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
15 And as they that bore the ark were come up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, [the Jordan, however, had overflowed all its banks all the time of harvest, ]
Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,
16 That the waters which came down from above stood still and rose up as a wall, very far from the city Adam, which is beside Zarethan; and those that ran down toward the sea of the plain, the salt sea, failed, were cut off; and the people passed over opposite to Jericho.
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17 And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people had finished passing over the Jordan.
The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.
