Joshua 4

1 And it came to pass, when all the people had finished passing over the Jordan, That the Lord said unto Joshua, as followeth,

And when they were passed over, the Lord said to Josue:

2 Take yourselves twelve men out of the people, one man each out of every tribe,

Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:

3 And command ye them, saying, Take yourselves hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firmly, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging-place, where ye will lodge this night.

And command them to take out of the midst of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, twelve very hard stones, which you shall set in the place of the camp, where you shall pitch your tents this night.

4 Then did Joshua call the twelve men, whom he had appointed out of the children of Israel, one man each out of every tribe:

And Josue called twelve men, whom he had chosen out of the children of Israel, one out of every tribe,

5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take yourselves up every man one stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;

And he said to them: Go before the ark of the Lord your God to the midst of the Jordan, and carry from thence every man a stone on your shoulders, according to the number of the children of Israel,

6 In order that this may be a sign among you, when your children ask in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

That it may be a sign among you and when your children shall ask you tomorrow, saying: What mean these stones?

7 That ye shall answer them, That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

You shall answer them: The waters of the Jordan ran off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, when it passed over the same: therefore were these atones set for a monument of the children of Israel for ever.

8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua had commanded; and they took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

The children of Israel therefore did as Josue commanded them, carrying out of the channel of the Jordan twelve stones, as the Lord had commanded him, according to the number of the children of Israel, unto the place wherein they camped, and there they set them.

9 Twelve stones also did Joshua set up in the midst of the Jordan, on the spot where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood: and they have remained there unto this day.

And Josue put other twelve stones in the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood that carried the ark of the covenant: and they are there until this present day.

10 But the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until every thing was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hastened and passed over.

Now the priests that carried the ark, stood in the midst of the Jordan till all things were accomplished which the Lord had commanded Josue to speak to the people, and Moses had said to him. And the people made haste and passed over.

11 And it came to pass, when all the people had finished passing over, that the ark of the Lord passed over with the priests in the presence of the people.

And when they had all passed over, the ark also of the Lord passed over, and the priests went before the people.

12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Menasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken unto them:

The children of Ruben also and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, went armed before the children of Israel as Moses had commanded them.

13 About forty thousand ready armed for war, did they pass over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

And forty thousand fighting men by their troops, and bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho.

14 On that day the Lord made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared Moses, while he lived.

15 And the Lord said unto Joshua, as followeth,

And he said to him:

16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.

Command the priests, that carry the ark of the covenant, to come up out of the Jordan.

17 And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of the Jordan.

And he commanded them, saying: Come ye up out of the Jordan.

18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of the Jordan, the soles of the feet of the priests were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all its banks, as on the preceding days.

And when they that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, were come up, and began to tread on the dry ground, the waters returned into the channel, and ran as they were wont before.

19 And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the extreme eastern border of Jericho.

And the people came up out of the Jordan, the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Galgal, over against the east side of the city of Jericho.

20 And those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal.

And the twelve stones which they had taken out of the channel of the Jordan, Josue pitched in Galgal,

21 And he said unto the children of Israel, thus, When your children shall ask in time to come their fathers, saying, What mean these stones?

And said to the children of Israel: When your children shall ask their fathers, tomorrow, and shall say to them: What mean these stones?

22 Then shall ye let your children know, saying, On dry land did Israel pass over this Jordan;

You shall teach them and say: Israel passed over this Jordan through the dry channel.

23 That the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over;

The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in your sight, until you passed over: As he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried up till we passed through:

24 In order that all the nations of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty; in order that ye may fear the Lord your God all the days.

That all the people of the earth may learn the most mighty hand of the Lord, that you also may fear the Lord your God for ever.