Joshua 4

1 And it comes to pass, when all the nation has completed to pass over the Jordan, that YHWH speaks to Joshua, saying,

Now when all the nation had come to the other side of Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,

2 “Take for yourselves twelve men out of the people, one man—one man out of a tribe;

Take twelve men from the people, a man for every tribe,

3 and command them, saying, Take up for yourselves from this [place], from the midst of the Jordan, from the established standing-place of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and you have removed them over with you, and placed them in the lodging-place in which you lodge tonight.”

And say to them, Take up from the middle of Jordan, from the place where the feet of the priests were resting, twelve stones, and take them over with you and put them down in the place where you take your rest tonight.

4 And Joshua calls to the twelve men whom he prepared out of the sons of Israel, one man—one man out of a tribe;

So Joshua sent for the twelve men, whom he had ready, one man out of every tribe of the children of Israel,

5 and Joshua says to them, “Pass over before the Ark of your God YHWH into the midst of the Jordan, and each of you lift up one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel,

And he said to them, Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of Jordan, and let every one of you take up a stone on his back, one for every tribe of the children of Israel:

6 so that this is a sign in your midst when your children ask hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones to you?

So that this may be a sign among you; when your children say to you in time to come, What is the reason for these stones?

7 That you have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH; in its passing over into the Jordan the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel for all time.”

Then you will say to them, Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the Lord's agreement; when it went over Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones will be a sign for the children of Israel, keeping it in their memory for ever.

8 And the sons of Israel do so as Joshua commanded, and take up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as YHWH has spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and remove them over with them to the lodging-place, and place them there,

So the children of Israel did as Joshua gave them orders, and took twelve stones from the middle of Jordan, as the Lord had said to Joshua, one for every tribe of the children of Israel; these they took across with them to their night's resting-place and put them down there.

9 even the twelve stones Joshua has raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and they are there to this day.

And Joshua put up twelve stones in the middle of Jordan, where the feet of the priests who took up the ark of the agreement had been placed: and there they are to this day.

10 And the priests carrying the Ark are standing in the midst of the Jordan until the completion of the whole thing which YHWH commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua, and the people hurry and pass over.

For the priests who took up the ark kept there in the middle of Jordan till all the orders given to Joshua by Moses from the Lord had been done: then the people went over quickly.

11 And it comes to pass, when all the people have completed to pass over, that the Ark of YHWH passes over, and the priests, in the presence of the people;

And when all the people had come to the other side, the ark of the Lord went over, and the priests, before the eyes of the people.

12 and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, pass over, by fifties, before the sons of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them;

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went over armed before the children of Israel as Moses had said to them:

13 about forty thousand, armed ones of the host, passed over before YHWH for battle, to the plains of Jericho.

About forty thousand armed for war went over before the Lord to the fight, to the lowlands of Jericho.

14 On that day YHWH has made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel, and they fear him, as they feared Moses, all [the] days of his life.

That day the Lord made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel; and all the days of his life they went in fear of him, as they had gone in fear of Moses.

15 And YHWH speaks to Joshua, saying,

Then the Lord said to Joshua,

16 “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Testimony, and they come up out of the Jordan.”

Give orders to the priests who take up the ark of witness, to come up out of Jordan.

17 And Joshua commands the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

So Joshua gave orders to the priests, saying, Come up now out of Jordan.

18 And it comes to pass, in the coming up of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH out of the midst of the Jordan—the soles of the feet of the priests have been drawn up into the dry ground—and the waters of the Jordan return to their place, and go over all its banks as before.

And when the priests who took up the ark of the Lord's agreement came up out of Jordan and their feet came out on to dry land, the waters of Jordan went back to their place, overflowing its edges as before.

19 And the people have come up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamp in Gilgal, in the extremity east of Jericho;

So on the tenth day of the first month the people came up out of Jordan, and put up their tents in Gilgal, on the east side of Jericho.

20 and these twelve stones, which they have taken out of the Jordan, Joshua has raised up in Gilgal.

And the twelve stones which they took out of Jordan, Joshua put up in Gilgal.

21 And he speaks to the sons of Israel, saying, “When your sons ask their fathers hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones?

And he said to the children of Israel, When your children say to their fathers in time to come, What is the reason for these stones?

22 Then you have caused your sons to know, saying, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry land;

Then give your children the story, and say, Israel came over this river Jordan on dry land.

23 because your God YHWH dried up the waters of the Jordan at your presence, until your passing over, as your God YHWH did to the Red Sea which He dried up at our presence until our passing over;

For the Lord your God made the waters of Jordan dry before you till you had gone across, as he did to the Red Sea, drying it up before us till we had gone across:

24 so that all the people of the land know the hand of YHWH—that it [is] strong, so that you have feared your God YHWH [for] all the days.”

So that all the peoples of the earth may see that the hand of the Lord is strong; and that they may go in fear of the Lord your God for ever.