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,

After all the people of the Israeli nation had finished crossing the Jordan [River], Yahweh said to Joshua,

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

“When you choose the twelve men, one from each tribe, whom I mentioned previously, tell them to pick up [large] stones from the middle of the Jordan riverbed, where the priests are [still] standing.

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.”

Tell them to carry the stones with you and put them down at the place where you will stay 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 chose twelve men, one from each tribe. He called them together, and said to them,

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,

“Go into the middle of the Jordan riverbed, to [where the priests are standing, holding] the chest that Yahweh, your God, gave you. Each of you must pick up a [large] stone, one for each tribe, [and carry it] on your shoulder [to our camp].

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

[Then pile them up] to be a memorial for you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’,

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.”

tell them that the water in the Jordan River was blocked off when the priests were carrying the chest [that contained] the Ten Commandments that Yahweh [gave us]. When the chest was carried into the Jordan [River], the water was blocked off [so that we could cross the riverbed]. These stones will be a memorial for the descendants of us Israeli people forever.”

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 those Israeli men did what Joshua told them to do. They went and picked up twelve [large] stones from the middle of the Jordan [riverbed], one stone for each of the tribes, just as Yahweh had told Joshua. They carried the stones to their camp and put them down.

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.

Then Joshua set up twelve [other large] stones [in a pile], in the middle of the Jordan [riverbed], where the priests who carried the chest containing the Ten Commandments were standing. And those stones are still there.

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.

The priests who carried the chest remained standing in the middle of the Jordan [riverbed] until the people had finished doing everything that Yahweh had commanded Joshua to tell them to do. Those were the same instructions that Moses had given to Joshua. The Israeli people crossed [the riverbed] 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;

As soon as all of them had crossed, as the people watched, the priests carried the chest [the rest of the way across the river].

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;

The soldiers of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and of half of the soldiers of the tribe of Manasseh, crossed over ahead of the rest of the Israeli people, carrying their weapons, as Moses had commanded.

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

As Yahweh was watching, there were about 40,000 of those soldiers, carrying weapons ready for battle, who crossed the riverbed to the plains near Jericho, [ready] to fight.

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.

On that day, all the people of Israel saw that Yahweh had caused Joshua to be a great leader. And they honored Joshua for the rest of his life, just as they had honored Moses.

15 And YHWH speaks to Joshua, saying,

Yahweh said to Joshua,

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

“[Now] tell the priests who are carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments to come up from the Jordan [riverbed].”

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

So Joshua commanded the priests to do that.

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.

Then the priests, carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments that Yahweh [had given to Moses], came up out of the riverbed. And as soon as they walked up out of the riverbed onto the riverbank, the water of the Jordan [River] flowed again, and flooded [over the river banks] as it had done 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;

It was on the tenth day of the first month [of that year] that the people crossed over the Jordan [River] and camped at [a place called] Gilgal, on the east side of [the land near] Jericho [city].

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

The men [who were carrying] the twelve [large] stones from the Jordan [riverbed brought them to] Joshua, [and he] set them up at Gilgal

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

Joshua said to the Israeli people, “In the future, when your children and grandchildren ask, ‘(What do these stones [mean/Why are these stones here)]?’,

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

tell them, ‘We Israeli people crossed the Jordan [River as though we were crossing] on dry ground.

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;

As we were watching, Yahweh, your God, dried up the river until we had all crossed over. Yahweh, the God whom we worship, did to the Jordan [River] just like he did to the Red Sea, when he caused it to become dry as [our parents] were watching, until they all crossed over it.

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.”

Yahweh did that in order that all the people-groups of the earth may know that he [MTY] is very powerful, and in order that you may always (be in awe of/revere) Yahweh, your God.’”