Joshua 3
1 Joshua [and all the other Israelis] got up early [the next] morning. They left [their camp at] Acacia and went [down] to the Jordan [River]. They camped there for two nights.
And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 Then the leaders went throughout the camp,
And it came to pass at the end of three days, that the officers went through the camp;
3 telling the people, “You will see some of the priests, who are descendants of Levi, carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments that Yahweh our God gave us. When you see them, leave the places where you are camped and follow them.
and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then remove from your place, and go after it;
4 You have not been (here/along this road) before, [so you must follow the priests]. But do not walk close to the chest. Stay (1,000 yards/900 meters) from the chest. [The chest is sacred, so (God will punish you/you will be punished) if you come close to it].”
yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Ye shall not come near it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
5 Then Joshua told the people, “Perform the ceremonies needed to make yourselves acceptable to Yahweh, because tomorrow he is going to do things for you that will amaze you!”
And Joshua said to the people, Hallow yourselves; for to-morrow Jehovah will do wonders in your midst.
6 Then Joshua said to the priests, “Carry the chest and go in front of the [rest of the] people.” So they lifted up the chest and went ahead.
And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and go over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
7 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “This is the day that I will begin to show all the Israeli people that you are a great leader. Then they will honor you, and know that I am with/helping you as I (was with/helped) Moses.
And Jehovah said to 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 will I be with thee.
8 Tell the priests who are carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments, ‘When you come to the edge of the Jordan [River], stand in the water.’”
And thou shalt command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan.
9 Then Joshua said to the Israeli people, “Come close to me in order that you can listen to what Yahweh, your God, is saying.”
And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God.
10 [When they came near], he said to them, “This is how you will know that God, who is all-powerful, is among you, and that he will expel for you the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Hiv, Periz, Girgash, Amor, and Jebus [who are now living in that land].
And Joshua said, Hereby shall ye know that the living God is in your midst, and [that] he will without fail dispossess from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Keep in mind that Yahweh is the one who rules over all the earth. The chest belongs to him, and it will be carried into the Jordan River ahead of you.
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going over before you into the Jordan.
12 So choose twelve men, [one from each] of the tribes of Israel, [and I will tell you later what I want them to do].
And now take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
13 As for the priests who are carrying the chest, as soon as they put their feet into the Jordan [River], the water will stop flowing. It will pile up because I will cause it to be blocked upstream.”
And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan, the waters flowing down from above, shall be cut off, and shall stand up in a heap.
14 So when the [Israeli] people packed up their tents in order to cross the river, the priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments went in front of them.
And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, that the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people;
15 [It was springtime], when people harvest their crops, [and] at that time the river floods over its banks. But as soon as the priests reached the edge of the river and stepped into the water,
and when they that bore the ark were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (and the Jordan is full over all its banks throughout the days of harvest),
16 the water stopped flowing. The water piled up far [upstream], at a town named Adam, near Zarethan. The water stopped flowing down to the Dead Sea. So the people were able to cross the river near Jericho.
the waters which flowed down from above stood [and] rose up in a heap, very far, by Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan; and those that flowed down towards the sea of the plain, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people went over opposite to Jericho.
17 The priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments that Yahweh [had given them] stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan [riverbed], while the rest of the Israeli people crossed the river [as though they were crossing] dry ground.
And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. And all Israel went over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely gone over the Jordan.
