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 up early in the morning, and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over.
2 Then the leaders went throughout the camp,
And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of 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 the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall 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 space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto 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 unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
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 spake unto the priests, saying, 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.
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 the LORD said unto 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 I will 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 that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the waters of Jordan, ye shall stand still in 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 unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD 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 ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite.
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 passeth over before you into 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].
Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, for every tribe a man.
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 that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one 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 Jordan, the priests that bare the ark of the covenant being 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 bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brink of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time 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.
that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan: and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off: and the people passed over right against 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 that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed clean over Jordan.
