Joshua 4

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

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

2 “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.

Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:

3 Tell them to carry the stones with you and put them down at the place where you will stay tonight.”

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 So Joshua chose twelve men, one from each tribe. He called them together, and said to them,

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

5 “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].

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

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

7 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.”

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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].

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

12 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.

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 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.

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, 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.

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 Yahweh said to Joshua,

And he said to him:

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

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

17 So Joshua commanded the priests to do that.

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

18 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.

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 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].

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

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

21 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)]?’,

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

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

23 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.

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 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.’”

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.