Joshua 4

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

And it cometh to pass, when all the nation hath completed to pass over the Jordan, that Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying,

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.

'Take for you out of the people twelve men, one man — one man out of a tribe;

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

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

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

And Joshua calleth unto the twelve men whom he prepared out of the sons of Israel, one man — one man out of a 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 Joshua saith to them, 'Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God unto the midst of the Jordan and lift up for you each, one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons 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?’,

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

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.”

that ye have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing over into the Jordan were the waters of the Jordan cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel — to the age.'

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.

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

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.

even the twelve stones hath Joshua raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, and they are there unto this 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.

And the priests bearing the ark are standing in the midst of the Jordan till the completion of the whole thing which Jehovah commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua, and the people haste and pass 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 it cometh to pass when all the people have completed to pass over, that the ark of Jehovah passeth over, and the priests, in the presence of 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.

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 unto 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.

about forty thousand, armed ones of the host, passed over before Jehovah for battle, unto the plains 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.

On that day hath Jehovah made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel, and they reverence him, as they reverenced Moses, all days of his life.

15 Yahweh said to Joshua,

And Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying,

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

'Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony, and they come up out of the Jordan.'

17 So Joshua commanded the priests to do that.

And Joshua commandeth the priests, 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 it cometh to pass, in the coming up of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah 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 turn back to their place, and go as heretofore over all its banks.

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 have come up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamp in Gilgal, in the extremity east 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 these twelve stones, which they have taken out of the Jordan, hath Joshua raised up in Gilgal.

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 he speaketh unto the sons of Israel, saying, 'When your sons ask their fathers hereafter, saying, What [are] these stones?

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

then ye have caused your sons to know, saying, On dry land Israel passed over this Jordan;

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.

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

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.’”

so that all the people of the land do know the hand of Jehovah that it [is] strong, so that ye have reverenced Jehovah your God all the days.'