< Iosue 4 >

1 Quibus transgressis, dixit Dominus ad Josue:
Once the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord told Joshua,
2 Elige duodecim viros singulos per singulas tribus:
“Choose twelve men from the people, one per tribe,
3 et præcipe eis ut tollant de medio Jordanis alveo, ubi steterunt pedes sacerdotum, duodecim durissimos lapides, quos ponetis in loco castrorum, ubi fixeritis hac nocte tentoria.
and tell them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing. Then carry them and set them down at the place where you will camp tonight.’”
4 Vocavitque Josue duodecim viros, quos elegerat de filiis Israël, singulos de singulis tribubus,
So Joshua sent for the twelve men he had chosen, one from each tribe,
5 et ait ad eos: Ite ante arcam Domini Dei vestri ad Jordanis medium, et portate inde singuli singulos lapides in humeris vestris, juxta numerum filiorum Israël,
and told them, “Go back into the middle of the Jordan, right in front of the Ark of the Agreement of the Lord your God, and each of you pick up a stone and carry it on your shoulder, one for each of the tribes of Israel.
6 ut sit signum inter vos: et quando interrogaverint vos filii vestri cras, dicentes: Quid sibi volunt isti lapides?
This will be a memorial among you so when your children one day ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’
7 respondebitis eis: Defecerunt aquæ Jordanis ante arcam fœderis Domini, cum transiret eum: idcirco positi sunt lapides isti in monimentum filiorum Israël usque in æternum.
you can tell them, ‘It's about the time the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's Agreement went across. When it crossed over the water stopped. These stones are a memorial to the people of Israel forever.’”
8 Fecerunt ergo filii Israël sicut præcepit eis Josue, portantes de medio Jordanis alveo duodecim lapides, ut Dominus ei imperarat, juxta numerum filiorum Israël, usque ad locum in quo castrametati sunt, ibique posuerunt eos.
The people of Israel did as Joshua told them. The men picked up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped overnight and placed the stones there, one for each of the tribes of Israel.
9 Alios quoque duodecim lapides posuit Josue in medio Jordanis alveo, ubi steterunt sacerdotes qui portabant arcam fœderis: et sunt ibi usque in præsentem diem.
Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan right where the priests carrying the Ark of the Agreement had stood, and they are still there to this very day.
10 Sacerdotes autem qui portabant arcam, stabant in Jordanis medio, donec omnia complerentur, quæ Josue, ut loqueretur ad populum, præceperat Dominus, et dixerat ei Moyses. Festinavitque populus, et transiit.
The priests carrying the Ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was done just as the Lord had told the people to do, all that Moses had told Joshua to do. The people crossed over quickly.
11 Cumque transissent omnes, transivit et arca Domini, sacerdotesque pergebant ante populum.
Once all the people had crossed over, they watched as the Ark of the Lord was carried across by the priests.
12 Filii quoque Ruben, et Gad, et dimidia tribus Manasse, armati præcedebant filios Israël, sicut eis præceperat Moyses:
The armed men from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh crossed at the head of the people of Israel, as Moses had stipulated.
13 et quadraginta pugnatorum millia per turmas, et cuneos, incedebant per plana atque campestria urbis Jericho.
They numbered about 40,000 men, armed and ready for battle, crossed in the presence of the Lord to the plains of Jericho.
14 In die illo magnificavit Dominus Josue coram omni Israël, ut timerent eum, sicut timuerant Moysen, dum adviveret.
On that day the Lord confirmed Joshua as great leader in the sight of all the Israelites, and they were in awe of him just as they had been in awe of Moses.
15 Dixitque ad eum:
The Lord had told Joshua,
16 Præcipe sacerdotibus, qui portant arcam fœderis, ut ascendant de Jordane.
“Order the priests carrying the Ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.”
17 Qui præcepit eis, dicens: Ascendite de Jordane.
So Joshua told the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
18 Cumque ascendissent portantes arcam fœderis Domini, et siccam humum calcare cœpissent, reversæ sunt aquæ in alveum suum, et fluebant sicut ante consueverant.
The priests came up out of the Jordan carrying the Ark of the Agreement, and as soon as their feet touched dry ground the waters of the Jordan returned to where they had been, overflowing its banks as before.
19 Populus autem ascendit de Jordane decimo die mensis primi, et castrametati sunt in Galgalis contra orientalem plagam urbis Jericho.
The people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal, to the east of Jericho, on the tenth day of the first month.
20 Duodecim quoque lapides, quos de Jordanis alveo sumpserant, posuit Josue in Galgalis,
Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones that had been taken from the Jordan.
21 et dixit ad filios Israël: Quando interrogaverint filii vestri cras patres suos, et dixerint eis: Quid sibi volunt lapides isti?
He told the Israelites, “When some day your children ask you their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’
22 docebitis eos, atque dicetis: Per arentem alveum transivit Israël Jordanem istum,
you can explain to them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
23 siccante Domino Deo vestro aquas ejus in conspectu vestro, donec transiretis, sicut fecerat prius in mari Rubro, quod siccavit donec transiremus:
For the Lord your God made the Jordan River dry up right in front of you so you all could cross, just as the Lord your God did at the Red Sea which he dried up so we could all cross.
24 ut discant omnes terrarum populi fortissimam Domini manum, ut et vos timeatis Dominum Deum vestrum omni tempore.
He did this so everyone on earth would know how powerful the Lord is, and so that you might be in awe of the Lord your God forever.”

< Iosue 4 >