Joshua 3:1-17
3 And the first thing in the morning Joshuaʽ, he and all the sons of Israel, marched from the Acacias and came to the Jordan; and they bivouacked there, not crossing yet.
2 And at the end of three days the marshals passed through the camp
3 and gave the people orders, “When you see the ark of the covenant of our God Jehovah, and the Levite priests carrying it, take up the march yourselves from your places and follow it.
4 * Only have a long distance between you and it, a full half-mile; do not come near it, in order that you may know the road you are to go by, because you have never gone over this road before.”
5 And Joshuaʽ said to the people “Hallow yourselves, because tomorrow Jehovah will do wonders among you.”
6 ** And Joshuaʽ said to the priests “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass before the people”; and they took up the ark of the covenant and went, before the people.
7 And Jehovah said to Joshuaʽ “This day I will begin to make you great before the eyes of all Israel, who shall know that as I was with Moses I will be with you.
8 And do you give the priests who carry the ark of the covenant the order ‘When you come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan.’”
9 And Joshuaʽ said to the sons of Israel “Come here and listen to the words of your God Jehovah.”
10 And Joshuaʽ said “By this you are to know that you have a living Deity among you and he will dispossess before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivvites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites.
11 Here is the ark of the covenant of the Lord of All the Earth going along before you into the Jordan.
12 Now take twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man to a tribe;
13 and when the feet of the priests who carry the ark of Jehovah the Lord of All the Earth rest in the water of the Jordan, the water of the Jordan will be cut off, the water that comes down from above, and stand up in one heap.”
14 And when the people took up the march from their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests that carried the ark of the covenant were ahead of the people;
15 ** and when the bearers of the ark came to the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark dipped into the edge of the water (and the Jordan was full all over its flood-plain throughout harvesttime)
16 the water that came down from above stood still, rose up in one heap at a great distance, at Adam, the city to one side of Sarethan, and what was running down to the Dead Sea, the Sea of Salt, exhausted itself and was gone, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17 And the priests that carried the ark of Jehovah’s covenant stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel were going across on dry ground, till all the nation were done crossing the Jordan.
Footnotes
^ 3:4 Lit. about two thousand cubits in measure
^ 3:6 Or and cross before or and pass on before
^ 3:6 Or went before (without comma)
^ 3:15 Or is full
^ 3:15 (flood-plain) Unc.
