Joshua 4
4
Memorial Stones from Jordan
1Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’ ” 4So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
8Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and put them down there. 9Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. 10For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; 11and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed before the people. 12The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13about 40,000 equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.
14On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they #Or fearedrevered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.
15Now the Lord said to Joshua, 16“Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.” 17So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.
19Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21He said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”
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Joshua 4: NASB1995
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Joshua 4
4
Rocks to Remind the People
1After all the people had crossed the Jordan River, the Lord said to Joshua, 2“Choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3Tell them to look in the river where the priests were standing and get twelve rocks from that place. Carry these rocks with you and put them where you stay tonight.”
4So Joshua chose one man from each tribe. Then he called the twelve men together. 5He said to them, “Go out into the river where the Holy Box of the Lord your God is. Each of you must find one rock. There will be one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Carry that rock on your shoulder. 6These rocks will be a sign for you. In the future, your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’ 7You will tell them that the Lord stopped the water from flowing in the Jordan River. When the Holy Box of the Lord’s Agreement crossed the river, the water stopped flowing. These rocks will help the Israelites remember this forever.”
8So the Israelites obeyed Joshua. They carried twelve rocks from the middle of the Jordan River. There was one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They did this as the Lord had commanded Joshua. The men carried the rocks with them. Then they put the rocks at the place where they made their camp. 9Joshua also put twelve rocks in the middle of the Jordan River. He put them at the place where the priests had stood while carrying the Holy Box. These rocks are still there today.
10The Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people what to do. This is what Moses had said Joshua must do. So the priests carrying the Holy Box stood in the middle of the river until everything was done. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the river. 11After the people finished crossing the river, the priests carried the Lord’s Holy Box to the front of the people.
12The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh obeyed Moses. These men crossed the river in front of the other people. These men were prepared for war. They were going to help the rest of the Israelites take the land God had promised to give them. 13About 40,000 soldiers, prepared for war, passed before the Lord. They were marching toward the plains of Jericho.
14That day the Lord made Joshua a great man to all the Israelites. From that time on, they respected Joshua just as they had Moses.
15Then the Lord said to Joshua, 16“Command the priests carrying the Box that holds the Agreement#4:16 Box that holds the Agreement Literally, “Testimony.” See “Agreement” in the Word List. to come out of the river.”
17So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come out of the Jordan River.”
18The priests obeyed Joshua. They carried the Box of the Lord’s Agreement with them and came out of the river. When their feet touched the land on the other side of the river, the water in the river began flowing again. The water again overflowed its banks just as it had before the people crossed.
19The people crossed the Jordan River on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho. 20They carried with them the twelve rocks that they had taken from the Jordan River, and Joshua set them up at Gilgal. 21Then Joshua told the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’ 22Tell them, ‘These rocks help us remember the way the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry land.’ 23The Lord your God caused the water in the Jordan River to stop flowing so that you could cross it on dry land—just as the Lord had stopped the water at the Red Sea so that we could cross it on dry land. 24The Lord did this so that all the people in this country would know that he is very powerful. Then they will always be afraid of the Lord your God.”
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