Joshua 3
3
Crossing the Jordan
1Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove#3:1 Or left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing. 2After three days the officers went through the camp#Jos 1:11 3and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests,#Dt 17:9,18; 18:1; 31:9; Jos 8:33; 2Ch 23:18; Jr 33:18,21 you are to break camp and follow it. 4But keep a distance of about a thousand yards#3:4 Lit 2,000 cubits between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.”
5Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,#Ex 19:10; Nm 11:18; Jos 7:13; 1Sm 16:5; 1Ch 15:12; 2Ch 29:5; 30:3,17; 35:6 because the Lord will do wonders#Ps 72:18; 86:10; 98:1; 106:22; 119:18; Mc 7:15 among you tomorrow.” 6Then he said to the priests, “Carry the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
7The Lord spoke to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel,#Jos 4:14 so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses.#Dt 31:23; Jos 1:5; Jdg 6:16; 1Kg 11:38; Is 43:2; Jr 1:8; 30:11; 46:28 8Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the water,#3:8 Lit waters of the Jordan stand in the Jordan.”
9Then Joshua told the Israelites, “Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10He said, “You will know that the living God is among you#Dt 5:26; Jr 10:10; Hs 1:10; 2Co 3:3 and that he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hethites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites#Ex 33:2; Dt 7:1 11when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth#Ps 97:5; Mc 4:13; Zch 6:5 goes ahead of you into the Jordan. 12Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.#Jos 4:2 13When the feet#3:13 Lit soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s water, its water will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass.”#Ex 15:8
14When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant#Ac 7:44–45 ahead of the people. 15Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season.#1Ch 12:15; Jr 12:5; 49:19 But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge 16and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as#3:16 Alt Hb tradition reads mass at Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah#Dt 1:1 — the Dead Sea — was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan,#Ex 14:29 while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
Currently Selected:
Joshua 3: CSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Joshua 3
3
Crossing the Jordan River
1Joshua got up early the next morning. He and all the Israelites left Shittim. They came to the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.
2Three days later the officers went through the camp. 3They told the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the promise of the Lord your God and the Levitical priests who carry it, break camp and follow them. 4However, stay about half a mile behind them. Don’t come any closer to them so that you will know which way to go because you have not gone this way before.”
5Joshua told the people, “Perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy because tomorrow the Lord will do miracles among you.”
6Joshua also told the priests, “Take the ark of the promise, and go ahead of the people.” They did as they were told.
7Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to honor you in front of all the people of Israel. I will do this to let them know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. 8Order the priests who carry the ark of the promise, ‘When you step into the water of the Jordan River, stand there.’ ”
9So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here, and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10Joshua continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly force the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites out of your way. 11Watch the ark of the promise of the Lord of the whole earth as it goes ahead of you into the Jordan River. 12Choose one man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. 13The priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, will stand in the water of the Jordan. Then the water flowing from upstream will stop and stand up like a dam.”
14So they broke camp to cross the Jordan River. The priests who carried the ark of the promise went ahead of the people. 15(The Jordan overflows all its banks during the harvest season.) #3:15 This sentence has been moved from verse 16 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English. When the priests who were carrying the ark came to the edge of the Jordan River and set foot in 16the water, the water stopped flowing from upstream. The water rose up like a dam as far away as the city of Adam near Zarethan. The water flowing down toward the Sea of the Plains (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. Then the people crossed from the east side ⌞of the Jordan River⌟ directly opposite Jericho. 17The priests who carried the ark of the Lord’s promise stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan River on dry ground.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.