Joshua 3
3
1And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over. 2And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp; 3and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 4Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore. 5And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. 6And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
7And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the waters of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. 9And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. 10And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite. 11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 12Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, for every tribe a man. 13And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap.
14And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, the priests that bare the ark of the covenant being before the people; 15and when they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brink of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest,) 16that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan: and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed clean over Jordan.
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Joshua 3: RV1885
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Joshua 3
3
Israel crosses the River Jordan
1Early the next morning, Joshua and the Israelites packed up and left Acacia. They went to the River Jordan and camped there that night. 2Two days later#3.2 Two days later: The Hebrew text has “At the end of three days”, two days after they had set up camp. their leaders went through the camp, 3-4shouting, “When you see some of the priests#3.3,4 the priests: The Hebrew text has “the priests, the Levites”; priests belonged to the tribe of Levi. carrying the sacred chest, you'll know it is time to cross to the other side. You've never been there before, and you won't know the way, unless you follow the chest. But don't get too close! Stay about a kilometre back.”
5Joshua told the people, “Make yourselves acceptable#3.5 Make yourselves acceptable: People had to do certain things to make themselves acceptable to worship the LORD (see Leviticus 7.20,21; 15.2,33; 22.4-8; Deuteronomy 23.10,11). to worship the LORD, because he is going to do some amazing things for us.”
6Then Joshua turned to the priests and said, “Take the chest and cross the River Jordan ahead of us.” So the priests picked up the chest by its carrying poles and went on ahead.
7The LORD told Joshua, “Beginning today I will show the people that you are their leader, and they will know that I am helping you as I helped Moses. 8Now, tell the priests who are carrying the chest to go a little way into the river and stand there.”
9Joshua spoke to the people:
Come here and listen to what the LORD our God said he will do! 10The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites control the land on the other side of the river. But the living God will be with you and will force them out of the land when you attack. And now, God is going to prove that he's powerful enough to force them out. 11-13Just watch the sacred chest that belongs to the LORD, the ruler of the whole earth. As soon as the priests carrying the chest step into the Jordan, the water will stop flowing and pile up as if someone had built a dam across the river.
The LORD has also said that each of the twelve tribes should choose one man to represent it.
14The Israelites packed up and left camp. The priests carrying the chest walked in front, 15until they came to the River Jordan. The water in the river had risen over its banks, as it often does in springtime.#3.15 springtime: Or “harvest time”; the grain harvest was in late spring. But as soon as the feet of the priests touched the water, 16-17the river stopped flowing, and the water started piling up at the town of Adam near Zarethan. No water flowed towards the Dead Sea, and the priests stood in the middle of the dry river bed near Jericho while everyone else crossed over.
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