Joshua 4
4
1And it came to pass, when all the nation were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 2Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5and Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7then ye shall say unto them, Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 8And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there, unto this day.
10For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. 11And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 12And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: 13about forty thousand ready armed for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 16Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 17Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 18And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry ground, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and went over all its banks, as aforetime. 19And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.
20And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were passed over: 24that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty; that they may fear the LORD your God for ever.
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Joshua 4: RV1885
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Joshua 4
4
Twelve stones at Gilgal
1When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2“Pick twelve men from the people, one man per tribe. 3Command them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from right here in the middle of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests had been firmly planted. Bring them across with you and put them down in the camp where you are staying tonight.’”
4Joshua called for the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one man per tribe. 5Joshua said to them, “Cross over into the middle of the Jordan, up to the LORD your God’s chest. Each of you, lift up a stone on his shoulder to match the number of the tribes of the Israelites. 6This will be a symbol among you. In the future your children may ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7Then you will tell them that the water of the Jordan was cut off before the LORD’s covenant chest. When it crossed over the Jordan, the water of the Jordan was cut off. These stones will be an enduring memorial for the Israelites.”
8The Israelites did exactly what Joshua ordered. They lifted twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, matching the number of the tribes of the Israelites, exactly as the LORD had said to Joshua. They brought them over to the camp and put them down there. 9Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests had stood while carrying the covenant chest. They are still there today.
Crossing completed
10Meanwhile, the priests carrying the chest were standing in the middle of the Jordan. They stood there until every command that the LORD had ordered Joshua to tell the people had been carried out. This was exactly what Moses had commanded Joshua. The people crossed over quickly. 11As soon as all the people had finished crossing, the LORD’s chest crossed over. The priests then moved to the front of the people. 12The people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over, organized for war ahead of the Israelites, exactly as Moses had told them. 13Approximately forty thousand armed for war crossed over in the LORD’s presence to the plains of Jericho, ready for battle. 14The LORD made Joshua great in the opinion of all Israel on that day. So they revered him in the same way that they had revered Moses during all of his life.
15The LORD said to Joshua, 16“Command the priests carrying the chest containing the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.”
17So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18The priests carrying the LORD’s covenant chest came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of their feet touched dry ground. At that moment, the water of the Jordan started flowing again. It ran as before, completely over its banks. 19The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.#4.19 March–April, Nisan They camped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
Stones at Gilgal
20Joshua set up at Gilgal those twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. 21He said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask their parents, ‘What about these stones?’ 22Then you will let your children know: ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.’ 23This was because the LORD your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you until you crossed over. This was exactly what the LORD your God did to the Reed Sea.#4.23 Or Red Sea He dried it up before us until we crossed over. 24This happened so that all the earth’s peoples might know that the LORD’s power is great and that you may always revere the LORD your God.”
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