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
Rocks to Remind the People
1After all the people had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe. 3Tell them to get twelve rocks from the middle of the river, from where the priests stood. Carry the rocks and put them down where you stay tonight.”
4So Joshua chose one man from each tribe. Then he called the twelve men together 5and said to them, “Go out into the river where the Ark of the Lord your God is. Each of you bring back one rock, one for each tribe of Israel, and carry it on your shoulder. 6They will be a sign among you. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’ 7Tell them the water stopped flowing in the Jordan when the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord crossed the river. These rocks will always remind the Israelites of this.”
8So the Israelites obeyed Joshua and carried twelve rocks from the middle of the Jordan River, one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Joshua. They carried the rocks with them and put them down where they made their camp. 9Joshua also put twelve rocks in the middle of the Jordan River where the priests had stood while carrying the Ark of the Agreement. These rocks are still there today.
10The priests carrying the Ark continued standing in the middle of the river until everything was done that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, just as Moses had told Joshua. The people hurried across the river. 11After they finished crossing the river, the priests carried the Ark of the Lord to the other side as the people watched. 12The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh obeyed what Moses had told them. They were dressed for war, and they crossed the river ahead of the other people. 13About forty thousand soldiers prepared for war passed before the Lord as they marched across the river, going toward the plains of Jericho.
14That day the Lord made Joshua great in the opinion of all the Israelites. They respected Joshua all his life, just as they had respected Moses.
15Then the Lord said to Joshua, 16“Command the priests to bring the Ark of the Agreement out of the river.”
17So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
18Then the priests carried the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord out of the river. As soon as their feet touched dry land, the water began flowing again. The river again overflowed its banks, just as it had before they crossed.
19The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho. 20They carried with them the twelve rocks taken from the Jordan, and Joshua set them up at Gilgal. 21Then he spoke to the Israelites: “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’ 22Tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry land. 23The Lord your God caused the water to stop flowing until you finished crossing it, just as the Lord did to the Red Sea. He stopped the water until we crossed it. 24The Lord did this so all people would know he has great power and so you would always respect the Lord your God.’ ”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.