Joshua 4
4
1And it came to pass when the whole nation had completely gone over the Jordan, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying, 2Take you twelve men out of the people, one man out of every tribe, 3and command them, saying, Take up hence out of the midst of the Jordan, from 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. 4And Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had appointed of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe; 5and Joshua said to them, Pass before the ark of Jehovah your God#GodHebrew: Elohim into the midst of the Jordan, and lift up each of you a stone and put it upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6that this may be a sign in your midst. When your children ask hereafter, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7then ye shall say to them, That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it went through the Jordan, the waters of the 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 had commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging-place, and laid them down there. 9And twelve stones did Joshua set up in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood firm; and they are there to this day.
10And the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Jehovah had commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hasted and passed over. 11And it came to pass, when all the people had completely gone over, that the ark of Jehovah went 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, went over in array before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. 13About forty thousand armed for military service passed over before Jehovah to the war, unto the plains of Jericho. 14On that day Jehovah magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15And Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying, 16Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan. 17And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, Come up out of the Jordan. 18And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah had come up out of the midst of the Jordan, when the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on to the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and they flowed as previously, over all its banks. 19And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the eastern extremity of Jericho.
20And those twelve stones which they had taken out of the Jordan did Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children hereafter ask their fathers, saying, What mean these stones? 22then ye shall let your children know, saying, On dry land did Israel come over this Jordan; 23because Jehovah your God#GodHebrew: Elohim dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye had passed over, as Jehovah your God#GodHebrew: Elohim did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had passed over; 24that all peoples of the earth might know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty; that ye might fear Jehovah your God#GodHebrew: Elohim continually.
Currently Selected:
Joshua 4: DARBY
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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.’ ”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.