Joshua 4

1 And when the people had completely passed over Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

Once the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord told Joshua,

2 Take men from the people, one of each tribe,

“Choose twelve men from the people, one per tribe,

3 and charge them; and you shall take out of the midst of Jordan twelve fit stones, and having carried them across together with yourselves, place them in your camp, where you shall encamp for the night.

and tell them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing. Then carry them and set them down at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

4 And Joshua having called twelve men of distinction amongst the children of Israel, one of each tribe,

So Joshua sent for the twelve men he had chosen, one from each tribe,

5 said to them, Advance before me in the presence of the Lord into the midst of Jordan, and each having taken up a stone from thence, let him carry it on his shoulders, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel:

and told them, “Go back into the middle of the Jordan, right in front of the Ark of the Agreement of the Lord your God, and each of you pick up a stone and carry it on your shoulder, one for each of the tribes of Israel.

6 that these may be to you continually for an appointed sign, that when your son asks you in future, saying, What are these stones to us?

This will be a memorial among you so when your children one day ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’

7 then you may explain to your son, saying, The river Jordan was dried up from before the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth, when it passed it: and these stones shall be for a memorial for you for the children of Israel for ever.

you can tell them, ‘It's about the time the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's Agreement went across. When it crossed over the water stopped. These stones are a memorial to the people of Israel forever.’”

8 And the children of Israel did so, as the Lord commanded Joshua; and they took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, (as the Lord commanded Joshua, when the children of Israel had completely passed over, ) and carried these stones with them into the camp, and laid them down there.

The people of Israel did as Joshua told them. The men picked up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped overnight and placed the stones there, one for each of the tribes of Israel.

9 And Joshua set also other twelve stones in Jordan itself, in the place that was under the feet of the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and there they are to this day.

Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan right where the priests carrying the Ark of the Agreement had stood, and they are still there to this very day.

10 And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant stood in Jordan, until Joshua [had] finished all that the Lord commanded him to report to the people; and the people hasted and passed over.

The priests carrying the Ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was done just as the Lord had told the people to do, all that Moses had told Joshua to do. The people crossed over quickly.

11 And it came to pass when all the people had passed over, that the ark of the covenant of the Lord passed over, and the stones before them.

Once all the people had crossed over, they watched as the Ark of the Lord was carried across by the priests.

12 And the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses commanded them.

The armed men from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh crossed at the head of the people of Israel, as Moses had stipulated.

13 Forty thousand armed for battle went over before the Lord to war, to the city of Jericho.

They numbered about 40,000 men, armed and ready for battle, crossed in the presence of the Lord to the plains of Jericho.

14 In that day the Lord magnified Joshua before all the people of Israel; and they feared him, as [they did] Moses, as long as he lived.

On that day the Lord confirmed Joshua as great leader in the sight of all the Israelites, and they were in awe of him just as they had been in awe of Moses.

15 And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

The Lord had told Joshua,

16 Charge the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the testimony of the Lord, to go up out of Jordan.

“Order the priests carrying the Ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.”

17 And Joshua charged the priests, saying, Go up out of Jordan.

So Joshua told the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

18 And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord were gone up out of Jordan, and set their feet upon the land, [that] the water of Jordan returned impetuously to its place, and went as before over all its banks.

The priests came up out of the Jordan carrying the Ark of the Agreement, and as soon as their feet touched dry ground the waters of the Jordan returned to where they had been, overflowing its banks as before.

19 And the people went up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month; and the children of Israel encamped in Galgala in the region eastward from Jericho.

The people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal, to the east of Jericho, on the tenth day of the first month.

20 And Joshua set these twelve stones which he took out of Jordan, in Galgala,

Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones that had been taken from the Jordan.

21 saying, When your sons ask you, saying, What are these stones?

He told the Israelites, “When some day your children ask you their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’

22 Tell your sons, that Israel went over this Jordan on dry land,

you can explain to them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’

23 when the Lord our God had dried up the water of Jordan from before them, until they had passed over; as the Lord our God did to the Red Sea, which the Lord our God dried up from before us, until we passed over.

For the Lord your God made the Jordan River dry up right in front of you so you all could cross, just as the Lord your God did at the Red Sea which he dried up so we could all cross.

24 That all the nations of the earth might know, that the power of the Lord is mighty, and that you might worship the Lord our God in every work.

He did this so everyone on earth would know how powerful the Lord is, and so that you might be in awe of the Lord your God forever.”