Joshua 3
1 Joshua [and all the other Israelis] got up early [the next] morning. They left [their camp at] Acacia and went [down] to the Jordan [River]. They camped there for two nights.
Joshua got up early in the morning, and they set out from Shittim. They came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and they camped there before they crossed over.
2 Then the leaders went throughout the camp,
After three days, the officers went through the middle of the camp;
3 telling the people, “You will see some of the priests, who are descendants of Levi, carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments that Yahweh our God gave us. When you see them, leave the places where you are camped and follow them.
they commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and the priests from the Levites carrying it, you must leave this place and follow it.
4 You have not been (here/along this road) before, [so you must follow the priests]. But do not walk close to the chest. Stay (1,000 yards/900 meters) from the chest. [The chest is sacred, so (God will punish you/you will be punished) if you come close to it].”
There must be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits. Do not come close to it, so that you can see which way to go, since you have not gone this way before.”
5 Then Joshua told the people, “Perform the ceremonies needed to make yourselves acceptable to Yahweh, because tomorrow he is going to do things for you that will amaze you!”
Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves tomorrow, for Yahweh will do wonders among you.”
6 Then Joshua said to the priests, “Carry the chest and go in front of the [rest of the] people.” So they lifted up the chest and went ahead.
Then Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass in front of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went in front of people.
7 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “This is the day that I will begin to show all the Israeli people that you are a great leader. Then they will honor you, and know that I am with/helping you as I (was with/helped) Moses.
Yahweh said to Joshua, “This day I will make you a great man in the eyes of all Israel. They will know that as I was with Moses, I will be with you.
8 Tell the priests who are carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments, ‘When you come to the edge of the Jordan [River], stand in the water.’”
You will command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, 'When you have come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you must stand still in the Jordan River.'”
9 Then Joshua said to the Israeli people, “Come close to me in order that you can listen to what Yahweh, your God, is saying.”
Then Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here, and listen to the words of Yahweh your God.
10 [When they came near], he said to them, “This is how you will know that God, who is all-powerful, is among you, and that he will expel for you the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Hiv, Periz, Girgash, Amor, and Jebus [who are now living in that land].
By this you will know that the living God is among you and will drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Keep in mind that Yahweh is the one who rules over all the earth. The chest belongs to him, and it will be carried into the Jordan River ahead of you.
Look! The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth crosses over ahead of you into the Jordan.
12 So choose twelve men, [one from each] of the tribes of Israel, [and I will tell you later what I want them to do].
Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each.
13 As for the priests who are carrying the chest, as soon as they put their feet into the Jordan [River], the water will stop flowing. It will pile up because I will cause it to be blocked upstream.”
When the soles of the feet of the priests that carry the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, touch the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and even the waters that flow down from upstream will stop flowing and they will stand in one heap.”
14 So when the [Israeli] people packed up their tents in order to cross the river, the priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments went in front of them.
So when the people set out to cross over the Jordan, the priests that carried the ark of the covenant went ahead of the people.
15 [It was springtime], when people harvest their crops, [and] at that time the river floods over its banks. But as soon as the priests reached the edge of the river and stepped into the water,
As soon as those who were carrying the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of those who carried the chest were dipped in the edge of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of the harvest),
16 the water stopped flowing. The water piled up far [upstream], at a town named Adam, near Zarethan. The water stopped flowing down to the Dead Sea. So the people were able to cross the river near Jericho.
the waters that flowed down from upstream stood up in one heap. The water stopped flowing from a great distance. The waters stopped flowing from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, all the way down to the sea of the Negev, the Salt Sea. The people crossed over near Jericho.
17 The priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments that Yahweh [had given them] stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan [riverbed], while the rest of the Israeli people crossed the river [as though they were crossing] dry ground.
The priests that carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until all the people of Israel crossed over on dry ground.
