THE BOOK OF JOSHUA

 

Joshua Chapter 3

1 ¶ Joshua got up early the next morning; and he and all the children of Israel set out from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, and camped there before crossing over.

2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the camp;

3 And they commanded the people, saying, When you see the priests of Levi carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, then you should set out from where you are, and follow it.

4 However, a space must be kept between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: do not come near to it. So that you may see the way that you must go: for you have not passed this way before.

5 And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and cross over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

7 ¶ And the LORD said to Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, I will be with you, as I was with Moses.

8 And you shall command the priests that carry the ark of the covenant, saying, When you come to the water at the edge of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.

9 And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.

10 And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan.

12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe.

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in a heap.

14 ¶ So it came to pass, when the people broke camp, to cross over Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of the people;

15 And as those who carried the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests that carried the ark dipped into the edge of the water, (for the Jordan overflows all its banks through the time of harvest,)

16 That the waters which came down from above stopped and rose up in a heap, backing up as far as Adam, the town near Zarethan: while the water flowing down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, was completely cut off: and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

17 And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all the Israelites crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had finished crossing the Jordan.