Joshua 4
1 And when the people had completely
passed over Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
2 Take men from the people, one of
each tribe, 3 and charge them; and ye
shall take out of the midst of Jordan twelve
aGr. ready. Heb. הכין. A. V. firm, applied to the foot of the
priests.fit stones, and having carried them across together with yourselves, place
them in your camp, where ye shall encamp for the night.
4 And Joshua having called twelve men
bGr. of the distinguished, or, illustrious.of distinction among the children of Israel, one of 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: 6 that
these may be to you continually for an appointed sign, that when thy son asks
thee
cGr. to-morrow.in future, saying, What are these stones to us?
7 then thou mayest explain to thy son,
saying, The river Jordan was
dGr. failed.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.
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. 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.
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.
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. 12 And
the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse passed
over
eOr, equipped.armed before the children of Israel, as Moses commanded them.
13 Forty thousand
fGr. in good order.armed for battle went over before the Lord to war, to the city 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.
15 And the Lord spoke to Joshua,
saying, 16 Charge the priests that
bear the ark of the covenant of the testimony of the Lord, to go up out of
Jordan. 17 And Joshua charged the
priests, saying, Go up out of 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.
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.
20 And Joshua set these twelve stones
which he took out of Jordan, in Galgala,
21 saying, When your sons ask you,
saying, What are these stones?
22 Tell your sons, that Israel went
over this Jordan on dry land, 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.
24 That all the nations of the earth
might know, that the power of the Lord is mighty, and that ye might worship
the Lord our God in every work.