Joshua 4:8-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
8So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the encampment and put them down there. 9Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. 10For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; 11and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people. 12The sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle formation before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13about forty thousand equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.
15Now the Lord said to Joshua,
16Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.'
17So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, 'Come up from the Jordan.'
18It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.
19Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal, on the eastern edge of Jericho.
20As for those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up at Gilgal.
21And he said to the sons of Israel, 'When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’
22then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’
23For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed;
24so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.'
King James Version
Chapter 4
8And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
10For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
11And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
13About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
16Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
17Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
18And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
19And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
20And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
21And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
8The Israelites did just as Joshua had commanded them. The twelve men took stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each of the Israelite tribes, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there. 9Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are still there today.
10The priests carrying the ark continued standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried across,
11and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the Lord crossed in the sight of the people.
12The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh went in battle formation in front of the Israelites, as Moses had instructed them.
13About forty thousand equipped for war crossed to the plains of Jericho in the Lord's presence.
14On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him throughout his life, as they had revered Moses.
15The Lord told Joshua,
16"Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan."
17So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up from the Jordan."
18When the priests carrying the ark of the Lord's covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan, and their feet stepped out on solid ground, the water of the Jordan resumed its course, flowing over all the banks as before.
19The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho.
20Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan,
21and he said to the Israelites, "In the future, when your children ask their fathers, 'What is the meaning of these stones? '
22you should tell your children, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'
23For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over.
24This is so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord's hand is strong, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God."
New Living Translation
10The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed.
11And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.
12The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed.
13These armed men — about 40,000 strong — were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.
15The Lord had said to Joshua,
16Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to come up out of the riverbed.'
17So Joshua gave the command.
18As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.
19The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho.
20It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.
21Then Joshua said to the Israelites, 'In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’
22Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
23For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over.
24He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
8And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the LORD told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there. 9And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. 10For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people passed over in haste.
11And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the LORD and the priests passed over before the people.
12The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them.
13About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
15And the LORD said to Joshua,
16“Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.”
17So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
18And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before.
19The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
20And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.
21And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’
22then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’
23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,
24so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
New International Version
Chapter 4
8So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
10Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over,
11and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.
12The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them.
13About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.
15Then the LORD said to Joshua,
16Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.'
19On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
20And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.
21He said to the Israelites, 'In the future when your descendants ask their parents, 'What do these stones mean?'
22tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'
23For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.
24He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.'
