1: And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they
removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and
lodged there before they passed over.
2: And it came to pass after
three days, that the officers went through the host;
3: And they
commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD
your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your
place, and go after it.
4: Yet there shall be a space between you and
it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may
know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
5: And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to
morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
6: And Joshua spake unto
the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the
people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
7: And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify
thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses,
so I will be with thee.
8: And thou shalt command the priests that
bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water
of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
9: And Joshua said unto
the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
10: And Joshua said, Hereby ye 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 passeth over before you into
Jordan.
12: Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of
Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13: And it shall come to pass, as
soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear 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 upon an heap.
14: And it came to pass, when the people
removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark
of the covenant before the people;
15: And as they that bare the ark
were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped
in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of
harvest,)
16: That the waters which came down from above stood and
rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and
those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and
were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17:
And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry
ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground,
until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.