Joshua 4

And it happened, when all of the nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, that God spoke to Joshua, saying,

“Take 12 men for yourselves from the people, one man, one man from a tribe,

and command them, saying: ‘Lift up for yourselves from here, from the midst of the Jordan, from the firm standing place of the feet of the priests, 12 stones. And you shall bring them over with you and you shall leave them in the lodging place in which you will lodge tonight.’” \*

So Joshua called to the 12 men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man, one man from a tribe.

And Joshua said to them, “Cross over to the face of the Box of God your God into the midst of the Jordan. And lift up for yourselves, a man one stone, upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, \*

so that this will be a sign in your midst. When your sons ask tomorrow, saying, ‘What {are} these stones to you?’

then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off from the face of the Box of the Covenant of God. In its crossing over in the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ And these stones will be for a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.” \*

And the sons of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded. And they lifted up 12 stones from the midst of the Jordan, just as God had said to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. And they brought them over with them to the lodging place and they left them there.

And Joshua set up 12 stones in the midst of the Jordan, under the standing place of the feet of the priests, the carriers of the Box of the Covenant. And they are there to this day. \*

And the priests, the carriers of the Box, stood in the midst of the Jordan until the finishing of all of the thing that God had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all of what Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed over.

And it happened, when all of the people had finished crossing over, that the Box of God and the priests crossed over to the face of the people. \*

And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed to the face of the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them.

About 40, 000 equipped {ones} of the army crossed over to the face of God to the plains of Jericho for battle. \*

On that day God made Joshua great in the eyes of all of Israel, and they feared him just as they had feared Moses all of the days of his life. \*

And God spoke to Joshua, saying,

“Command the priests, the carriers of the Box of the Testimony, and they shall come up from the Jordan.” \*

And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”

And it happened that when the priests, the carriers of the Box of the Covenant of God, came up from the midst of the Jordan, {when} the soles of the feet of the priests were lifted up to dry ground, then the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went over all of its banks, as yesterday and the third day. \*

Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth {day} of the first month. And they camped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.

And those 12 stones that they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.

And he spoke to the sons of Israel, saying, “When your sons ask their fathers tomorrow, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ \*

then you shall cause your sons to know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry ground.’

For God your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from your faces until you crossed over, just as God your God did to the Sea of Reeds, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over,

so that all of the peoples of the earth may know the hand of God, that it is mighty, so that you will fear God your God all of the days.” \*