Joshua 3

Joshua {and all the other Israelites} got up early the next morning. They left their camp at Shittim and went down to the Jordan River. They camped there before they crossed over the river. \*

They rested for one day, and the morning after that, the leaders of the people went throughout the camp.

They instructed the people, “When you see some of the priests, who are the descendants of Levi, carrying the sacred chest of God your God, then {you will know} it is time to leave this place and follow the sacred chest.

Since you have not gone this way before, you do not know where you should go. So you {must follow the priests so that you} will know the direction that you should travel, but stay at least 1, 000 yards away from the sacred chest. Do not come closer than that.” \*

Then Joshua told the Israelites, “Perform the ceremonies that will make yourselves acceptable to God, because tomorrow he is going to do things for you that will amaze you!”

Then Joshua said to the priests, “Carry the sacred chest and go in front of the people.” So they lifted up the sacred chest and went in front of the people. \*

Then God said to Joshua, “This is the day when I will begin to cause all the people of Israel to honor you greatly as their leader. They will understand that I am helping you just as I helped Moses.

Tell the priests who are carrying the sacred chest, ‘When you come to the edge of the Jordan River, stand still in the water.’” \*

Then Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come close to me and listen to what God, your God, will tell you.”

{When they came near}, Joshua said, “This is how you will know that God, who lives and can do anything, acts on your behalf. You will certainly see him expel from the land the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

Know with certainty that God is the one who rules over all the earth. The sacred chest belongs to him, and the priests will carry it into the Jordan River ahead of you. \*

So choose 12 men, one from each of the tribes of Israel.

When the priests who are carrying the chest of God, who rules over all the earth, put their feet in the waters of the Jordan River, the water will stop flowing. The water coming from upstream will pile up {because God will cause them to be blocked}.” \*

So the Israelites packed up their tents so that they could go across the Jordan River. The priests who were carrying the sacred chest went in front of the people.

{It was springtime,} when people harvest their crops, and at that time the Jordan River floods over all its banks. But the moment the priests who carried the sacred chest reached the edge of the river and stepped into the water,

the water stopped flowing. The water piled up far upstream, at a town named Adam, near the city named Zarethan. The water stopped flowing down to the Sea of Arabah, which people also call the Sea of Salt. {The water} completely stopped flowing, and the people were able to cross the river near Jericho. \*

The priests who were carrying the sacred chest of God stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan {riverbed}. They continued to stand there until all the people of Israel had crossed the river on dry ground. \*