| Chapter 3 |
| 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. |
