| Chapter 4
|
| 1 | And it came
to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake
unto Joshua, saying, |
| 2 |
Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, |
| 3 | And command ye them, saying, Take
you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet
stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave
them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. |
| 4 | Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom
he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: |
| 5 | And Joshua said unto them, Pass
over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you
up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the
tribes of the children of Israel: |
|
6 | That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask
their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? |
| 7 | Then ye shall answer them, That
the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD;
when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones
shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. |
| 8 | And 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. |
| 9 |
And 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. |
| 10 |
For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until
everything 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. |
| 11 | And 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. |
| 12 | And 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: |
|
13 | About forty thousand prepared for war passed over
before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. |
| 14 | On 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. |
| 15 | And
the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, |
|
16 | Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that
they come up out of Jordan. |
| 17
| Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of
Jordan. |
| 18 | And 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. |
| 19 | And 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. |
| 20 | And those
twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. |
| 21 | And he spake unto the
children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time
to come, saying, What mean these stones? |
| 22 | Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel
came over this Jordan on dry land. |
|
23 | For 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: |
| 24 | That 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. |
