Joshua 3

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Early in the morning, Joshua and all the Israelites moved from Shittim to the Jordan River and camped there for three days. The officers instructed the people to follow the ark of the covenant carried by the Levitical priests, maintaining a distance of about two thousand cubits. Joshua directed the people to consecrate themselves and instructed the priests to take the ark and go ahead of the crowd. The Lord told Joshua that He would exalt him that day before Israel and commanded the priests carrying the ark to stand in the Jordan when reaching the edge of the waters. Joshua told the Israelites to listen and stated that twelve men would be chosen from the tribes of Israel. When the priests' feet touched the overflowing waters of the Jordan, the flowing water stopped and piled up near Adam, a city near Zarethan, while the water toward the Salt Sea was completely cut off. The priests stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the river while the entire nation of Israel crossed over opposite Jericho.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. ²After three days the officers went through the camp ³and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it. ⁴But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this way before.” ⁵Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” ⁶And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them. ⁷Now the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. ⁸Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.’” ⁹So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” ¹⁰He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. ¹¹Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan. ¹²Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.” ¹⁴So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them. ¹⁵Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

Test this chapter

Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.