1   Joshua rose early in the morning, and he and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, where they encamped before crossing the river. 2   At the end of three days the officers passed through the camp, and gave this order to the people: 3   ‘When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God being carried forward by the levitical priests, then you too shall leave your positions and set out. 4   Follow it, but do not go close to it; keep some distance behind, about a thousand yards. ^noteThis will show you the way you are to go, for you have not travelled this way before.’ 5   Joshua then said to the people, ‘Hallow yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do a great miracle among you.’ 6   To the priests he said, ‘Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and pass in front of the people.’ So they lifted up the Ark of the Covenant and went in front of the people. 7   Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to make you stand high in the eyes of all Israel, and they shall know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. 8   Give orders to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant, and tell them that when they come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, they are to take their stand in the river.’

9   Then Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10   By this you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will drive out before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites: 11   the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, ^note the lord of all the earth, is to cross the Jordan at your head. 12   Choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. 13   When the priests carrying the

Israel's entry into the promised land Ark of the Lord, the lord of all the earth, set foot in the waters of the Jordan, then the waters of the Jordan will be cut off; the water coming down from upstream will stand piled up like a bank.’ 14   So the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests in front of them carrying the Ark of the Covenant. 15   Now the Jordan is in full flood in all its reaches throughout the time of harvest. When the priests reached the Jordan and dipped their feet in the water at the edge, 16   the water coming down from upstream was brought to a standstill; it piled up like a bank for a long way back, as far as Adam, a town near Zarethan. The waters coming down to the Sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were completely cut off, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17   The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on the dry bed in the middle of the Jordan; and all Israel passed over on dry ground until the whole nation had crossed the river.

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