Joshua 4

1. And it came to pass, when all the people had clean passed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke 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 the Jordan, from 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 the Jordan, and take ye 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 the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord: when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the 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 the Jordan, as the Lord spoke 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 the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there unto this day.

10. For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the 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 hastened and passed over.

11. And it came to pass, when all the people had 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 spoke 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 spoke unto Joshua, saying,

16. “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony that they come up out of the Jordan.”

17. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come ye up out of the Jordan.”

18. And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up out of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

19. And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and encamped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

20. And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan did Joshua set up in Gilgal.

21. And he spoke 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 the Jordan from before you until ye had passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up from before us until we had 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.”