Joshua 3:2-6

3:2 After three days the leaders went through the camp 3:3 and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God ¹  being carried by the Levitical priests, you must leave here ²  and walk ³  behind it. 3:4 But stay about three thousand feet behind it. ⁴  Keep your distance ⁵  so you can see ⁶  which way you should go, for you have not traveled this way before.”

3:5 Joshua told the people, “Ritually consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform miraculous deeds among you.” 3:6 Joshua told the priests, “Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

Joshua 3:11-17

3:11 Look! The ark of the covenant of the Ruler ⁷  of the whole earth is ready to enter the Jordan ahead of you. 3:12 Now select for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe. 3:13 When the feet ⁸  of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Ruler ⁹  of the whole earth, touch ¹⁰  the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up.” ¹¹ 

3:14 So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ¹²  ahead of them. 3:15 When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface ¹³  of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) ¹⁴  – 3:16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing. ¹⁵  It piled up far upstream ¹⁶  at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea). ¹⁷  The people crossed the river opposite Jericho. ¹⁸  3:17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire nation was on the other side. ¹⁹ 

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¹ sn The ark of the covenant refers to the wooden chest that symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people.

² tn Heb “set out from your place.”

³ tn Or “march.”

⁴ tn Heb “But there should be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits in measurement.”

sn The precise distance is uncertain, but the measurement designated אַמָּה (’ammah, “cubit”) was probably equivalent to approximately eighteen inches (one and one-half feet, or 45 cm) in length.

⁵ tn Heb “do not approach it.”

⁶ tn Heb “know.”

⁷ tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.”

⁸ tn Heb “the soles of the feet.”

⁹ tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.”

¹⁰ tn Or “rest in.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the waters of the Jordan, the waters descending from above, will be cut off so that they will stand in one pile.”

¹² tn The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.

¹³ tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”

sn The lengthy description of the priests’ arrival at the Jordan and the parenthetical reminder that the Jordan was at flood stage delay the climax of the story and add to its dramatic buildup.

¹⁵ tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.”

sn The Salt Sea is an ancient name for the Dead Sea.

¹⁸ map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁹ tn Heb “and all Israel was crossing over on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”