Joshua 3

Israel Crosses the Jordan

1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out t from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 u At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, "As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by v the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 w Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits 1 in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before." 5 Then Joshua said to the people, x "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." 6 And Joshua said to the priests, y "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

7 The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to z exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, a as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command b the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, c you shall stand still in the Jordan.'" 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, "Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God." 10 And Joshua said, "Here is how you shall know that d the living God is among you and that he will without fail e drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of f the Lord of all the earth 2 g is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore h take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, i from each tribe a man. 13 And j when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, f the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall k stand in one heap."

14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing l the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and m the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now n the Jordan overflows all its banks o throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside p Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of q the Arabah, r the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, s and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

  1. Cross References
    Joshua 2:1
    And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
  2. Cross References
    Joshua 1:10 - 11
    And Joshua commanded the officers of the people.
  3. Cross References
    Joshua 3:8
    And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'
    Deuteronomy 31:9
    Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.
    Deuteronomy 31:25
    Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
  4. Cross References
    Exodus 19:12
    And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
  5. Cross References
    Joshua 7:13
    Get up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecr...
    Exodus 19:10
    The Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and c...
    Exodus 19:14 - 15
    So Moses went down from the mountain to the peo...
    Leviticus 20:7
    Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, ...
    Numbers 11:18
    And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves f...
    1 Samuel 16:5
    And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifi...
    Joel 2:16
    Gather the people. Consecrate the congregation;...
  6. Cross References
    Numbers 4:15
    And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
  7. Cross References
    Joshua 4:14
    On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
    1 Chronicles 29:25
    And the Lord made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
    2 Chronicles 1:1
    Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.
  8. Cross References
    Joshua 1:5
    No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
  9. Cross References
    Joshua 3:3
    And commanded the people, "As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it.
  10. Cross References
    Joshua 3:17
    Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
  11. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 5:26
    For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived?
    1 Samuel 17:26
    And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
  12. Cross References
    Exodus 33:2
    I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
    Deuteronomy 7:1
    When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than yourselves.
    Psalms 44:2
    You with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free.
    Exodus 13:5
    And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
  13. Cross References
    Micah 4:13
    Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples; and shall devote their gain to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
    Zechariah 4:14
    Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
    Zechariah 6:5
    And the angel answered and said to me, "These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.
  14. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 9:3
    Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.
  15. Cross References
    Joshua 4:2
    Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man.
    Joshua 4:4
    Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe.
  16. Cross References
    Numbers 13:2
    "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them."
  17. Cross References
    Joshua 3:15 - 16
    And as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest).
  18. Cross References
    Joshua 3:11
    Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan.
  19. Cross References
    Psalms 114:3
    The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
    Exodus 15:8
    At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
    Psalms 78:13
    He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.
  20. Cross References
    Acts 7:44 - 45
    Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen.
  21. Cross References
    Joshua 3:13
    And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.
  22. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 12:15
    These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.
    Jeremiah 12:5
    If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
    Jeremiah 49:19
    Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?
    Jeremiah 50:44
    Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?
  23. Cross References
    Joshua 4:18
    And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before.
    Joshua 5:10
    While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho.
    Joshua 5:12
    And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
  24. Cross References
    1 Kings 4:12
    Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam.
    1 Kings 7:46
    In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.
  25. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 1:1
    These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
  26. Cross References
    Genesis 14:3
    And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim ( that is, the Salt Sea).
    Numbers 34:3
    Your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east.
  27. Cross References
    Joshua 4:22
    Then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.
    Exodus 14:29
    But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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