1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim and came to the Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel and lodged there before they passed over. 2 And after three days, the officers went through the camp, 3 and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; do not come near unto it that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way before now. 5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. 6 And Joshua spoke unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, From this day I will begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8 Therefore, thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are entered into the brink of the water of the Jordan, ye shall stand still in the Jordan. 9 And Joshua said unto the sons of Israel, Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God. 10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Hivite and the Perizzite and the Girgashite and the Amorite and the Jebusite. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes the Jordan before you. 12 Now, therefore, take twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear 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; for the waters that come down from above shall stand in a heap.
14 And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents to pass the Jordan and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 when those that bore the ark entered into the Jordan, as soon as the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the water (for Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far from the city of Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed and were cut off; and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 But the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan until all the people finished passing the Jordan; and all Israel passed on dry ground.