Joshua:3-4
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Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim ,
with all the people of Israel ;
and they came to the Jordan ,
and lodged there before they passed over .
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At the end of three days the officers went through the camp
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and commanded the people , "
When 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 ,
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that you may know the way you shall go ,
for you have not passed this way before .
Yet there shall be a space between you and it ,
a distance of about two thousand cubits ;
do not come near it ."
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And Joshua said to the people , "
Sanctify yourselves ;
for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you ."
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And Joshua said to the priests , "
Take up the ark of the covenant ,
and pass on before the people ."
And they took up the ark of the covenant ,
and went before the people .
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And the LORD said to Joshua , "
This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel ,
that they may know that ,
as I was with Moses ,
so I will be with you .
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And you shall 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 .'"
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And Joshua said to the people of Israel , "
Come hither ,
and hear the words of the LORD your God ."
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And Joshua said , "
Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you ,
and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites ,
the Hittites ,
the Hivites ,
the Per '
izzites ,
the Gir '
gashites ,
the Amorites ,
and the Jeb '
usites .
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Behold ,
the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is to pass over before you into the Jordan .
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Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel ,
from each tribe a man .
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And when the soles of the feet of the priests who 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 stopped from flowing ,
and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap ."
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So ,
when the people set out from their tents ,
to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people ,
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and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan ,
and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (
the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest ),
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the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap far off ,
at Adam ,
the city that is beside Zar '
ethan ,
and those flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah ,
the Salt Sea ,
were wholly cut off ;
and the people passed over opposite Jericho .
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And while all Israel were passing over on dry ground ,
the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan ,
until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan .
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When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan ,
the LORD said to Joshua ,
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Take twelve men from the people ,
from each tribe a man ,
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and command them , `
Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan ,
from the very place where the priests '
feet stood ,
and carry them over with you ,
and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight .'"
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Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel ,
whom he had appointed ,
a man from each tribe ;
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and Joshua said to them , "
Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan ,
and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder ,
according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel ,
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that this may be a sign among you ,
when your children ask in time to come , `
What do those stones mean to you ?'
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Then you shall tell 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 .
So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial for ever ."
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And the men of Israel did as Joshua commanded ,
and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan ,
according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel ,
as the LORD told Joshua ;
and they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged ,
and laid them down there .
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And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan ,
in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood ;
and they are there to this day .
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For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan ,
until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to tell the people ,
according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua .
The people passed over in haste ;
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and when all the people had finished passing over ,
the ark of the LORD and the priests passed over before the people .
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The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manas '
seh passed over armed before the people of Israel ,
as Moses had bidden them ;
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about forty thousand ready armed for war passed over before the LORD for battle ,
to the plains of Jericho .
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On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel ;
and they stood in awe of him ,
as they had stood in awe of Moses ,
all the days of his life .
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And the LORD said to Joshua ,
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Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan ."
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Joshua therefore commanded the priests , "
Come up out of the Jordan ."
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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 .
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The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month ,
and they encamped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho .
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And those twelve stones ,
which they took out of the Jordan ,
Joshua set up in Gilgal .
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And he said to the people of Israel , "
When your children ask their fathers in time to come , `
What do these stones mean ?'
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then you shall let your children know , `
Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground .'
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For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over ,
as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea ,
which he dried up for us until we passed over ,
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so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty ;
that you may fear the LORD your God for ever ."
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When all the kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan to the west ,
and all the kings of the Canaanites that were by the sea ,
heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over ,
their heart melted ,
and there was no longer any spirit in them ,
because of the people of Israel .
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