¹Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and they moved from Shittim, and they came to the Jordan – he and all the sons of Israel – and they lodged there before they crossed over. ²And it came to pass, after three days, that the officers passed through the camp. ³And they commanded the people and said, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levite priests bearing it, you will move from your place and follow it. ⁴But there will be a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and it. Do not approach it. Do this so that you know the route you are taking, for you have not crossed by this route in times past.” ⁵And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform wonders in your midst.” ⁶Then Joshua spoke to the priests and said, “Bear the ark of the covenant, and cross over ahead of the people.” So they bore the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people. ⁷Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I shall begin making you great in the eyes of the whole of Israel, so that they know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. ⁸And you will command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, and say, ‘When you arrive at the edge of the water of the Jordan, stand in the Jordan.’ ” ⁹And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come near, this way, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰And Joshua said, “This is how you will know that the living God is in your midst, and that he will definitely dispossess the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Hivite and the Perizzite and the Girgashite and the Amorite and the Jebusite at your advance. ¹¹Behold the ark of the covenant. The Lord of the whole earth is crossing before you in the Jordan. ¹²And now, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel – one man for each tribe. ¹³And it will come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord – the Lord of the whole earth – come to rest in the water of the Jordan, that the water of the Jordan will be cut off – the water coming down from upstream – and it will stand still as one mass.” ¹⁴And it came to pass, when the people moved from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant ahead of the people, ¹⁵and when the bearers of the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, while the Jordan was full up to all its banks – as it was all the days of the harvest-time – ¹⁶that the water which came down from upstream stood still. It rose as one mass, very far away in the city of Adam, which is beside Zarethan, and the water that descended into the Arid Sea – the Dead Sea – failed and was cut off. And the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷Then the priests who were bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood still on the dry land in the middle of the Jordan, firmly, and all Israel crossed on dry land, until the whole of the people had completed crossing the Jordan.