Joshua 4

¹And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord

²“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,

³and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”

⁴Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe;

⁵and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord

⁶that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

⁷Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord

⁸And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord

⁹Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

¹⁰So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord

¹¹Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord

¹²And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.

¹³About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord

¹⁴On that day the Lord

¹⁵Then the Lord

¹⁶“Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”

¹⁷Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”

¹⁸And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord

¹⁹Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

²⁰And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.

²¹Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’

²²then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’;

²³for the Lord

²⁴that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord