1 AND Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
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: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
7 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I 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 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, 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 Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as 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 Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city 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 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

1 And Ioshua rose early in the morning, and they remooued from Shittim, and came to Iordan, hee and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed ouer.

2 And it came to passe after three dayes, that the Officers went thorow the hoste;

3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord your God, and the Priests the Leuites bearing it, then yee shall remooue from your place, and goe after it.

4 Yet there shalbe a space betweene you and it, about two thousand cubites by measure: come not neere vnto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must goe: for yee haue not passed this way heretofore.

5 And Ioshua said vnto the people, Sanctifie your selues: for to morrow the Lord wil do wōders among you.

6 And Ioshua spake vnto the Priests, saying, Take vp the Arke of the Couenant, and passe ouer before the people. And they tooke vp the Arke of the Couenant, and went before the people.

7 And the Lord saide vnto Ioshua, This day wil I begin to magnifie thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

8 And thou shalt commaund the Priests that beare the Arke of the Couenant, saying; When ye are come to the brinke of the water of Iordan, yee shall stand still in Iordan.

9 And Ioshua said vnto the children of Israel, Come hither, and heare the words of the Lord your God.

10 And Ioshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the liuing God is among you, and that he will without faile driue out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hiuites, and the Perizzites, and Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Iebusites.

11 Behold, the Arke of the Couenant, euen the Lord of all the earth, passeth ouer before you, into Iordan.

12 Now therefore take yee twelue men out of the Tribes of Israel, out of euery Tribe a man.

13 And it shall come to passe, assoone as the soles of the feete of the Priestes that beare the Arke of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Iordan, that the waters of Iordan shall be cut off, from the waters that come downe from aboue: and they shall stand vpon an heape.

14 And it came to passe when the people remooued from their tents, to passe ouer Iordan, and the Priests bearing the Arke of the Couenant before the people;

15 And as they that bare the Arke were come vnto Iordan, and the feet of the Priestes that bare the Arke, were dipped in the brimme of the water, (for Iordan ouerfloweth all his banks at the time of haruest)

16 That the waters which came downe from aboue, stood and rose vp vpon an heape very farre, from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came downe toward the sea of the plaine, euen the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed ouer right against Iericho.

17 And the Priestes that bare the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord, stood firme on drie ground, in the midst of Iordan, and all the Israelites passed ouer on drie ground, vntill all the people were passed cleane ouer Iordan.

I == Josh 2:1

 

 

II == Josh 1:10-11

 

III == Num 10:33 ; Deut 31:9 , 25

 

IV == Ex 19:12

 

 

 

V == Ex 19:10 , 14-15 ; Lev 20:7 ; Num 11:18 ; Josh 7:13 1st Sam 16:5 ; Joel 2:16

VI == Num 4:15

 

 

VII == Josh 1:5 4:14 ; 1st Chr 29:25 ; 2nd Chr 1:1

VIII == Josh 3:3 , 17

 

 

 

 

X == Ex 33:2 ; Deut 5:26 ; 7:1 ; 1st Sam 17:26 ; 2nd Kings 19:4 ; Ps 44:2 ; Hos 1:10 ; Matt 16:16 ; 1st Thess 1:9

XI == Josh 3:13 ; Mic 4:13 ; Zech 4:14 ; 6:5

XII == Josh 4:2

 

XIII == Josh 3:11 , 15-16 ; Ps 78:13 ; 114:3

 

 

 

 

XIV == Acts 7:45

 

 

XV == Josh 3:13 ; 4:18 ; 5:10 , 12 ; 1st Chr 12:15 ; Jer 12:5 ; 49:19

 

XVI == Gen 14:3 ; Num 34:3 ; Deut 3:17 ; 1st Kings 4:12 ; 7:46

 

 

XVII == Ex 14:29

 

 

1 Early the next morning, Joshua moved with all the Israelites from Shittim to the Jordan, where they lodged before crossing over.

2 Three days later the officers went through the camp

3 and issued these instructions to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD, your God, which the levitical priests will carry, you must also break camp and follow it,

4 that you may know the way to take, for you have not gone over this road before. But let there be a space of two thousand cubits between you and the ark. Do not come nearer to it."

5 Joshua also said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will perform wonders among you."

6 And he directed the priests to take up the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people; and they did so.

7 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses.

8 Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come to a halt in the Jordan when they reach the edge of the waters."

9 So Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God."

10 He continued: "This is how you will know that there is a living God in your midst, who at your approach will dispossess the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.

11 The ark of the covenant of the LORD of the whole earth will precede you into the Jordan.

12 (Now choose twelve men, one from each of the tribes of Israel.)

13 When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the LORD, the Lord of the whole earth, touch the water of the Jordan, it will cease to flow; for the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a solid bank."

14 The people struck their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them.

15 No sooner had these priestly bearers of the ark waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan, which overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest,

16 than the waters flowing from upstream halted, backing up in a solid mass for a very great distance indeed, from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan; while those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely. Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

17 While all Israel crossed over on dry ground, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD remained motionless on dry ground in the bed of the Jordan until the whole nation had completed the passage.

v 1,2. Joshua arose early, perhaps the morning the spies returned, and led Israel in the seven mile trek to the Jordan, where they waited another three days. (There is diversity of opinion as to if this was a second three days, but this accords with bringing extra supplies which they would not have needed if they crossed the river at once.) At least they camped at the river overnight where they viewed the imposing obstacle. The river even in it’s banks is 90-100 feet wide and 3-12 feet deep, and is a rapid, muddy torrent. Impossible to bridge or wade, so the officers gave special instructions.

v 3,4. The pillar of cloud was not leading, so the people were to follow the ark (it had been in their midst before) but stay 3000 feet away from it on both sides when they crossed. The river was stopped 12 -16 miles upstream, v 16, so there was some twenty miles of dry, not soggy ground, starting at the Dead Sea so masses of people could advance forward from wherever they were camped.

v 5,6. Joshua commands the people to make the same spiritual preparation as they had before seeing the manifestation of God at Sinai, Ex. 19:10-13. God requires separation from sin. Joshua also commands the priests to lead the way with the ark.

v 7,8. As the Lord magnified Moses at the crossing of the Red Sea, he will begin to magnify Joshua at the crossing of the Jordan. The priests must step into the water.

v 9-13. The people would realize the power of God to defeat their enemies when they saw His power in stopping the flooded river. This was not a landslide stopping it, but Joshua could tell them in advance that the water would stand above in a heap. 

 

 

 

 

 

v 14-17. Just as Joshua had said, the waters were cut off, the people crossed on dry ground and the priests remained standing on the dry ground in the river channel until the people had all passed over. There might or might not have been an earthquake involved, but the one mentioned in Ps. 114:3 is not in connection with this crossing but at Mt Sinai.