1 And it happened, when the whole people had completed crossing {la‘ăbōr: act of transition} the Jordan, that the LORD {Yəhōwāh, Covenant Guide} spoke to Joshua and said,
2 Choose from the people twelve men {anashim: adult males}, one man from each tribe {shevet: extended family group}.
3 Give them this order: “From here, out of the middle of the Jordan {yarden: boundary river}, from the spot where the priests’ feet stood firm, take twelve stones; carry them with you, and place them at the lodging place where you will lodge tonight {hallaylah: night period}.”
4 Then Joshua {Yehoshua: Leadership Successor} called the twelve men he had appointed {hekin: designated representatives} from the sons of Israel—one man from each tribe.
5 And Joshua said to them, “Go across before the ark of the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheikhem, Covenant Leader} into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you lift up a stone onto his shoulder, according to the number {mispar: enumeration} of the tribes of the sons of Israel.”
6 So that this may stand as a sign {ot: memorial marker} among you when your sons {bneichem: next generation} ask you in the time to come, “What significance do these stones hold for you?”
7 Then you shall say to them, “The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD {YHWH, Miracle Worker}; when the ark crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones {avanim: commemorative markers} shall be a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
8 And the sons of Israel did so, as Joshua commanded: they carried twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD {YHWH, Covenant-Fulfiller} had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they brought them to the lodging place {malon: temporary resting site} and set them down there.
9 Joshua set up twelve stones {avanim: memorial markers} in the middle of the Jordan, beneath the standing-place {matzav: fixed station} of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, and they remain there to this day.
10 The priests bearing the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan River until the point of completion {tom: finishing point} of everything the LORD {YHWH, Miracle Worker} had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and then the people hurried and crossed over.
11 This took place once all the people had finished crossing over; then the ark of the LORD {YHWH, Guiding Presence} and the priests passed before {lifnei: spatial sequence} the people.
12 And the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed {hammushim: equipped for war}, before the sons of Israel, just as Moses {Mosheh: covenant mediator} had spoken to them.
13 About forty thousand armed men {chalutzei: battle-ready troops} from the army crossed over before the LORD {YHWH, Divine Commander} for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14 On that day the LORD {YHWH, Honor Bestower} made Joshua great in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him, just as they had revered Moses throughout all the days {yemei: period, span} of his life.
15 And the LORD {YHWH, Faithful Commander} spoke to Joshua, saying {lemor: speech marker}:
16 Command the priests {kohanim: sacred ministers} carrying the ark of the testimony {edut: covenant witness} that they must come up out of the Jordan.
17 Then Joshua {yehoshua: Commissioned Leader} commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan {hayyarden: boundary river}.”
18 And it came to pass, when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Keeper} came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles {kapot: the bottom of the feet} of the priests were lifted onto dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day {be’asor: precise date} of the first month, and they camped at Gilgal on the eastern border {mizrach: sunrise direction} of Jericho.
20 And Joshua placed at Gilgal {gilgal: renewal camp} the twelve stones {avanim: memorial markers} that they had taken from the Jordan.
21 And he said to the sons of Israel, “In the future {machar: unspecified future time}, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What are these stones {ha-avanin: memorial markers}?’”
22 Then you shall make known {hoda'tem: instruct formally} to your children, saying, “On dry ground Israel crossed this Jordan {yarden: river border}.”
23 Which the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheichem, Divine Deliverer} dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you until you crossed over, just as the LORD your God did to the Sea of Reeds {yam suf: ancient water barrier}, which He dried up from before us until we crossed over.
24 So that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Commander}, that it is mighty {chazaqah: prevailing might}; and so that you may fear the LORD your God {Eloheikhem, Covenant Lord} throughout all your days.