1 And Joshua arose early in the morning; and they set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before crossing over.
2 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp;
3 and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.
5 And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow Jehovah will do wonders among you.
6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 And Jehovah said to Joshua, This day I will begin to magnify you in the eyes of all Israel, and they shall know that, as I was with Moses, so I am with you.
8 And you shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall remain standing in the Jordan.
9 And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here, and hear the words of Jehovah your God.
10 And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living Mighty God is among you, and that He will destroy to dispossess 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 is crossing over before you into the Jordan.
12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand in a heap.
14 So it was, when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped into the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest),
16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. Thus the waters that went down into the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, stopped, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17 And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
1 De manhã bem cedo Josué e todos os israelitas partiram de Sitim e foram para o Jordão, onde acamparam antes de atravessar o rio.
2 Três dias depois, os oficiais percorreram o acampamento,
3 e deram esta ordem ao povo: "Quando virem a arca da aliança do Senhor, o seu Deus, e os sacerdotes levitas carregando a arca, saiam das suas posições e sigam-na.
4 Mas mantenham a distância de cerca de novecentos metros entre vocês e a arca; não se aproximem! Desse modo saberão que caminho seguir, pois vocês nunca passaram por lá".
5 Josué ordenou ao povo: "Santifiquem-se, pois amanhã o Senhor fará maravilhas entre vocês".
6 E disse aos sacerdotes: "Levantem a arca da aliança e passem à frente do povo". Eles a levantaram e foram na frente.
7 E o Senhor disse a Josué: "Hoje começarei a exaltá-lo à vista de todo o Israel, para que saibam que estarei com você como estive com Moisés.
8 Portanto, você é quem dará a seguinte ordem aos sacerdotes que carregam a arca da aliança: ‘Quando chegarem às margens das águas do Jordão, parem junto ao rio’ ".
9 Então Josué disse aos israelitas: "Venham ouvir as palavras do Senhor, o seu Deus.
10 Assim saberão que o Deus vivo está no meio de vocês e que certamente expulsará de diante de vocês os cananeus, os hititas, os heveus, os ferezeus, os girgaseus, os amorreus e os jebuseus.
11 Vejam, a arca da aliança do Soberano de toda a terra atravessará o Jordão à frente de vocês.
12 Agora, escolham doze israelitas, um de cada tribo.
13 Quando os sacerdotes que carregam a arca do Senhor, o Soberano de toda a terra, puserem os pés no Jordão, a correnteza será represada e as águas formarão uma muralha".
14 Quando, pois, o povo desmontou o acampamento para atravessar o Jordão, os sacerdotes que carregavam a arca da aliança foram adiante.
15 ( O Jordão transborda em ambas as margens na época da colheita. ) Assim que os sacerdotes que carregavam a arca da aliança chegaram ao Jordão e seus pés tocaram as águas,
16 a correnteza que descia parou de correr e formou uma muralha a grande distância, perto de uma cidade chamada Adã, nas proximidades de Zaretã; e as águas que desciam para o mar da Arabá, o mar Salgado, escoaram totalmente. E assim o povo atravessou o rio em frente de Jericó.
17 Os sacerdotes que carregavam a arca da aliança do Senhor ficaram parados em terra seca no meio do Jordão, enquanto todo o Israel passava, até que toda a nação o atravessou também em terra seca.