3:14 So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went 4 ahead of them. 3:15 When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface 5 of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) 6 – 3:16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing. 7 It piled up far upstream 8 at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea). 9 The people crossed the river opposite Jericho. 10 3:17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire nation was on the other side. 11
114:5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
114:6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
like lambs, O hills?
114:7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord –
before the God of Jacob,
11:15 The Lord will divide 12 the gulf 13 of the Egyptian Sea; 14
he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River 15 and send a strong wind, 16
he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, 17
and enable them to walk across in their sandals.
16:12 Then 18 the sixth angel 19 poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water 20 to prepare the way 21 for the kings from the east. 22
1 tn Heb “Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen off him.” The wording is changed slightly in the translation for the sake of variety of expression (see v. 13).
2 tn Or “drove the sea back” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV). The verb is simply the Hiphil of הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk, go”). The context requires that it be interpreted along the lines of “go back, go apart.”
3 tn The clause literally reads, “and the waters [were] for them a wall.” The word order in Hebrew is disjunctive, with the vav (ו) on the noun introducing a circumstantial clause.
4 tn The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.
5 tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”
6 tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”
6 tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”
7 tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”
8 tn Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.”
9 map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
7 tn Heb “and all Israel was crossing over on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
8 tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”
9 tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
10 sn That is, the Red Sea.
11 tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.
12 tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.
13 tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
10 tn Grk “the sixth”; the referent (the sixth angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Grk “and its water was dried up.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one.
12 tn Grk “in order that the way might be prepared.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one.
13 tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12; simply ἀπὸ ἀ. …21:13.”