Joshua 4:3-9

4:3 Instruct them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests ¹  stand firmly, and carry them over with you and put them in the place where you camp tonight.’”

4:4 Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one per tribe. 4:5 Joshua told them, “Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes. 4:6 The stones ²  will be a reminder to you. ³  When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ 4:7 tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing ⁴  before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. ⁵  These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.”

4:8 The Israelites did just as Joshua commanded. They picked up twelve stones, according to the number of the Israelite tribes, from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried them over with them to the camp and put them there. 4:9 Joshua also set up twelve stones ⁶  in the middle of the Jordan in the very place where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this very day.

Joshua 10:27

10:27 At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take them down from the trees. ⁷  They threw them into the cave where they had hidden and piled large stones over the mouth of the cave. (They remain to this very day.) ⁸ 

Joshua 10:2

10:2 All Jerusalem was terrified ⁹  because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors.

Joshua 18:17-18

18:17 It went northward, extending to En Shemesh and Geliloth opposite the Pass ¹⁰  of Adummim, and descended to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 18:18 It crossed to the slope in front of the Arabah to the north and descended into the Arabah.

Joshua 18:2

18:2 seven Israelite tribes had not been assigned their allotted land. ¹¹ 

Joshua 3:1

Israel Crosses the Jordan

3:1 Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan. ¹²  They camped there before crossing the river. ¹³ 

¹ tn Heb “the feet of the priests.”

² tn Heb “that this may be”; the referent of “this” (the twelve stones) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “in order that this might be a sign among you.”

⁴ tn Heb “were cut off from before.”

⁵ tn Heb “how the waters descending from above stood still.”

⁶ tn Here “also” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear (as indicated by v. 20) that these are not the same stones the men took from the river bed.

⁷ sn For the legal background of the removal of the corpses before sundown, see Deut 21:22-23.

⁸ tn Heb “to this very day.” The words “They remain” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁹ tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ tn Or “ascent.”

¹¹ tn Heb “there were left among the sons of Israel who had not divided up their inheritance seven tribes.”

¹² tn Heb “And Joshua arose early in the morning and he and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.”

¹³ tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, have been supplied in the translation for clarity.