1When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, (Jos 3:17)2“Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, (Jos 3:12)3and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” (De 27:2; Jos 3:13; Jos 3:15; Jos 4:8; Jos 4:19; 1Ki 18:31)4Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe.5And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel,6that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ (Ex 12:26; Ex 13:14; De 6:20; Jos 4:21)7then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” (Ex 12:14; Nu 16:40; Jos 3:16)8And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down[1] there.9And Joshua set up[2] twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. (Jos 4:3)10For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people passed over in haste.11And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests passed over before the people.12The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. (Nu 32:20; Nu 32:27; Jos 6:7; Jos 6:9; Jos 6:13)13About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.14On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life. (Jos 3:7)15And the Lord said to Joshua,16“Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” (Ex 25:16; Ex 25:21)17So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”18And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before. (Jos 3:15)19The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. (Jos 5:9)20And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. (Jos 4:3; Jos 4:9)21And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ (Jos 4:6)22then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ (Jos 3:17)23For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, (Ex 14:21; Jos 2:10)24so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”[3] (Ex 14:31; De 3:24; De 6:2; 1Ki 8:42; Ps 89:13)
Joshua 4
New International Version
from Biblica1When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,2‘Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,3and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.’4So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,5and said to them, ‘Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,6to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, “What do these stones mean?”7tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel for ever.’8So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down.9Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been[1] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.10Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over,11and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.12The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them.13About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.14That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.15Then the Lord said to Joshua,16‘Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.’17So Joshua commanded the priests, ‘Come up out of the Jordan.’18And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran in flood as before.19On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.20And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.21He said to the Israelites, ‘In the future when your descendants ask their parents, “What do these stones mean?”22tell them, “Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.”23For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea[2] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.24He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.’
1Când întregul neam a terminat de traversat Iordanul, DOMNUL i‑a vorbit lui Iosua, zicând:2„Alegeți doisprezece bărbați din popor, câte un bărbat din fiecare seminție,3și porunciți‑le: «Luați din mijlocul Iordanului, din locul unde vor sta picioarele preoților, douăsprezece pietre. Duceți‑le cu voi și așezați‑le în locul în care veți rămâne peste noapte.»“4Iosua a chemat doisprezece bărbați, pe care i‑a ales dintre fiii lui Israel, câte un bărbat din fiecare seminție,5și le‑a zis: „Treceți în fața Chivotului DOMNULUI, Dumnezeul vostru, în mijlocul Iordanului și fiecare din voi să ridice pe umeri o piatră, câte una pentru fiecare seminție din Israel.6Acestea vor fi un semn în mijlocul vostru. Când fiii voștri vă vor întreba într‑o zi: «Ce semnificație au aceste pietre pentru voi?»,7voi să le istorisiți cum au fost despicate apele Iordanului înaintea Chivotului Legământului DOMNULUI, atunci când acesta a traversat Iordanul. Așadar, pietrele acestea să fie întotdeauna o aducere-aminte pentru fiii lui Israel.“8Fiii lui Israel au făcut așa cum le‑a poruncit Iosua. Au luat douăsprezece pietre din mijlocul Iordanului, așa cum i‑a spus DOMNUL lui Iosua, potrivit numărului semințiilor lui Israel, le‑au dus în locul în care urmau să înnopteze și le‑au așezat acolo.9Iosua a ridicat și el douăsprezece pietre în mijlocul Iordanului, pe locul unde au stat picioarele preoților care au dus Chivotul Legământului. Ele au rămas acolo până în ziua aceasta.10Preoții care duceau Chivotul au stat în mijlocul Iordanului până la împlinirea celor poruncite lui Iosua de către DOMNUL, cu privire la popor, potrivit cu tot ceea ce i‑a poruncit Moise lui Iosua. Și poporul s‑a grăbit să traverseze.11După ce tot poporul a traversat Iordanul, Chivotul DOMNULUI și preoții au trecut înaintea poporului.12Urmașii lui Ruben, ai lui Gad și ai jumătății seminției lui Manase au traversat și ei, pregătiți pentru luptă, în fruntea fiilor lui Israel, așa cum le spusese Moise.13Aproape patruzeci de mii de bărbați înarmați au trecut, gata de luptă, înaintea DOMNULUI în câmpiile Ierihonului.14În ziua aceea, DOMNUL l‑a înălțat pe Iosua în ochii întregului Israel, și ei s‑au temut de el în toate zilele vieții lui, tot așa cum se temuseră și de Moise.15Atunci DOMNUL i‑a zis lui Iosua:16„Poruncește‑le preoților care duc Chivotul Mărturiei să iasă din Iordan.“17Iosua le‑a poruncit preoților, zicând: „Ieșiți din Iordan!“18Și preoții care duceau Chivotul Legământului DOMNULUI au ieșit din mijlocul Iordanului. Când picioarele preoților au atins uscatul, apele Iordanului s‑au întors la locul lor și s‑au revărsat pe ambele lui maluri, așa cum erau mai înainte.19Poporul a ieșit din Iordan în ziua a zecea a lunii întâi și apoi și‑a așezat tabăra la Ghilgal, în partea de răsărit a Ierihonului.20Cele douăsprezece pietre luate din Iordan au fost așezate de către Iosua la Ghilgal.21El le‑a zis fiilor lui Israel: „Când urmașii voștri își vor întreba părinții într‑o zi, zicând: «Ce semnificație au pietrele acestea?»,22voi să‑i învățați și să le spuneți: «Israel a traversat Iordanul acesta ca pe pământ uscat.»23Căci DOMNUL, Dumnezeul vostru, a secat apele Iordanului înaintea voastră ca să‑l puteți traversa, la fel cum DOMNUL, Dumnezeul vostru, făcuse la Marea Roșie[1], când a secat‑o înaintea noastră până am traversat‑o. (Jos 2:10)24Astfel toate popoarele pământului vor cunoaște că mâna DOMNULUI este puternică, iar voi vă veți teme de DOMNUL, Dumnezeul vostru, în toate zilele.“