Yosua 3:7-17

3:7 The Lord told Joshua, “This very day I will begin to honor you before all Israel ¹  so they will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. 3:8 Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, ‘When you reach the bank of the Jordan River, ²  wade into the water.’” ³ 

3:9 Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God!” 3:10 Joshua continued, ⁴  “This is how you will know the living God is among you and that he will truly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. 3:11 Look! The ark of the covenant of the Ruler ⁵  of the whole earth is ready to enter the Jordan ahead of you. 3:12 Now select for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe. 3:13 When the feet ⁶  of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Ruler ⁷  of the whole earth, touch ⁸  the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up.” ⁹ 

3:14 So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) ¹²  – 3:16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing. ¹³  It piled up far upstream ¹⁴  at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea). ¹⁵  The people crossed the river opposite Jericho. ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷ 

Yosua 3:6

3:6 Joshua told the priests, “Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

Yosua 20:1-9

Israel Designates Cities of Refuge

20:1 The Lord instructed Joshua: 20:2 “Have the Israelites select ¹⁸  the cities of refuge ¹⁹  that I told you about through Moses. 20:3 Anyone who accidentally kills someone can escape there; ²⁰  these cities will be a place of asylum from the avenger of blood. 20:4 The one who committed manslaughter ²¹  should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. ²²  They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there. ²³  20:5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation. ²⁴  20:6 He must remain ²⁵  in that city until his case is decided by the assembly ²⁶  and the high priest dies. ²⁷  Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to the city from which he escaped.” ²⁸ 

20:7 So they selected ²⁹  Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 20:8 Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho ³⁰  they selected ³¹  Bezer in the desert on the plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh. 20:9 These were the cities of refuge ³²  appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by ³³  the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly. ³⁴ 

Yosua 10:12

10:12 The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: ³⁵ 

“O sun, stand still over Gibeon!

O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”

[3:7]  ¹ tn Or more literally, “to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel.”

[3:8]  ² tn Heb “the edge of the waters of the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.

[3:8]  ³ tn Heb “stand in the Jordan.” Here the repetition of the word “Jordan” would be redundant according to contemporary English style, so it was not included in the translation.

[3:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.”

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “the soles of the feet.”

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.”

[3:13]  ⁸ tn Or “rest in.”

[3:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “the waters of the Jordan, the waters descending from above, will be cut off so that they will stand in one pile.”

[3:14]  ¹⁰ tn The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.

[3:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”

[3:15]  ¹² tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”

[3:15]  sn The lengthy description of the priests’ arrival at the Jordan and the parenthetical reminder that the Jordan was at flood stage delay the climax of the story and add to its dramatic buildup.

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”

[3:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”

[3:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.”

[3:16]  sn The Salt Sea is an ancient name for the Dead Sea.

[3:16]  ¹⁶ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and all Israel was crossing over on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”

[20:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘Set aside for yourselves.’”

[20:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “asylum.”

[20:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “so that the one who kills, taking life accidentally without knowledge, may flee there.”

[20:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the one who accidentally kills another, cf. v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:4]  ²² tn Heb “and speak into the ears of the elders of that city his words.”

[20:4]  ²³ tn Heb “and they should gather him into the city to themselves, give to him a place, and he will live with them.”

[20:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for without knowledge he killed his neighbor, and he was not hating him prior to that.”

[20:6]  ²⁵ tn Or “live.”

[20:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “until he stands before the assembly for judgment.”

[20:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “until the death of the high priest who is in those days.”

[20:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “may return and enter his city and his house, the city from which he escaped.”

[20:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “set apart.”

[20:8]  ³⁰ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[20:8]  ³¹ tn Or “set aside.”

[20:9]  ³² tn The Hebrew text reads simply “the cities.” The words “for refuge” are supplied for clarification.

[20:9]  ³³ tn Heb “and not die by the hand of.”

[20:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “until he stands before the assembly.” The words “at least” are supplied for clarification.

[10:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day the Lord placed the Amorites before the sons of Israel and he said in the eyes of Israel.” It is uncertain whether the phrase “before the sons of Israel” modifies the verb “placed” (as in the present translation, “delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites”) or the verb “spoke” (“Joshua spoke to the Lord before the sons of Israel in the day the Lord delivered over the Amorites”).