And the Lord said to Joshua, "This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When ye are come to the brink of the waters of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.'"
And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, "Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God."
And Joshua said, "Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and all the people of the land. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, for every tribe a man. And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap."
And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, the priests that bore the ark of the covenant being before the people; and when they [{287}] that bore the ark were come to Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest), that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan: and those that went down toward the Salt Sea were wholly cut off: and the people passed over right opposite Jericho.
And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed wholly over Jordan.
SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF JERICHO.
How the Walls of the City Fell Down.
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went to him, and said to him, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"
And he said, "Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come."
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him, "What saith my Lord to his servant?" And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, "Put off thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy."
And Joshua did so.