1. Early the next morning, Joshua and the Israelites packed up and left Acacia. They went to the River Jordan and camped there that night.
2. Two days later their leaders went through the camp,
3-4. shouting, “When you see some of the priests carrying the sacred chest, you'll know it is time to cross to the other side. You've never been there before, and you won't know the way, unless you follow the chest. But don't get too close! Stay about a kilometre back.”
5. Joshua told the people, “Make yourselves acceptable to worship the Lord, because he is going to do some amazing things for us.”
6. Then Joshua turned to the priests and said, “Take the chest and cross the River Jordan ahead of us.” So the priests picked up the chest by its carrying poles and went on ahead.
7. The Lord told Joshua, “Beginning today I will show the people that you are their leader, and they will know that I am helping you as I helped Moses.
8. Now, tell the priests who are carrying the chest to go a little way into the river and stand there.”
11-13. Just watch the sacred chest that belongs to the Lord, the ruler of the whole earth. As soon as the priests carrying the chest step into the Jordan, the water will stop flowing and pile up as if someone had built a dam across the river.The Lord has also said that each of the twelve tribes should choose one man to represent it.
16-17. the river stopped flowing, and the water started piling up at the town of Adam near Zarethan. No water flowed towards the Dead Sea, and the priests stood in the middle of the dry river bed near Jericho while everyone else crossed over.