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Joshua 4

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1 And it was, as all the nation had finished crossing·​·over the Jordan, that Jehovah said to Joshua, saying,

2 Take for yourselves twelve men out·​·of the people; one man, one man from each tribe,

3 and command ye them, saying, Lift·​·up for yourselves from this place, from the midst of the Jordan, from the place which the feet of the priests stood·​·over, twelve stones prepared, and you shall cause them to cross·​·over with you, and place them in the lodging·​·place in which you shall lodge* tonight.

4 And Joshua called to the twelve men whom he had prepared from the sons of Israel; one man, one man from each tribe.

5 And Joshua said to them, Cross· ye ·over before the ark of Jehovah your God, to the midst of the Jordan, and lift·​·up for yourselves each man one stone on his shoulder, according·​·to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel,

6 so·​·that this may be a sign among you, when your sons shall ask tomorrow, saying, What are these stones to you?

7 And you shall say to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut·​·off from before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it crossed·​·over into the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut·​·off; and these stones shall be for a memorial to the sons of Israel even·​·to eternity.

8 And the sons of Israel did so as Joshua had commanded, and they took·​·up twelve stones out·​·of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah had spoken to Joshua, according·​·to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they brought· them ·across with them to their place·​·to·​·pass·​·the·​·night, and placed them there.

9 And Joshua raised·​·up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, beneath the place which the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood·​·over; and they are there even·​·to this day.

10 And the priests that bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until every word was finished that Jehovah commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according·​·to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hastened and crossed·​·over.

11 And it was, when all the people had finished crossing, that the ark of Jehovah and the priests crossed·​·over in the presence* of the people.

12 And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh crossed·​·over girded·​·to·​·the·​·fifth* before the sons of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.

13 About forty thousand armed for the army crossed·​·over before Jehovah to battle, to the plains of Jericho.

14 On that day Jehovah magnified Joshua in the eyes of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

15 And Jehovah said to Joshua, saying,

16 Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, and they shall come·​·up out·​·of the Jordan.

17 And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, Come· ye ·up out·​·of the Jordan.

18 And it was, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah had come·​·up out·​·of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the feet of the priests had been pulled·​·out onto the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as from yesterday and the day before*.

19 And the people went·​·up from the Jordan, on the tenth of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the edge of Jericho toward the sunrise.

20 And those twelve stones, which they took out·​·of the Jordan, Joshua raised·​·up in Gilgal.

21 And he said to the sons of Israel, saying, When your sons shall ask their fathers tomorrow, saying, What are these stones?

22 Then you shall let your sons know, saying, On dry land Israel crossed·​·over this Jordan.

23 As Jehovah your God dried·​·up the waters of the Jordan from before you until you had crossed·​·over, as Jehovah your God did to the Suph Sea*, which He dried·​·up from before us until we had crossed·​·over,

24 so·​·that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Jehovah, that it is firm, so·​·that you may fear Jehovah your God all the days.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Know

  

Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases -- when it is connected to ideas or objects -- its spiritual meaning and natural meaning are essentially the same. When the Bible talks about people knowing each other and especially when it talks about the Lord knowing people, the meaning has more to do with the states of love within people than it does with any factual knowledge. This makes sense if you think about it. When we really "know" somebody, what we mean is that we know what kind of person they are, what their motivations are, what they love, what they hate, what makes them tick. Those things are far more important than knowing their parents' names, where they were born or what year they graduated from school. Most often then, especially applied to people, "knowing" has to do with the perceptions we have about other people's loves and the conjunction that can exist between those with similar loves, not just a collection of facts.