1After the whole nation had gone across the Jordan River, the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, 2“Choose 12 men from among the people. Choose one from each tribe. 3Tell them to get 12 stones from the middle of the river. They must pick them up from right where the priests stood. They must carry the stones over with all of you. And they must put them down at the place where you will stay tonight.”
4So Joshua called together the 12 men he had appointed from among the Israelites. There was one man from each tribe. 5He said to them, “Go back to the middle of the Jordan River. Go to where the ark of the Lord your God is. Each one of you must pick up a stone. You must carry it on your shoulder. There will be as many stones as there are tribes in Israel. 6The stones will serve as a reminder to you. In days to come, your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7Tell them that the Lord cut off the flow of water in the Jordan River. Tell them its water stopped flowing when the ark of the covenant of the Lord went across. The stones will always remind the Israelites of what happened there.”
8So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan River. There was one stone for each of the tribes of Israel. It was just as the Lord had told Joshua. The people carried the stones with them to their camp. There they put them down. 9Joshua also piled up 12 stones in the middle of the river. He piled them up right where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are still there to this very day.
10The priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan River. They stayed there until the people had done everything the Lord had commanded Joshua. It was just as Moses had directed Joshua. All the people went across quickly. 11As soon as they did, the ark of the Lord and the priests also went across to the other side. The people were watching them. 12Among the people who went across the river were men from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. The men were ready for battle. They went across ahead of the rest of the Israelites. It was just as Moses had directed them. 13There were about 40,000 of them. All of them were ready for battle. They went across in front of the ark of the Lord. They marched to the plains around Jericho. They were prepared to go to war.
14That day the Lord honored Joshua in the eyes of all the Israelites. They had respect for Joshua as long as he lived. They respected him just as much as they had respected Moses.
15Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, 16“Command the priests to come up out of the Jordan River. They are carrying the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept.”
17So Joshua gave a command to the priests. He said, “Come up out of the Jordan River.”
18Then the priests came up out of the river. They were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. As soon as they stepped out on dry ground, the water of the Jordan began to flow again. It went over its banks, just as it had done before.
19On the tenth day of the first month the people went up out of the Jordan River. They camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20Joshua set up the 12 stones at Gilgal. They were the ones the people had taken out of the Jordan. 21Then he spoke to the Israelites. He said, “In days to come, your children after you will ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22Their parents must tell them, ‘Israel went across the Jordan River on dry ground.’ 23The Lord your God dried up the Jordan for you until you had gone across it. He did to the Jordan River the same thing he had done to the Red Sea. He dried up the Red Sea ahead of us until we had gone across it. 24He did it so that all the nations on earth would know that he is powerful. He did it so that you would always have respect for the Lord your God.”
Monumento conmemorativo
1Cuando todo el pueblo terminó de cruzar el río Jordán, el Señor dijo a Josué: 2«Elijan a un hombre de cada una de las doce tribus de Israel 3y ordénenles que tomen doce piedras del cauce, exactamente del lugar donde los sacerdotes permanecieron de pie. Díganles que las coloquen en el lugar donde hoy pasarán la noche».
4Entonces Josué reunió a los doce hombres que había escogido de las doce tribus 5y dijo: «Vayan al centro del cauce del río hasta donde está el arca del Señor su Dios y cada uno cargue al hombro una piedra. Serán doce piedras, una por cada tribu de Israel, 6y servirán como señal entre ustedes. En el futuro, cuando sus hijos les pregunten: “¿Por qué están estas piedras aquí?”, 7ustedes responderán: “El día en que el arca del pacto del Señor cruzó el Jordán, las aguas del río se dividieron frente a ella. Para nosotros los israelitas, estas piedras que están aquí son un recuerdo permanente de aquella gran hazaña”».
8Los israelitas hicieron lo que Josué ordenó, según las instrucciones del Señor. Tomaron las piedras del cauce del Jordán, conforme al número de las tribus, las llevaron hasta el campamento y las colocaron allí. 9Además, Josué colocó doce piedras en el cauce del río donde se detuvieron los sacerdotes que llevaban el arca del pacto. Esas piedras siguen allí hasta el día de hoy.
10Los sacerdotes que llevaban el arca permanecieron en medio del cauce hasta que los israelitas hicieron todo lo que el Señor había ordenado a Josué. Además, Josué siguió las instrucciones que Moisés le había dado. El pueblo se apresuró a cruzar el río 11y, cuando todos lo habían hecho, el arca del Señor y los sacerdotes cruzaron también en presencia del pueblo. 12Acompañaban al pueblo los guerreros de las tribus de Rubén, Gad y la media tribu de Manasés, según las órdenes que había dado Moisés. 13Unos cuarenta mil guerreros armados desfilaron en presencia del Señor y se dirigieron a la llanura de Jericó, listos para la guerra.
14Aquel mismo día, el Señor engrandeció a Josué ante todo Israel. El pueblo respetó a Josué todos los días de su vida, como lo había hecho con Moisés.
15Luego el Señor dijo a Josué: 16«A los sacerdotes portadores del arca que tiene las tablas del pacto da la orden de que salgan del Jordán».
17Josué ordenó a los sacerdotes que salieran 18y así lo hicieron portando el arca del pacto del Señor. Tan pronto como sus pies tocaron tierra firme, las aguas del río regresaron a su lugar y se desbordaron como antes.
19Así, el día diez del mes primero, el pueblo de Israel cruzó el Jordán y acampó en Guilgal, al este de Jericó. 20Entonces Josué erigió allí las piedras que habían tomado del cauce del Jordán 21y se dirigió a los israelitas: «En el futuro, cuando sus hijos les pregunten: “¿Por qué están estas piedras aquí?”, 22ustedes responderán: “Porque el pueblo de Israel cruzó el río Jordán en seco”. 23El Señor, Dios de ustedes, hizo lo mismo que había hecho con el mar Rojo cuando lo mantuvo seco hasta que todos nosotros cruzamos. 24Esto sucedió para que todas las naciones de la tierra supieran que el Señor es poderoso y para que ustedes aprendieran a temerlo para siempre».
