God

So, please, swear to me by ADONAI that, since I have been kind to you, you will also be kind to my father's family. Give me some evidence of your good faith,

The men replied to her, "Our lives are certainly worth yours, provided you don't betray our mission. So when ADONAI gives us the land, we will treat you kindly and in good faith."

"Truly ADONAI has handed over all the land to us," they told Y'hoshua. "Everyone in the land is terrified that we're coming."

and gave the people these orders: "When you see the ark for the covenant of ADONAI your God and the cohanim, who are L'vi'im, carrying it, you are to leave your position and follow it.

Y'hoshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, because tomorrow ADONAI is going to work wonders among you."

ADONAI said to Y'hoshua, "Starting today, I will make you great in full view of all Isra'el; so that they will know that just as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you.

Y'hoshua said to the people of Isra'el, "Come here, and listen to the words of ADONAI your God."

Then Y'hoshua said, "Here is how you will know that the living God is here with you and that, without fail, he will drive out from before you the Kena'ani, the Hitti, the Hivi, the P'rizi, the Girgashi, the Emori and the Y'vusi:

the ark for the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going on ahead of you across the Yarden.

As soon as the cohanim carrying the ark of ADONAI, the Lord of all the earth, put the soles of their feet in the water of the Yarden, the water of the Yarden will be cut off upstream and stand piled up like an embankment."

The cohanim carrying the ark for the covenant of ADONAI stood fast on dry ground in the middle of the Yarden, while all Isra'el crossed on dry ground, until the entire nation had finished crossing the Yarden.

After the whole nation had finished crossing the Yarden, ADONAI said to Y'hoshua,

and said to them, "Go on ahead of the ark of ADONAI your God into the riverbed of the Yarden. Then, each of you take a stone on his shoulder, corresponding to the number of tribes of the people of Isra'el.

you will answer them, 'It's because the water in the Yarden was cut off before the ark for the covenant of ADONAI; when it crossed the Yarden, the water in the Yarden was cut off; and these stones are to be a reminder for the people of Isra'el forever.'"

The people of Isra'el did just as Y'hoshua had ordered. They took twelve stones out of the Yarden riverbed, as ADONAI had said to Y'hoshua, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the people of Isra'el, carried them over with them to the place where they were camping, and set them down there.

The cohanim carrying the ark stood in the Yarden riverbed until Y'hoshua had finished saying to the people everything that ADONAI had ordered him to say, in keeping with everything that Moshe had ordered Y'hoshua; then the people hurried across.

When all the people had finished crossing, the ark of ADONAI passed on, and the cohanim, ahead of the people.

some 40,000 armed soldiers ready for battle crossed in the presence of ADONAI to the plains of Yericho.

That day ADONAI made Y'hoshua great in full view of all Isra'el. They were in awe of him, just as they had been in awe of Moshe all his life.

ADONAI said to Y'hoshua,

The cohanim carrying the ark for the covenant of ADONAI came up from the Yarden riverbed, and as soon as the soles of the feet of the cohanim touched dry ground, the water of the Yarden returned to its place and the river overflowed its banks as it had before.

For ADONAI your God dried up the water in the Yarden from in front of you, until you had crossed, just as ADONAI your God did to the Sea of Suf, which he dried up from in front of us, until we had crossed.

From this all the peoples of the earth can know that the hand of ADONAI is strong, and you can fear ADONAI your God forever.'"

When all the kings of the Emori on the west side of the Yarden and all the kings of the Kena'ani near the sea heard how ADONAI had dried up the Yarden River ahead of the people of Isra'el until they had crossed it, their hearts failed them, and they fell into depression because of the people of Isra'el.

It was at that time that ADONAI said to Y'hoshua, "Make yourself knives of flint, and circumcise the people of Isra'el again, a second time.