6. that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean unto you?
7. Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the sons of Israel for ever.
8. And the sons of Israel did so as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord spoke unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged and laid them down there.
9. Joshua also set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there unto this day.
10. For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people made haste and passed.
11. And when all the people were finished passing, the ark of the Lord passed, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12. And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh passed armed before the sons of Israel, as Moses had said unto them.
13. About forty thousand men prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, towards the plains of Jericho.
14. On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15. And the Lord spoke unto Joshua, saying,
16. Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.
17. Joshua, therefore, commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of the Jordan.
18. And it came to pass, when the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up out of the midst of the Jordan and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, flowing as before over all its banks.
19. And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped in Gilgal, on the east side of Jericho.
20. And Joshua raised up in Gilgal the twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan.
21. And he spoke unto the sons of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean unto you?
22. Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you until ye had passed, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us until we had passed,