4. So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from among the children of Israel, one man per tribe.
5. Then Joshua said to them, “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you lift up a stone upon your shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the children of Israel,
6. so that this will be a sign among you. When your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
7. you will answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will be a memorial for the children of Israel continually.”
8. Then the children of Israel did as Joshua commanded and picked up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each of the tribes of the children of Israel, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua. They crossed over with them to the settlement and set them there.
9. Joshua also set twelve stones inthe middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are there to this day.
10. The priests who were carrying the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to say to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people quickly crossed over.
11. When all the people had finished crossing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
12. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle formation in front of the children of Israel, according to what Moses had said to them.