1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 6:21
Trivia: Why did God harden the hearts of Joshua's enemies in Joshua 11?
3:1-171 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
When you see the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, stay about 2000 cubits away from them.
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
Sanctify yourselves, because tomorrow God is going to do wonderful things.
6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
Carry the ark of the covenant across the river before the people cross over.
7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
Today I'm going to make you look good among the Israelites, so that everyone will know that I'm with you, like I was with Moses.
8And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
Tell the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant to stand still in the middle of the Jordan.
9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
Come over here and hear the words of God.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
Here's how you'll know that God is among you.He will without fail drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and the Jebusites. [1]
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
The ark of the covenant will cross over the Jordan before you.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
Select a man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
When the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant get to the middle of the river, the water will stop flowing and they will cross on dry land.
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
And that's what happened.
God temporarily stopped the Jordan River from flowing so the priests could cross without getting their feet wet.
17And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
Then all the people crossed and they didn't get their feet wet either.
