So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
Parallel translations
- WEB When the people moved from their tents to pass over the Jordan, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant being before the people,
- KJV 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;
- BSB So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
- NASB So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people,
- NLT So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark going ahead. Israel moves forward in obedient faith.
Overview
The narrative shifts from instruction to action as the nation advances behind the ark. The people's willingness to march toward a flooded river shows trust in God's promise through Joshua. Their forward movement, led by the symbol of God's presence, embodies the obedience of faith that characterizes God's people following their Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Acts 7:44–45“Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen;
- Ps 132:8Arise, Yahweh, into your resting place; you, and the ark of your strength.
- Josh 3:3and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of Yahweh your God’s covenant, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then leave your place, and follow it.
- 1 Cor 1:24–25but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
- Josh 6:6Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh’s ark.”
- Heb 9:4having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
- Josh 3:6Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and cross over before the people.” They took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
- Jer 3:16It will come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,” says Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘the ark of Yahweh’s covenant!’ It will not come to mind. They won’t remember it. They won’t miss it, nor will another be made.
- Deut 31:26“Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of Yahweh’s covenant your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 3:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.