And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua 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.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
- NASB And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
- NLT In the morning Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” And so they started out and went ahead of the people.
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
Joshua orders the priests to take up the ark and cross over ahead of the people, and they obey. God's presence leads Israel into the Jordan first.
Overview
The priests bearing the ark go first, placing God's presence at the forefront of the advance. Their obedience models the faith required to step toward the swollen river before any path appears. This ordering teaches that God leads and His people follow, trusting Him to make a way where there seems to be none.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Num 14:15If You kill this people as one man, the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,
- Mic 2:13One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate, and go out by it. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD as their leader.
- Josh 3:3and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
- Num 10:33So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.
- John 14:2–3In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
- Heb 6:20where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
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 3:6 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.