and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB When all the people had completely crossed over, Yahweh’s ark crossed over, with the priests, in the presence of the people.
- KJV And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
- BSB and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the LORD crossed in the sight of the people.
- NKJV Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
- NLT And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.
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
When all the people had crossed, the ark and the priests crossed over in their sight. God's presence, having led and sustained them, completes the passage with them.
Overview
The ark crossing last, in full view of the people, visibly seals the miracle: God's presence both led Israel into the river and remained until all were safe before crossing Himself. The waters would now return, but the nation stood in the promised land. This climactic scene proclaims that God brings His people wholly through every barrier into their inheritance, a hope fulfilled for believers in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Josh 3:8You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”
- Josh 4:18When the priests who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had been lifted up to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
- Josh 3:17The priests who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the nation had passed completely over the Jordan.
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 4:11 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.