“Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
- KJV Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
- BSB “Command the priests who carry the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
- NASB “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.”
- NLT “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to come up out of the riverbed.”
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
God commanded the priests carrying the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan. The ark, symbol of God's presence, led Israel through the riverbed.
Overview
The ark contained the testimony (the tablets of the law) and represented Yahweh's throne among His people. Having stood in the riverbed while Israel crossed, the priests are now told to come up so the waters can return. God's presence both opened the way and guarded the people until all had safely passed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 25:16–22You shall put the testimony which I shall give you into the ark.
- Josh 3:3–6and 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.
- Rev 11:19God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:16 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.