Joshua 4

Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel

Joshua 4

1And when the people had completely passed over Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,Καὶ ἐπεὶ συνετέλεσε πᾶς ὁ λαὸς διαβαίνων τὸν Ἰορδανην, καὶ εἶπε, Κύριος τῷ Ἰησοῖ, λέγων,

2Take men from the people, one of each tribe,ταραλαβὼν ἄνδρας ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ, ἕνα ἀφʼ ἑκάστης φυλῆς,

3and charge them; and you shall take out of the midst of Jordan twelve * fit stones, and having carried them across together with yourselves, place them in your camp, where you shall encamp for the night.σύνταξον αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἀνέλεσθε ἐκ μέσου τοῦ Ἰορδάνου ἑτοίμους δώδεκα λίθους, καὶ τούτους διακομίσαντες ἅμα ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, θέτε αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ στρατοπεδίᾳ ὑμῶν, οὗ ἐὰν παρεμβάλητε ἐκεῖ τὴν νύκτα.

4And Joshua having called twelve men † of distinction among the children of Israel, one of each tribe,Καὶ ἀνακαλεσάμενος Ἰησοῦς δώδεκα ἄνδρας τῶν ἐνδόξων ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, ἕνα ἀφʼ ἑκάστης φυλῆς,

5said to them, Advance before me in the presence of the Lord into the midst of Jordan, and each having taken up a stone from thence, let him carry it on his shoulders, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel:εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, προσαγάγετε ἔμπροσθέν μου πρὸ προσώπου Κυρίου εἰς μέσον τοῦ Ἰροδάνου· καὶ ἀνελόμενος ἐκεῖθεν ἕκαστος λίθον, ἀράτω ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν δώδεκα φυλῶν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ,

6that these may be to you continually for an appointed sign, that when your son asks you ‡ in future, saying, What are these stones to us?ἵνα ὑπάρχωσιν ὑμῖν οὗτοι εἰς σημεῖον κείμενον διαπαντός· ἵνα ὅταν ἐρωτᾷ σε ὁ υἱός σου αὔριον λέγων, τί εἰσιν οἱ λιθοι οὗτοι ἡμῖν;

7then you may explain to your son, saying, The river Jordan was § dried up from before the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth, when it passed it: and these stones shall be for a memorial for you for the children of Israel for ever.Καὶ σὺ δηλώσεις τῷ υἱῷ σου, λέγων, ὅτι ἐξέλιπεν ὁ Ἰορδάνης ποταμὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου κιβωτοῦ διαθήκης Κυρίου πάσης τῆς γῆς, ὡς διέβαινεν αὐτόν· καὶ ἔσονται οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ὑμῖν μνημόσυνον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος.

8And the children of Israel did so, as the Lord commanded Joshua; and they took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, (as the Lord commanded Joshua, when the children of Israel had completely passed over,) and carried these stones with them into the camp, and laid them down there.Καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ, καθότι ἐνετείλατο Κύριος τῷ Ἰησοῖ· καὶ ἀναλαβόντες δώδεκα λίθους ἐκ μέσου τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, καθάπερ συνέταξε Κύριος τῷ Ἰησοῖ ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τῆς διαβάσεως τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ διεκόμισαν ἅμα ἑαυτοῖς εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν, καὶ ἀπέθηκαν ἐκεῖ.

9And Joshua set also other twelve stones in Jordan itself, in the place that was under the feet of the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and there they are to this day.Ἔστησε δὲ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἄλλους δώδεκα λίθους ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ, ἐν τῷ γενομένῳ τόπῳ ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἱερέων τῶν αἰρόντων τὴν κιβωτὸν τῆς διαθήκης Κυρίου· καὶ εἰσὶν ἐκεῖ ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας.

10And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant stood in Jordan, until Joshua had finished all that the Lord commanded him to report to the people; and the people hasted and passed over.Εἱστήκεισαν δὲ οἱ ἱερεῖς οἱ αἴροντες τὴν κιβωτὸν τῆς διαθήκης ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ, ἕως οὗ συνετέλεσεν Ἰησοῦς πάντα ἃ ἐνετείλατο Κύριος ἀναγγεῖλαι τῷ λαῷ· καὶ ἔσπευσεν ὁ λαὸς, καὶ διέβησαν.

11And it came to pass when all the people had passed over, that the ark of the covenant of the Lord passed over, and the stones before them.Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς συνετέλεσε πᾶς ὁ λαὸς διαβῆναι, καὶ διέβη ἡ κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης Κυρίου, καὶ οἱ λίθοι ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν.

12And the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse passed over ** armed before the children of Israel, as Moses commanded them.Καὶ διέβησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ῥουβὴν, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Γὰδ, καὶ οἱ ἡμίσεις φυλῆς Μανασσῆ διεσκευασμένοι ἔμπροσθεν τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, καθάπερ ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς.

13Forty thousand †† armed for battle went over before the Lord to war, to the city of Jericho.Τετρακισμύριοι εὔζωνοι εἰς μάχην διέβησαν ἐναντίον Κυρίου εἰς πόλεμον πρὸς τὴν Ἱεριχὼ πόλιν.

14In that day the Lord magnified Joshua before all the people of Israel; and they feared him, as they did Moses, as long as he lived.Ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ηὔξησε Κύριος τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐναντίον τοῦ παντὸς γένους Ἰσραὴλ· καὶ ἐφοβοῦντο αὐτὸν, ὥσπερ Μωυσῆν, ὅσον χρόνον ἔζη.

15And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος τῷ Ἰησοῖ, λέγων,

16Charge the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the testimony of the Lord, to go up out of Jordan.ἔντειλαι τοῖς ἱερεῦσι τοῖς αἴρουσι τὴν κιβωτὸν τῆς διαθήκης τοῦ μαρτυρίου Κυρίου, ἐκβῆναι ἐκ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου.

17And Joshua charged the priests, saying, Go up out of Jordan.Καὶ ἐνετείλατο Ἰησοῦς τοῖς ἱερεῦσι, λέγων, ἔκβητε ἐκ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου.

18And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord were gone up out of Jordan, and set their feet upon the land, that the water of Jordan returned impetuously to its place, and went as before over all its banks.Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἐξέβησαν οἱ ἱερεῖς οἱ αἴροντες τὴν κιβωτὸν τῆς διαθήκης Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, καὶ ἔθηκαν τοὺς πόδας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὥρμησε τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου κατὰ χώραν, καὶ ἐπορεύετο καθὰ χθὲς καὶ τρίτην ἡμέραν διʼ ὅλης τῆς κρηπίδος.

19And the people went up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month; and the children of Israel encamped in Galgala in the region eastward from Jericho.Καὶ ὁ λαὸς ἀνέβη ἐκ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου δεκάτῃ τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ πρώτου· καὶ κατεστρατοπέδευσαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἑν Γαλγάλοις κατὰ μέρος τὸ πρὸς ἡλίου ἀνατολὰς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἱεριχώ.

20And Joshua set these twelve stones which he took out of Jordan, in Galgala,Καὶ τοὺς δώδεκα λίθους τούτους, οὓς ἔλαβεν ἐκ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, ἔστησεν Ἰησοῦς ἐν Γαλγάλοις,

21saying, When your sons ask you, saying, What are these stones?λέγων, ὅταν ἐρωτῶσιν ὑμᾶς οἱ υἱοι ὑμῶν λέγοντες, τί εἰσιν οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι;

22Tell your sons, that Israel went over this Jordan on dry land,Ἀναγγείλατε τοῖς υἱοῖς ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἐπὶ ξηρᾶς διέβη Ἰσραὴλ τὸν Ἰορδάνην τοῦτον,

23when the Lord our God had dried up the water of Jordan from before them, until they had passed over; as the Lord our God did to the Red Sea, which the Lord our God dried up from before us, until we passed over.ἀποξηράναντος Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου ἐκ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, μέχρις οὗ διέβησαν· καθάπερ ἐποίησε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν τὴν ἐρυθρὰν θάλασσαν, ἣν ἀπεξήρανε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν, ἕως παρήλθομεν·

24That all the nations of the earth might know, that the power of the Lord is mighty, and that you might worship the Lord our God in every work.Ὅπως γνῶσι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἡ δύναμις τοῦ κυρίου ἰσχυρά ἐστι, καὶ ἵνα ὑμεῖς σέβησθε Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ.

Translator's Notes

These notes come from the printed edition of Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), and record where the Greek differs from the English rendering or admits more than one reading.

• v. 3*Gr. ready. Heb. הכיך. A.V. firm, applied to the foot of the priests.
• v. 4†Gr. of the distinguished, or, illustrious.
• v. 6‡Gr. of the distinguished, or, illustrious.
• v. 7§Gr. failed.
• v. 12**Or, equipped.
• v. 13††Gr. in good order.