Joshua 3:15
New International Version
Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,

New Living Translation
It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge,

English Standard Version
and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest),

Berean Standard Bible
Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,

King James Bible
And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

New King James Version
and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest),

New American Standard Bible
and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark stepped down into the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),

NASB 1995
and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),

NASB 1977
and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),

Legacy Standard Bible
and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),

Amplified Bible
and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were submerged at the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all of its banks throughout the time of harvest),

Christian Standard Bible
Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge

American Standard Version
and when they that bare the ark were come unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (for the Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest,)

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And when the bearers of the ark arrived unto the Jordan, the feet of the Priests who were carrying the ark were made wet on the banks of the waters, and Jordan was full, brink to brink, all the days of harvest

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And when the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered upon Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord were dipped in part of the water of Jordan; (now Jordan overflowed all its banks about the time of wheat harvest:)

Contemporary English Version
until they came to the Jordan River. The water in the river had risen over its banks, as it often does in springtime. But as soon as the feet of the priests touched the water,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And as soon as they came into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in part of the water, (now the Jordan, it being harvest time, had filled the banks of its channel,)

English Revised Version
and when they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brink of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest,)

GOD'S WORD® Translation
(The Jordan overflows all its banks during the harvest season.) When the priests who were carrying the ark came to the edge of the Jordan River and set foot in

International Standard Version
When the priests who carried the ark entered the Jordan River, as their feet touched the water's edge (The Jordan River overflows all of its banks daily during the harvest season.),

JPS Tanakh 1917
and when they that bore the ark were come unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the brink of the water--for the Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest--

Literal Standard Version
and at those carrying the Ark coming to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the Ark have been dipped in the extremity of the waters (and the Jordan is full over all its banks all the days of harvest)—

Majority Standard Bible
Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,

New American Bible
When those bearing the ark came to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were immersed in the waters of the Jordan—which overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest—

NET Bible
When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface of the water--(the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time)--

New Revised Standard Version
Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,

New Heart English Bible
and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark had dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest),

Webster's Bible Translation
And as they that bore the ark had come to Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest,)

World English Bible
and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark had dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest),

Young's Literal Translation
and at those bearing the ark coming in unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark have been dipped in the extremity of the waters (and the Jordan is full over all its banks all the days of harvest) --

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Crossing the Jordan
14So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them. 15Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.…

Cross References
2 Kings 2:6
And Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." But Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.

1 Chronicles 12:15
These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.

Jeremiah 12:5
"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?

Jeremiah 49:19
Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?"

Nahum 1:4
He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.


Treasury of Scripture

And as they that bore the ark were come to Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overflows all his banks all the time of harvest,)

the feet

Joshua 3:13
And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

Isaiah 26:6
The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

Joshua 4:18
And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

1 Chronicles 12:15
These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.

Jeremiah 12:5
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

all the time

Joshua 5:10-12
And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho…

Leviticus 23:10-16
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: …

Deuteronomy 16:1-9
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night…

Jump to Previous
Ark Banks Bare Bearing Bore Brim Brink Carried Carrying Dipped Edge Harvest Jordan Overfloweth Overflowing Overflows Priests Stage Throughout Time Touched Touching Water Waters Water's
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Ark Banks Bare Bearing Bore Brim Brink Carried Carrying Dipped Edge Harvest Jordan Overfloweth Overflowing Overflows Priests Stage Throughout Time Touched Touching Water Waters Water's
Joshua 3
1. Joshua come to Jordan
2. The officers instruct the people for their passage
7. The Lord encourages Joshua
9. Joshua encourages the people
14. The water of Jordan are divided














Verse 15. - Brim. The water's edge is meant here, as in ver. 8, where the same word is translated brink (see note on ver. 17, and on Joshua 4:19). Jordan overfloweth all his banks. Some commentators translate here, filleth all his banks (ἐπληροῦτο, LXX.). But this rendering is contrary

(1) to the Hebrew, and

(2) contrary to fact.

The literal rendering here is, "filleth out (or upon) all its banks." In ch. 4:18 we read that Jordan goeth over all its banks And that the Jordan is not merely full, but full to overflowing, at the harvest season, is proved by the statements of many travellers. Take, for instance, Canon Tristram ('Land of Israel,' p. 223), who describes his visit to the Jordan as occurring just after it had been overflowing its banks, and the lower level of the valley as filled with "a deep slimy ooze." He adds that, by measure merit, the river was found to have been fourteen feet above the level at which he found it, and it was then quite full. Bartlett ('From Egypt to Palestine,' p. 451) remarks, "We were fortunate enough to see it in the state in which it is described in Joshua, 'overflowing all its banks' - that is, the whole line of its banks. The turbid stream rushed along like a mill race, and though it had fallen from its greatest height, the proper banks of the channel were invisible, and indicated only by lines of oleanders and other shrubs and trees." This was on the 22nd of March. This overflowing is caused by the melting of the snows of Hermon, which then rush down, fill Lake Huleh and its marshes, as well as Gennesareth, and cause the "swelling of Jordan" (Jeremiah 12:5; Jeremiah 49:19; 1:44), which drives the wild beasts from their retreats on its banks (see also 1 Chronicles 12:15). Some travellers have boldly asserted, in spite of this concurrent testimony, that Jordan does not overflow its banks at the time of harvest. But they have mistaken the wheat for the barley harvest, forgetting that in Palestine the latter precedes the former by six or seven weeks. By the time of wheat harvest Jordan has returned to its normal condition, and all traces of the inundation have passed away (see Thomson, 'Land and the Book,' pp. 618-621). The time of harvest, i.e., the barley harvest, which took place about the 10th Nisan, or Abib, when the Israelites crossed. The wheat harvest was about Pentecost, or seven weeks later (Exodus 34:22). An important argument for the genuineness of the narrative (and much the more important as its chief incident is miraculous) is drawn from this passage by Blunt in his 'Undesigned Coincidences.' He remarks that in Exodus 9:31, 33 the barley and flax are said to have ripened together. Therefore the time of the barley and flax harvest would be identical. Accordingly we have Rahab, three days before the event here recorded, in possession of the as yet undried stalks of flax which had just been cut. Nothing could be a more satisfactory proof that the narrative we have before us comes from persons who were accurately and minutely informed concerning the circumstances of which they tell us.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now the Jordan
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן (hay·yar·dên)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3383: Jordan -- the principal river of Palestine

overflows
מָלֵא֙ (mā·lê)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4390: To fill, be full of

its banks
גְּדוֹתָ֔יו (gə·ḏō·w·ṯāw)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1415: A border of a, river

throughout
כֹּ֖ל (kōl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the harvest
קָצִֽיר׃ (qā·ṣîr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7105: Severed, harvest, the crop, the time, the reaper, a limb

season.
יְמֵ֥י (yə·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

But as soon as the priests
הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ (hak·kō·hă·nîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3548: Priest

carrying
נֹשְׂאֵ֤י (nō·śə·’ê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

the ark
הָֽאָרוֹן֙ (hā·’ā·rō·wn)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 727: A chest, ark

reached
וּכְב֞וֹא (ū·ḵə·ḇō·w)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

the Jordan
וְהַיַּרְדֵּ֗ן (wə·hay·yar·dên)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3383: Jordan -- the principal river of Palestine

[and] their feet
וְרַגְלֵ֤י (wə·raḡ·lê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - fdc
Strong's 7272: A foot, a step, the pudenda

touched
נִטְבְּל֖וּ (niṭ·bə·lū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2881: To dip, to immerse

the water's
הַמָּ֑יִם (ham·mā·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

edge,
בִּקְצֵ֣ה (biq·ṣêh)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7097: End, extremity


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OT History: Joshua 3:15 And when those who bore the ark (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 3:14
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