²⁶ And Joshua ^(A)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And ^(B)he took a large stone and set it up there ^(C)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

⁶ And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all ^(A)Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under ^(A)the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

²⁰ And ^(A)those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. ²¹ And he said to the people of Israel, ^(B)“When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, ^(C)‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, ^(D)which he dried up for us until we passed over, ^24 (E)so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is ^(F)mighty, that you may ^(G)fear the Lord your God forever.”^[a]

²⁴ When Moses had finished ^(A)writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, ²⁵ Moses commanded ^(B)the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, ²⁶ “Take this Book of the Law ^(C)and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for ^(D)a witness against you.

⁴ And ^(A)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve ^(B)pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁸ And ^(A)Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.^[a]

¹⁸ So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up ^(A)for a pillar ^(B)and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called the name of that place ^(C)Bethel,^[a] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob ^(D)made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ^21 (E)so that I come again to my father's house in peace, ^(F)then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ^(G)shall be God's house. And ^(H)of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

³ and command them, saying, ‘Take ^(A)twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place ^(B)where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in ^(C)the place where you lodge tonight.’” ⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. ⁵ And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, ⁶ that this may be a sign among you. ^(D)When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ ⁷ then you shall tell them that ^(E)the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel ^(F)a memorial forever.”

⁸ And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down^[a] there. ⁹ And Joshua set up^[b] twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, ^(G)in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.