4:16a

Command the priests who carry the ark of the Testimony: The phrase the priests who carry the ark refers to the priests who carried the ark into the middle of the Jordan River.

the ark of the Testimony: The Testimony refers to the stone tablets on which Moses had written the Ten Commandments. The ark of the Testimony and the “ark of the covenant” refer to the same box.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the ark of the covenantal laws (NET Bible)
-or-
the box with the Ten Commandments in it

Some English versions translate this phrase in the same way that they translate “ark of the covenant.”

4:16b

to come up from the Jordan: The phrase come up from the Jordan means that the priests should carry the ark from the middle of the riverbed where they were standing, across to the other side of the Jordan River.

In some languages, it might be more natural to change the indirect quote into a direct quote. For example, you could say:

Command the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

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