God’s Orders to Joshua

Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ [a]servant, saying, “Moses (A)My servant is dead; so now arise, (B)cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. (C)Every place on which the sole of your foot steps, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. (D)From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. (E)No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; (F)I will not desert you nor abandon you. (G)Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; [b](H)be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may [c]achieve success wherever you go. (I)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may [d]be careful to do according to all that is written in it; (J)for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will [e]achieve success. Have I not commanded you? (K)Be strong and courageous! (L)Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Assumes Command

10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within (M)three days you are going to cross this Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’”

12 But (N)to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua [f]said, 13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘(O)The Lord your God is giving you rest, and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross ahead of your brothers in battle formation, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He is giving you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them. (P)Then you may return to [g]your own land, and take possession of [h]that which Moses (Q)the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only (R)may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your [i]command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.”

Rahab Shelters Spies

Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from (S)Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of (T)a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and rested there. But it was told to the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to spy out all the land.” But the (U)woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. It came about, when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But (V)she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan, to the crossing places; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.

Now before [j]the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, “(W)I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the (X)terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. 10 (Y)For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the [k]Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and (Z)what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you [l]utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard these reports, (AA)our hearts melted and no [m]courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the (AB)Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a (AC)pledge of [n]truth, 13 and [o]spare my father and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and save our [p]lives from death.” 14 So the men said to her, “Our [q]life [r]for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will (AD)deal kindly and [s]faithfully with you.”

The Promise to Rahab

15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. 16 And she said to them, “(AE)Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not encounter you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” 17 And the men said to her, “(AF)We shall be exempt from this oath [t]to you which you have made us swear, 18 [u]unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and (AG)gather into your house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house outside will have [v]his blood on his own head, and we will be innocent; but anyone who is with you in the house, (AH)his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be exempt from the oath which you have made us swear.” 21 She then said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

22 So they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days, until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had searched for them [w]all along the road, but had not found them. 23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country, and they crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun. Then they reported to him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “The Lord has indeed handed over to us all the land; furthermore, (AI)all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of us.”

Israel Crosses the Jordan

Then Joshua got up early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from (AJ)Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they spent the night there before they crossed. Then (AK)at the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the (AL)ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be a distance between you and it of about [x]two thousand cubits by measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Then Joshua said to the people, “(AM)Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do miracles among you.” And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

Now the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to (AN)exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they will know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. So you shall command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “By this you will know that (AO)the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly (AP)drive out from you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of (AQ)the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. 12 Now then, (AR)take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13 And it will come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, that is, the waters which are [y]flowing down from above; and they will (AS)stand in one heap.”

14 So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying (AT)the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark [z]stepped down into the edge of the water (for the (AU)Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), 16 then (AV)the waters which were [aa]flowing down from above stood and rose up in (AW)one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were [ab]flowing down toward the sea of the (AX)Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17 And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm (AY)on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

Memorial Stones from the Jordan

Now when the entire nation had finished crossing the (AZ)Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, (BA)Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firmly, and carry them over with you and lay them down in (BB)the encampment where you will spend the night.’” So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, “[ac]Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. [ad]This shall be a sign among you; (BC)when your children ask [ae]later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘That the (BD)waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a (BE)memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”

So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to (BF)the encampment and put them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve (BG)stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; 11 and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people. 12 (BH)The sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle formation before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13 about forty thousand equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.

14 (BI)On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they [af]revered him, just as they had [ag]revered Moses all the days of his life.

15 Now the Lord said to [ah]Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry (BJ)the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were [ai]lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.

19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the (BK)tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal, on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20 As for [aj](BL)those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up (BM)at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the sons of [ak]Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on (BN)dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the [al]Red Sea, (BO)which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24 so that (BP)all the peoples of the earth may know that the (BQ)hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may [am](BR)fear the Lord your God [an]forever.”

Israel Is Circumcised

Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the (BS)Canaanites who were by the sea, (BT)heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until [ao]they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make for yourself (BU)flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.” So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at [ap]Gibeath-haaraloth. This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: (BV)all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt. For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the sons of Israel walked (BW)forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, [aq]perished because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord, (BX)to whom the Lord had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua [ar]circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way.

Now when they had finished circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they recovered. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away (BY)the shame of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called [as]Gilgal to this day.

10 While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal (BZ)they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the (CA)fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. 11 Then on the day after the Passover, on [at]that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted grain. 12 And (CB)the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.

13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, (CC)a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.” And Joshua (CD)fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 And the captain of the Lords army said to Joshua, “(CE)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The Conquest of Jericho

Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with (CF)its king and the valiant warriors. And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven (CG)trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down [au]flat, and the people shall go up, everyone [av]straight ahead.”

So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” Then [aw]he said to the people, “Go forward and march around the city, and the armed men shall go on ahead of the ark of the Lord.” And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. And the armed men went ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and (CH)the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed from your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” 11 So he had the ark of the Lord [ax]taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12 Now Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 Then (CI)the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went ahead of them, and (CJ)the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 14 So the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did the same for six days.

15 Then on the seventh day they got up early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day did they march around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “(CK)Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 But the city shall be (CL)designated for [ay]destruction, it and everything that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the prostitute [az]and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things designated for destruction, so that you do not covet them and (CM)take some of the designated things, and turn the camp of Israel into something designated for destruction and bring disaster on it. 19 (CN)But all the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20 So the people shouted, and [ba]the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the (CO)wall fell down [bb]flat, so that the people went up into the city, everyone straight [bc]ahead, and they took the city. 21 (CP)They [bd]utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

22 And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “(CQ)Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, just as you have sworn to her.” 23 So the young men who were spies went in and (CR)brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then (CS)they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the [be]house of the Lord. 25 However, (CT)Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua [bf]spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because (CU)she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “(CV)Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he will set up its gates.” 27 So (CW)the Lord was with Joshua, and his (CX)fame was in all the land.

Israel Is Defeated at Ai

(CY)But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully regarding the things designated for destruction, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the designated things; therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near (CZ)Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “[bg]Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up; have only about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai; do not trouble all the people there, for they are few.” So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but (DA)they fled [bh]from the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck and killed about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them [bi]from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them on the mountainside; and the (DB)hearts of the people melted and became like water.

Then Joshua (DC)tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and (DD)they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Oh, Lord [bj]God! Why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan, only to hand us over to the Amorites, to eliminate us? If only we had been willing [bk]to live beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their [bl]back before their enemies? (DE)For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear about it, and they will surround us and eliminate our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?”

10 So the Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and (DF)they have also violated My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things designated for destruction, and have both stolen and kept it a secret. Furthermore, they have also put them among their own things. 12 Therefore the (DG)sons of Israel cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their [bm]backs before their enemies, because they have become designated for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you eliminate from your midst the things designated for destruction. 13 Stand up! (DH)Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has said this: “(DI)There are things designated for destruction in your midst, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you have removed the designated things from your midst.” 14 So in the morning you shall come forward by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which (DJ)the Lord selects by lot shall come forward by families, and the family which the Lord selects shall come forward by households, and the household which the Lord selects shall come forward man by man. 15 And (DK)it shall be that the one who is selected with the things designated for destruction shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has violated the covenant of the Lord, and because he (DL)has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

The Sin of Achan

16 So Joshua got up early in the morning and brought Israel forward by [bn]tribes, and the tribe of Judah was selected. 17 So he brought the family of Judah forward, and he selected the family of the Zerahites; then he brought the family of the Zerahites forward man by man, and Zabdi was selected. 18 And he brought his household forward man by man; and (DM)Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, (DN)give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.” 20 So Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and [bo]this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoils a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I (DO)wanted them and took them; and behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath it. 23 So they took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel; and they [bp]laid them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his [bq]oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to (DP)the Valley of [br]Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why have you (DQ)brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you this day.” And all Israel stoned [bs]them with stones; and they burned them with fire [bt]after they had stoned them with stones. 26 Then they erected over him a large heap of stones that stands to this day, and the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called (DR)the Valley of [bu]Achor to this day.

The Conquest of Ai

Now the Lord said to Joshua, “(DS)Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you. Arise, go up to Ai; see, (DT)I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall (DU)take only its spoils and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. [bv]Set an ambush for the city behind it.”

So Joshua rose up with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night. He commanded them, saying, “See, you are (DV)going to ambush the city from behind [bw]it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as they did the first time, (DW)we will flee before them. They will come out after us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us just as they did the first time.’ So we will flee before them. Then you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will hand it over to you. Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it (DX)in accordance with the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.” So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people.

10 Now Joshua (DY)got up early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai. 11 Then all the people of war who were with him went up and approached, and arrived in front of the city; and they camped on the north side of Ai. And there was a valley between him and Ai. 12 Then he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between (DZ)Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the [bx]city. 13 So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley. 14 And it came about, when the king of Ai saw them, that the men of the city hurried and got up early, and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 Then Joshua and all Israel [by]pretended to be defeated before them, and fled (EA)by the way of the wilderness. 16 And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and (EB)were lured away from the city. 17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel, [bz]but they had all gone out after Israel, and they left the city [ca]unguarded and pursued Israel.

18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “(EC)Reach out with the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand it over to you.” So Joshua reached out with the sword that was in his hand toward the city. 19 Then the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had reached out with his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire. 20 When the men of Ai turned [cb]back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and [cc]killed the men of Ai. 22 [cd]The others came out from the city to confront them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, [ce]some on this side and some on that side; and they [cf]killed them until there was not (ED)one [cg]left who escaped or survived. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

24 Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 So (EE)all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the [ch]people of Ai. 26 For Joshua (EF)did not withdraw his hand with which he reached out with the sword until he had [ci]utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 (EG)Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of that city as plunder for themselves, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it (EH)a refuse heap forever, a desolation until this day. 29 And (EI)he hanged the king of Ai on [cj]a tree until evening; but at sunset Joshua gave the command and they took his body down from [ck]the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and erected over it a large heap of stones that stands to this day.

30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on (EJ)Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, (EK)an altar of uncut stones on which no one had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And he (EL)wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which [cl]he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. 33 (EM)And all Israel with their elders, officers, and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of (EN)Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel. 34 Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing and the curse, according to everything that is written in (EO)the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel (EP)with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were [cm]living among them.

Deception by the Gibeonites

Now it came about when (EQ)all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, the lowland, and on all the (ER)coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, (ES)the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard about it, that they met together with (ET)one [cn]purpose, to fight with Joshua and with Israel.

The inhabitants of (EU)Gibeon also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, but they on their part acted craftily and went and took provisions for a journey, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out, split open, and patched, and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. And they went to Joshua at the (EV)camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now then, make a covenant with us.” But the men of Israel said to the (EW)Hivites, “Perhaps you are living [co]within our land; (EX)how then are we to make a covenant with you?” So they said to Joshua, “(EY)We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” They said to him, “Your servants have come from (EZ)a very distant country because of the [cp]fame of the Lord your God; for (FA)we have heard the report about Him and all that He did in Egypt, 10 and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “(FB)We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was hot when we took it for our provisions from our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. 13 And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are split open; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and (FC)did not ask for the [cq]counsel of the Lord. 15 And (FD)Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

16 However, it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living [cr]within their land. 17 Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were (FE)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the sons of Israel did not [cs]attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. 20 This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath which we swore to them.” 21 So the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” And they became (FF)gatherers of firewood and [ct]labor to draw water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.

22 Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ (FG)when you are living [cu]within our land? 23 Now therefore, you are (FH)cursed, and [cv]you will never cease to be slaves, both gatherers of firewood and [cw]labor to draw water for the house of my God.” 24 So they answered Joshua and said, “(FI)Since your servants were fully informed that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing. 25 And now behold, (FJ)we are in your hands; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight to do.” 26 This he did to them, and saved them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But on that day Joshua made them gatherers of firewood and [cx]labor to draw water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, (FK)in the place which He would choose.

Five Kings Attack Gibeon

10 Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had [cy]utterly destroyed it (just (FL)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had (FM)made peace with Israel and were [cz]within their land, that [da]he (FN)feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word (FO)to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, “Come up to me and help me, and let’s [db]attack Gibeon, for it has (FP)made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” So the five kings of (FQ)the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not [dc]abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.” So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and (FR)all the people of war with him, and all the valiant warriors. And the Lord said to Joshua, “(FS)Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not [dd]one of them will stand against you.” So Joshua came upon them suddenly [de]by marching all night from Gilgal. 10 (FT)And the Lord brought them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them down in a great defeat at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And as they fled from Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, (FU)the Lord hurled large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died [df]from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord turned the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

(FV)Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
And moon, at the Valley of Aijalon!”
13 (FW)So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.

Is it not written in (FX)the Book of Jashar? And (FY)the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day. 14 There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for (FZ)the Lord fought for Israel.

15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp [dg]at Gilgal.

Victory at Makkedah

16 Now these (GA)five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told to Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men by it to guard them, 19 but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and [dh]attack them from behind. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has handed them over to you.” 20 It came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them down in a very great defeat, (GB)until they were destroyed, and the survivors of them who escaped [di]had entered the fortified cities, 21 that all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one [dj]uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.

22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 They did so, and (GC)brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the leaders of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come forward, (GD)put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and put their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua then said to them, “(GE)Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for the Lord will do this to all your enemies with whom you fight.” 26 So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he (GF)hanged them on five [dk]trees; and they were hung on the [dl]trees until evening. 27 Then it came about at [dm]sunset that Joshua gave the command, and (GG)they took them down from the [dn]trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

28 Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; (GH)he [do]utterly destroyed [dp]it and every [dq]person who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah (GI)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Joshua’s Conquest of Southern Canaan

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to (GJ)Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30 And the Lord also handed it over to Israel, with its king, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. 32 And the Lord handed Lachish over to Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

33 Then Horam king of (GK)Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua [dr]defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.

34 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. 35 They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he [ds]utterly destroyed on that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to (GL)Hebron, and they fought against it. 37 And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he [dt]utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to (GM)Debir, and they fought against it. 39 He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and [du]utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

40 So Joshua struck all the land, (GN)the hill country and the [dv]Negev and the lowland and the slopes, and (GO)all their kings. He left no survivor, but (GP)he [dw]utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of (GQ)Goshen even as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because (GR)the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp [dx]at Gilgal.

Northern Canaan Taken

11 Then it came about, when Jabin king of (GS)Hazor heard about it, that he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country, and in the (GT)Arabah—south of [dy]Chinneroth and in the lowland, and on the [dz]heights of Dor on the west— to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill country, and (GU)the Hivite [ea]at the foot of (GV)Hermon in the land of (GW)Mizpeh. Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, (GX)as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. So all of these kings gathered together, and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

Yet the Lord said to Joshua, “(GY)Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I am going to turn all of them over to Israel as good as dead; you shall (GZ)hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom, and attacked them. And the Lord handed them over to Israel, so that they [eb]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Great Sidon, and (HA)Misrephoth-maim, and the Valley of (HB)Mizpeh to the east; and they struck them until no survivor was left to them. And Joshua did to them just as the Lord had told him; he (HC)hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

10 Then Joshua turned back at that time and captured (HD)Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor previously was the head of all these kingdoms. 11 (HE)They struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, [ec]utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12 Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings; and he struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed them, just (HF)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned. 14 And (HG)all the spoils of these cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every person with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one breathing. 15 Just as the Lord had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

16 So Joshua took all that land: (HH)the hill country and all the [ed]Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, (HI)the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 from (HJ)Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon [ee]at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured (HK)all their kings, and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings. 19 There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except (HL)the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. 20 (HM)For it was of the Lord to [ef]harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might (HN)utterly destroy them, that they might [eg]receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

21 Then Joshua came at that time and eliminated (HO)the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, (HP)Gath, and (HQ)Ashdod some remained. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, in accordance with everything that the Lord had spoken to Moses; and (HR)Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. (HS)So the land was at rest from war.

Kings Defeated by Israel

12 Now these are the (HT)kings of the land whom the sons of Israel [eh]defeated, and they took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the Valley of the Arnon as far as Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah to the east: Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and ruled (HU)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, both the middle of the valley and half of Gilead, even as far as the brook Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; and the (HV)Arabah as far as the Sea of [ei]Chinneroth toward the east, and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Salt Sea, eastward [ej]toward (HW)Beth-jeshimoth, and on the south, [ek]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah; and the territory of Og king of Bashan, one of (HX)the remnant of Rephaim, who lived at (HY)Ashtaroth and at Edrei, and ruled over Mount Hermon, (HZ)Salecah, and all Bashan, as far as (IA)the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half of Gilead, as far as the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. Moses the servant of the Lord and the sons of Israel [el]defeated them; and (IB)Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as a possession.

Now these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel [em]defeated beyond the Jordan toward the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon even as far as (IC)Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir; and Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions, in (ID)the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, on the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the [en]Negev; the Hittite, the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: the (IE)king of Jericho, one; the (IF)king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; 10 the (IG)king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; 12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; 13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of (IH)Arad, one; 15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; 17 the king of Tappuah, one; the (II)king of Hepher, one; 18 the king of (IJ)Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; 19 the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; 20 the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; 21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; 22 the king of (IK)Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; 23 the king of Dor in the [eo]heights of Dor, one; the king of (IL)Goiim in Gilgal, one; 24 the king of Tirzah, one: (IM)in all, thirty-one kings.

Canaan Divided among the Tribes

13 Now (IN)Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and a very large amount of the land remains to be possessed. This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the (IO)Geshurites; from the Shihor which is [ep]east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it is counted as Canaanite); the (IP)five governors of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite [eq]to the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as (IQ)Aphek, to the border of the (IR)Amorite; and the land of the (IS)Gebalite, and all of Lebanon, toward the [er]east, (IT)from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as [es]Lebo-hamath. All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as (IU)Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will [et]drive out from the sons of Israel; (IV)only allot it to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you. Now therefore, apportion this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

With [eu]the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them (IW)beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them; from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon; 10 and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon; 11 and (IX)Gilead, and the [ev]territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah; 12 all the kingdom of (IY)Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses (IZ)struck them and [ew]drove them out. 13 But the sons of Israel did not [ex]drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; instead, Geshur and Maacath live among Israel to this day. 14 (JA)Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are [ey]their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

15 So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families. 16 Their [ez]territory was (JB)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba; 17 Heshbon and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 (JC)Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 (JD)Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, 20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, 21 even all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the leaders of Midian, (JE)Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the leaders of Sihon, who lived in the land. 22 The sons of Israel also killed (JF)Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their dead. 23 The border of the sons of Reuben was the [fa]Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.

24 Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad according to their families. 25 Their territory was (JG)Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer which is opposite Rabbah; 26 and from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of [fb]Debir; 27 and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan [fc]as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of [fd](JH)Chinnereth beyond the Jordan to the east. 28 This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.

29 Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families. 30 Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all (JI)the [fe]towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities; 31 also half of Gilead, with (JJ)Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families.

32 These are the territories which Moses apportioned as an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east. 33 But (JK)to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had [ff]promised to them.

Caleb’s Request

14 Now these are the territories which the sons of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which (JL)Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned to them as inheritances, by the (JM)lot of their inheritance, just as the Lord commanded [fg]through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. For (JN)Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but (JO)he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them. For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, (JP)Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property. The sons of Israel did exactly (JQ)as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and (JR)Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God on account of [fh]you and me in Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when (JS)Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people [fi]melt with fear; but (JT)I followed the Lord my God fully. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘(JU)The land on which your foot has walked shall certainly be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’ 10 And now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. 11 (JV)I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for (JW)going out and coming in. 12 Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that (JX)Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will [fj]drive them out just as the Lord has spoken.”

13 So Joshua (JY)blessed him and (JZ)gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully. 15 Now the name of Hebron was previously [fk]Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. (KA)Then the land was at rest from war.

Territory of Judah

15 Now (KB)the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families [fl]reached the (KC)border of Edom, southward to the (KD)wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that turns to the south. Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued to Zin, then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned to Karka. It (KE)continued to Azmon and proceeded to the [fm](KF)brook of Egypt, and the [fn]border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border. The (KG)eastern border was the Salt Sea, as far as the [fo]mouth of the Jordan. And the (KH)border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the [fp]mouth of the Jordan. Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. And the border went up to Debir from (KI)the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and [fq]it ended at En-rogel. Then the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the (KJ)Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is opposite the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim toward the north. And from the top of the mountain the border turned to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border turned to (KK)Baalah (that is, (KL)Kiriath-jearim). 10 The border turned from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and continued to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and continued through (KM)Timnah. 11 Then the border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. And the border turned to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the [fr]border ended at the sea. 12 The western border was (KN)at the Great Sea, even its [fs]coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.

13 Now (KO)he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion (KP)among the sons of Judah, in accordance with the [ft]command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, [fu]Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). 14 And (KQ)Caleb [fv]drove out from there the three (KR)sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. 15 Then (KS)he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir previously was Kiriath-sepher. 16 And Caleb said, “The one who [fw]attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, [fx]I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” 17 (KT)Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife. 18 (KU)And it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 19 Then she said, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the [fy]Negev, give me springs of water also.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.

21 Now the cities at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel, (KV)Eder, and Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, and Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, and Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, and Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, (KW)Beersheba, and Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, and Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, and Hormah, 31 (KX)Ziklag, Madmannah, and Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.

33 In the lowland: (KY)Eshtaol, Zorah, and Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam, 35 Jarmuth, (KZ)Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.

37 Zenan, Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpeh, and Joktheel, 39 (LA)Lachish, Bozkath, and Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmas, and Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

42 Libnah, Ether, and Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, and Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.

45 Ekron, with its towns and its villages; 46 from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the [fz]side of Ashdod, with their villages.

47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages, as far as (LB)the [ga]brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its [gb]coastline.

48 In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, and Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.

52 Arab, Dumah, and Eshan, 53 Janum, Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, and Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, and Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

58 Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.

60 Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

61 In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

63 Now as for the (LC)Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not [gc]drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

Territory of Ephraim

16 Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into (LD)the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. It went from Bethel to Luz, and (LE)continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. Then it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower (LF)Beth-horon even to (LG)Gezer, and [gd]it ended at the sea.

The (LH)sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was (LI)Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. Then the border went westward at (LJ)Michmethath on the north, and the border turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to (LK)Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From (LL)Tappuah the border continued westward to the [ge]brook of Kanah, and [gf]it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10 (LM)But they did not [gg]drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so (LN)the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

Territory of Manasseh

17 Now this was the lot for the tribe of (LO)Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, [gh]were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer, the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of Hepher, and the sons of Shemida; these were the male [gi]descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

However, (LP)Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So (LQ)in accordance with the [gj]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the (LR)land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

The border of Manasseh [gk]ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went [gl]southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but (LS)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. And the (LT)border went down to the [gm]brook of Kanah, southward of the [gn]brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the [go]brook, and [gp]it ended at the sea. 10 The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was [gq]their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. 11 In Issachar and in Asher, (LU)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is (LV)Napheth. 12 (LW)But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. 13 And it came about when the sons of Israel became strong, (LX)they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not [gr]drive them out completely.

14 Then the (LY)sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, though I am a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed up to this point?” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go [gs]up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 The sons of Joseph then said, “The hill country is not enough for us, but all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have (LZ)iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 But Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, 18 but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its [gt]farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall [gu]drive out the Canaanites, even though they have (MA)iron chariots and though they are strong.”

Rest of the Land Divided

18 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at (MB)Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

But there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “(MC)How long will you [gv]put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Provide for yourselves three men from [gw]each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall [gx]return to me. And they shall divide it into seven portions; (MD)Judah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. And you shall write a description of the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. (ME)Then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. For (MF)the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the Lord is [gy]their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to write a description of the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and write a description of it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in (MG)Shiloh.” So the men went and passed through the land, and wrote a description of it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10 (MH)Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land for the sons of Israel according to their divisions.

The Territory of Benjamin

11 Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot [gz]lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. 12 (MI)Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and [ha]it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 Then from there the border continued to (MJ)Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of (MK)lower Beth-horon. 14 And the border changed direction from there and turned around on the west side southward, from the hill which lies opposite Beth-horon southward; and [hb]it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side. 15 Then the (ML)south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 Then the border went down to the edge of the hill which is [hc]in the (MM)Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the Valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the Valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. 17 Then it turned northward and went to En-shemesh, and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the (MN)stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 18 And it continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah. 19 Then the border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the [hd]border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border. 20 Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families, and according to its borders all around.

21 Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, and Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, and Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, and Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and (MO)Geba; twelve cities with their villages. 25 Gibeon, Ramah, and Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, and Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, and Taralah, 28 (MP)Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the (MQ)sons of Benjamin according to their families.

Territory of Simeon

19 Then the second lot went to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families; and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah. So they had in their inheritance Beersheba or [he]Sheba and Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah, and Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, and Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages; and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the [hf]Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, because the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of [hg]Judah’s inheritance.

Territory of Zebulun

10 Now the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun according to their families. And the territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. 11 Then their border went up to the west and to Maralah, and it reached Dabbesheth and reached to the [hh]brook that is opposite Jokneam. 12 Then it turned from Sarid to the east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it proceeded to Daberath and [hi]up to Japhia. 13 From there it continued eastward toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it proceeded to Rimmon [hj]which stretches to Neah. 14 Then the border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and [hk]it ended at the Valley of Iphtahel. 15 Included also were Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. 16 This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Territory of Issachar

17 The fourth lot went to Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families. 18 Their territory was to Jezreel and included Chesulloth, (MR)Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, and Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, and Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. 22 The border reached to (MS)Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and [hl]their border ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages. 23 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

Territory of Asher

24 Now the fifth lot went to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families. 25 Their territory was Helkath, Hali, Beten, and Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath. 27 It turned toward the [hm]east to Beth-dagon and reached Zebulun, and to the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it proceeded on [hn]north to (MT)Cabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Great (MU)Sidon. 29 The border turned to Ramah and to the fortified city of Tyre; then the border turned to Hosah, and [ho]it ended at the sea by the region of (MV)Achzib. 30 Included also were Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 1:1 Or minister
  2. Joshua 1:7 Lit to observe
  3. Joshua 1:7 Or have insight
  4. Joshua 1:8 Lit observe
  5. Joshua 1:8 Or have insight
  6. Joshua 1:12 Lit said, saying
  7. Joshua 1:15 Lit the land of your possession
  8. Joshua 1:15 Lit it
  9. Joshua 1:18 Lit mouth
  10. Joshua 2:8 Lit they lay
  11. Joshua 2:10 Lit Sea of Reeds
  12. Joshua 2:10 Or put under the ban
  13. Joshua 2:11 Lit spirit arose
  14. Joshua 2:12 Or faithfulness
  15. Joshua 2:13 Lit let live
  16. Joshua 2:13 Lit souls
  17. Joshua 2:14 Lit soul
  18. Joshua 2:14 Lit instead of you to die
  19. Joshua 2:14 Or truly
  20. Joshua 2:17 Lit of yours
  21. Joshua 2:18 Lit behold
  22. Joshua 2:19 I.e., responsibility for his death
  23. Joshua 2:22 Lit through all the road
  24. Joshua 3:4 About 3,000 ft. or 914 m
  25. Joshua 3:13 Lit going
  26. Joshua 3:15 Lit were dipped in
  27. Joshua 3:16 Lit going
  28. Joshua 3:16 Lit going
  29. Joshua 4:5 Lit Cross before the ark
  30. Joshua 4:6 Lit So that this may be
  31. Joshua 4:6 Lit tomorrow
  32. Joshua 4:14 Or feared
  33. Joshua 4:14 Or feared
  34. Joshua 4:15 Lit Joshua, saying
  35. Joshua 4:18 Lit drawn out
  36. Joshua 4:20 Lit these
  37. Joshua 4:21 Lit Israel, saying,
  38. Joshua 4:23 Lit Sea of Reeds
  39. Joshua 4:24 Or revere
  40. Joshua 4:24 Lit all the days
  41. Joshua 5:1 Other mss we
  42. Joshua 5:3 I.e., the hill of the foreskins
  43. Joshua 5:6 Lit were finished
  44. Joshua 5:7 Lit circumcised them
  45. Joshua 5:9 I.e., wheel, or stone circle
  46. Joshua 5:11 Lit this
  47. Joshua 6:5 Lit in its place
  48. Joshua 6:5 Lit before himself
  49. Joshua 6:7 Another reading is they
  50. Joshua 6:11 Lit to go around
  51. Joshua 6:17 I.e., as an offering to God
  52. Joshua 6:17 Lit she and all
  53. Joshua 6:20 Lit they
  54. Joshua 6:20 Lit in its place
  55. Joshua 6:20 Lit before himself
  56. Joshua 6:21 Or put under the ban
  57. Joshua 6:24 I.e., tabernacle
  58. Joshua 6:25 Lit let live
  59. Joshua 7:2 Lit saying, Go
  60. Joshua 7:4 Lit before
  61. Joshua 7:5 Lit before
  62. Joshua 7:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  63. Joshua 7:7 Lit and had lived
  64. Joshua 7:8 Lit neck
  65. Joshua 7:12 Lit necks
  66. Joshua 7:16 Lit its tribes
  67. Joshua 7:20 Lit thus and thus I did
  68. Joshua 7:23 Lit emptied
  69. Joshua 7:24 Or cattle
  70. Joshua 7:24 I.e., disaster
  71. Joshua 7:25 Lit him
  72. Joshua 7:25 Lit and they stoned
  73. Joshua 7:26 I.e., disaster
  74. Joshua 8:2 Lit Set for yourself
  75. Joshua 8:4 Lit the city
  76. Joshua 8:12 I.e., Ai
  77. Joshua 8:15 Lit reversed before
  78. Joshua 8:17 Lit who had not gone
  79. Joshua 8:17 Lit open
  80. Joshua 8:20 Lit behind them
  81. Joshua 8:21 Lit struck
  82. Joshua 8:22 Lit These came
  83. Joshua 8:22 Lit these...these
  84. Joshua 8:22 Lit struck
  85. Joshua 8:22 Lit left to it one
  86. Joshua 8:25 Lit men
  87. Joshua 8:26 Lit put under the ban
  88. Joshua 8:29 Lit the wood
  89. Joshua 8:29 Lit the wood
  90. Joshua 8:32 I.e., Moses
  91. Joshua 8:35 Lit walking
  92. Joshua 9:2 Lit mouth
  93. Joshua 9:7 Lit among us
  94. Joshua 9:9 Or name
  95. Joshua 9:14 Lit mouth
  96. Joshua 9:16 Lit in the middle of it
  97. Joshua 9:18 Lit strike
  98. Joshua 9:21 Lit people drawing
  99. Joshua 9:22 Lit among us
  100. Joshua 9:23 Lit a servant will not be cut off from you
  101. Joshua 9:23 Lit people drawing
  102. Joshua 9:27 Lit people drawing
  103. Joshua 10:1 Or put under the ban
  104. Joshua 10:1 Lit among them
  105. Joshua 10:2 Lit they
  106. Joshua 10:4 Lit strike
  107. Joshua 10:6 Lit slacken your hands from
  108. Joshua 10:8 Lit a man
  109. Joshua 10:9 Lit he went up
  110. Joshua 10:11 Lit with
  111. Joshua 10:15 Lit to Gilgal
  112. Joshua 10:19 Lit strike their tail
  113. Joshua 10:20 Lit and had
  114. Joshua 10:21 Lit moved his tongue
  115. Joshua 10:26 Or wooden posts
  116. Joshua 10:26 Or wooden posts
  117. Joshua 10:27 Lit the time of the going of the sun
  118. Joshua 10:27 Or wooden posts
  119. Joshua 10:28 Lit put under the ban
  120. Joshua 10:28 Some mss them
  121. Joshua 10:28 Lit soul, and so throughout the ch
  122. Joshua 10:33 Lit struck
  123. Joshua 10:35 Lit put under the ban
  124. Joshua 10:37 Lit put it under the ban
  125. Joshua 10:39 Lit put under the ban
  126. Joshua 10:40 I.e., South country
  127. Joshua 10:40 Lit put under the ban
  128. Joshua 10:43 Lit to Gilgal
  129. Joshua 11:2 I.e., Sea of Galilee
  130. Joshua 11:2 Or Naphoth-dor
  131. Joshua 11:3 Lit under
  132. Joshua 11:8 Lit struck
  133. Joshua 11:11 Lit putting them under the ban, and so throughout the ch
  134. Joshua 11:16 I.e., South country
  135. Joshua 11:17 Lit under
  136. Joshua 11:20 Lit make strong
  137. Joshua 11:20 Lit have
  138. Joshua 12:1 Lit struck
  139. Joshua 12:3 I.e., Galilee
  140. Joshua 12:3 Lit the way of
  141. Joshua 12:3 Lit under
  142. Joshua 12:6 Lit struck
  143. Joshua 12:7 Lit struck
  144. Joshua 12:8 I.e., South country
  145. Joshua 12:23 Or Naphath-dor
  146. Joshua 13:3 Lit to the face of
  147. Joshua 13:4 Or from the Teman
  148. Joshua 13:5 Lit sunrise
  149. Joshua 13:5 Or the entrance of Hamath
  150. Joshua 13:6 Or dispossess them from
  151. Joshua 13:8 Lit it, the
  152. Joshua 13:11 Or border
  153. Joshua 13:12 Or dispossessed them
  154. Joshua 13:13 Or dispossess
  155. Joshua 13:14 Lit his
  156. Joshua 13:16 Or border
  157. Joshua 13:23 Lit Jordan and border
  158. Joshua 13:26 Or Lidebir
  159. Joshua 13:27 Lit and border
  160. Joshua 13:27 I.e., Galilee
  161. Joshua 13:30 Lit tent villages
  162. Joshua 13:33 Lit spoken to
  163. Joshua 14:2 Lit by the hand of
  164. Joshua 14:6 Lit me and you
  165. Joshua 14:8 I.e., become demoralized
  166. Joshua 14:12 Or dispossess
  167. Joshua 14:15 I.e., the city of Arba
  168. Joshua 15:1 Lit was to
  169. Joshua 15:4 Or wadi
  170. Joshua 15:4 Lit goings out of the border were
  171. Joshua 15:5 Lit end
  172. Joshua 15:5 Lit end
  173. Joshua 15:7 Lit the goings out of it were
  174. Joshua 15:11 Lit goings out...were
  175. Joshua 15:12 Lit border
  176. Joshua 15:13 Lit mouth
  177. Joshua 15:13 I.e., the city of Arba
  178. Joshua 15:14 Or dispossessed them
  179. Joshua 15:16 Lit strikes
  180. Joshua 15:16 Lit and I
  181. Joshua 15:19 I.e., South country
  182. Joshua 15:46 Lit hand
  183. Joshua 15:47 Or wadi
  184. Joshua 15:47 Lit border
  185. Joshua 15:63 Or dispossess them
  186. Joshua 16:3 Lit the goings out of it were
  187. Joshua 16:8 Or wadi
  188. Joshua 16:8 Lit the goings out of it were
  189. Joshua 16:10 Or dispossess
  190. Joshua 17:1 Lit and there was to him
  191. Joshua 17:2 Lit sons
  192. Joshua 17:4 Lit mouth
  193. Joshua 17:7 Lit was
  194. Joshua 17:7 Lit to the right hand
  195. Joshua 17:9 Or wadi
  196. Joshua 17:9 Or wadi
  197. Joshua 17:9 Or wadi
  198. Joshua 17:9 Lit goings out of it were
  199. Joshua 17:10 Lit its
  200. Joshua 17:13 Or dispossess
  201. Joshua 17:15 Lit up for yourself
  202. Joshua 17:18 Lit goings out
  203. Joshua 17:18 Or dispossess
  204. Joshua 18:3 Or show yourselves lax in
  205. Joshua 18:4 Lit the
  206. Joshua 18:4 Lit come
  207. Joshua 18:7 Lit his
  208. Joshua 18:11 Lit went out
  209. Joshua 18:12 Lit the goings out of it were
  210. Joshua 18:14 Lit the goings out of it were
  211. Joshua 18:16 Lit on the face of
  212. Joshua 18:19 Lit goings out of the border were
  213. Joshua 19:2 In Josh 15:26, Shema
  214. Joshua 19:8 I.e., South country
  215. Joshua 19:9 Lit their
  216. Joshua 19:11 Or wadi
  217. Joshua 19:12 Lit went up
  218. Joshua 19:13 Or and is marked off
  219. Joshua 19:14 Lit the goings out of it were
  220. Joshua 19:22 Lit the goings out of their border were
  221. Joshua 19:27 Lit sunrise
  222. Joshua 19:27 Lit from the left hand
  223. Joshua 19:29 Lit the goings out of it were

Joshua Installed as Leader

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,(A) the Lord said to Joshua(B) son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River(C) into the land(D) I am about to give to them(E)—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot,(F) as I promised Moses.(G) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon,(H) and from the great river, the Euphrates(I)—all the Hittite(J) country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.(K) No one will be able to stand against you(L) all the days of your life. As I was with(M) Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake(N) you. Be strong(O) and courageous,(P) because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors(Q) to give them.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey(R) all the law(S) my servant Moses(T) gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,(U) that you may be successful wherever you go.(V) Keep this Book of the Law(W) always on your lips;(X) meditate(Y) on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.(Z) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid;(AA) do not be discouraged,(AB) for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”(AC)

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people:(AD) 11 “Go through the camp(AE) and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions(AF) ready. Three days(AG) from now you will cross the Jordan(AH) here to go in and take possession(AI) of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,(AJ) Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest(AK) by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives,(AL) your children and your livestock may stay in the land(AM) that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle,(AN) must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites.(AO) You are to help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”(AP)

16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.(AQ) 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.(AR) Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey(AS) it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!(AT)

Rahab and the Spies

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies(AU) from Shittim.(AV) “Go, look over(AW) the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.(AX)” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab(AY) and stayed there.

The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab:(AZ) “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”

But the woman had taken the two men(BA) and hidden them.(BB) She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate,(BC) they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”(BD) (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax(BE) she had laid out on the roof.)(BF) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan,(BG) and as soon as the pursuers(BH) had gone out, the gate was shut.

Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof(BI) and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear(BJ) of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up(BK) the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt,(BL) and what you did to Sihon and Og,(BM) the two kings of the Amorites(BN) east of the Jordan,(BO) whom you completely destroyed.[b](BP) 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear(BQ) and everyone’s courage failed(BR) because of you,(BS) for the Lord your God(BT) is God in heaven above and on the earth(BU) below.

12 “Now then, please swear to me(BV) by the Lord that you will show kindness(BW) to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign(BX) 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them(BY)—and that you will save us from death.”

14 “Our lives for your lives!”(BZ) the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully(CA) when the Lord gives us the land.”

15 So she let them down by a rope(CB) through the window,(CC) for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the hills(CD) so the pursuers(CE) will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days(CF) until they return, and then go on your way.”(CG)

17 Now the men had said to her, “This oath(CH) you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord(CI) in the window(CJ) through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family(CK) into your house. 19 If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads;(CL) we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head(CM) if a hand is laid on them. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.(CN)

21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”

So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord(CO) in the window.(CP)

22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days,(CQ) until the pursuers(CR) had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands;(CS) all the people are melting in fear(CT) because of us.”

Crossing the Jordan

Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim(CU) and went to the Jordan,(CV) where they camped before crossing over. After three days(CW) the officers(CX) went throughout the camp,(CY) giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant(CZ) of the Lord your God, and the Levitical(DA) priests(DB) carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[c](DC) between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,(DD) for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things(DE) among you.”

Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you(DF) in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.(DG) Tell the priests(DH) who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God(DI) is among you(DJ) and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites,(DK) Hivites, Perizzites,(DL) Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.(DM) 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth(DN) will go into the Jordan ahead of you.(DO) 12 Now then, choose twelve men(DP) from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth(DQ)—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream(DR) will be cut off(DS) and stand up in a heap.(DT)

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant(DU) went ahead(DV) of them. 15 Now the Jordan(DW) is at flood stage(DX) all during harvest.(DY) Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing.(DZ) It piled up in a heap(EA) a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,(EB) while the water flowing down(EC) to the Sea of the Arabah(ED) (that is, the Dead Sea(EE)) was completely cut off.(EF) So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.(EG) 17 The priests(EH) who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground,(EI) while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.(EJ)

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,(EK) the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men(EL) from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones(EM) from the middle of the Jordan,(EN) from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.(EO)

So Joshua called together the twelve men(EP) he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan.(EQ) Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign(ER) among you. In the future, when your children(ES) ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’(ET) tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off(EU) before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial(EV) to the people of Israel forever.”

So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones(EW) from the middle of the Jordan,(EX) according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua;(EY) and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones(EZ) that had been[d] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.(FA)

10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. 12 The men of Reuben,(FB) Gad(FC) and the half-tribe of Manasseh(FD) crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites,(FE) as Moses had directed them.(FF) 13 About forty thousand armed for battle(FG) crossed over(FH) before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.

14 That day the Lord exalted(FI) Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.

15 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law(FJ) to come up out of the Jordan.”

17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place(FK) and ran at flood stage(FL) as before.

19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal(FM) on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones(FN) they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’(FO) 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’(FP) 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea[e] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.(FQ) 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know(FR) that the hand of the Lord is powerful(FS) and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.(FT)

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast(FU) heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[f] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear(FV) and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives(FW) and circumcise(FX) the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.[g]

Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age(FY)—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt.(FZ) All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness(GA) forty years(GB) until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us,(GC) a land flowing with milk and honey.(GD) So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.(GE)

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal[h](GF) to this day.

10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month,(GG) while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.(GH) 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land:(GI) unleavened bread(GJ) and roasted grain.(GK) 12 The manna stopped the day after[i] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.(GL)

The Fall of Jericho

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man(GM) standing in front of him with a drawn sword(GN) in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown(GO) to the ground(GP) in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[j] have for his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”(GQ) And Joshua did so.

Now the gates of Jericho(GR) were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered(GS) Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns(GT) in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.(GU) When you hear them sound a long blast(GV) on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout;(GW) then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.”(GX) And he ordered the army, “Advance(GY)! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark(GZ) of the Lord.”

When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard(HA) followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!(HB) 11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times.(HC) 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!(HD) 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[k](HE) to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute(HF) and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid(HG) the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things,(HH) so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction(HI) and bring trouble(HJ) on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron(HK) are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

20 When the trumpets sounded,(HL) the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout,(HM) the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.(HN) 21 They devoted(HO) the city to the Lord and destroyed(HP) with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

22 Joshua said to the two men(HQ) who had spied out(HR) the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.(HS) 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her.(HT) They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

24 Then they burned the whole city(HU) and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron(HV) into the treasury of the Lord’s house.(HW) 25 But Joshua spared(HX) Rahab the prostitute,(HY) with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho(HZ)—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath:(IA) “Cursed(IB) before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:

“At the cost of his firstborn son
    he will lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
    he will set up its gates.”(IC)

27 So the Lord was with Joshua,(ID) and his fame spread(IE) throughout the land.

Achan’s Sin

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[l];(IF) Achan(IG) son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[m] the son of Zerah,(IH) of the tribe of Judah,(II) took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned(IJ) against Israel.(IK)

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai,(IL) which is near Beth Aven(IM) to the east of Bethel,(IN) and told them, “Go up and spy out(IO) the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai,(IP) who killed about thirty-six(IQ) of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear(IR) and became like water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes(IS) and fell facedown(IT) to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening.(IU) The elders of Israel(IV) did the same, and sprinkled dust(IW) on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why(IX) did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?(IY) If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth.(IZ) What then will you do for your own great name?(JA)

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned;(JB) they have violated my covenant,(JC) which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied,(JD) they have put them with their own possessions.(JE) 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies;(JF) they turn their backs(JG) and run(JH) because they have been made liable to destruction.(JI) I will not be with you anymore(JJ) unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves(JK) in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

14 “‘In the morning, present(JL) yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses(JM) shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things(JN) shall be destroyed by fire,(JO) along with all that belongs to him.(JP) He has violated the covenant(JQ) of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”(JR)

16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen.(JS) He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah,(JT) was chosen.(JU)

19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory(JV) to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell(JW) me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder(JX) a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[n] two hundred shekels[o] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[p] I coveted(JY) them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.

24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons(JZ) and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.(KA) 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble(KB) on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”

Then all Israel stoned him,(KC) and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.(KD) 26 Over Achan they heaped(KE) up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.(KF) Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger.(KG) Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor[q](KH) ever since.

Ai Destroyed

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid;(KI) do not be discouraged.(KJ) Take the whole army(KK) with you, and go up and attack Ai.(KL) For I have delivered(KM) into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder(KN) and livestock for yourselves.(KO) Set an ambush(KP) behind the city.”

So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand.(KQ) When you have taken the city, set it on fire.(KR) Do what the Lord has commanded.(KS) See to it; you have my orders.”

Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush(KT) and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.

10 Early the next morning(KU) Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel(KV) marched before them to Ai. 11 The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12 Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah.(KW) But he did not know(KX) that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back(KY) before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.(KZ) 16 All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away(LA) from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin(LB) that is in your hand,(LC) for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand.(LD) 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly(LE) from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.(LF)

20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky,(LG) but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. 21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around(LH) and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives.(LI) 23 But they took the king of Ai alive(LJ) and brought him to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai.(LK) 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin(LL) until he had destroyed[r](LM) all who lived in Ai.(LN) 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.(LO)

28 So Joshua burned(LP) Ai[s](LQ) and made it a permanent heap of ruins,(LR) a desolate place to this day.(LS) 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset,(LT) Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks(LU) over it, which remains to this day.

The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal

30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal(LV) an altar(LW) to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool(LX) had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.(LY) 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.(LZ) 33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical(MA) priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born(MB) were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal,(MC) as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.(MD) 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.(ME)

The Gibeonite Deception

Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country,(MF) in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea(MG) as far as Lebanon(MH) (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites,(MI) Hivites(MJ) and Jebusites)(MK) they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.

However, when the people of Gibeon(ML) heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,(MM) they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded[t] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal(MN) and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country;(MO) make a treaty(MP) with us.”

The Israelites said to the Hivites,(MQ) “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty(MR) with you?”

“We are your servants,(MS)” they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country(MT) because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports(MU) of him: all that he did in Egypt,(MV) 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon,(MW) and Og king of Bashan,(MX) who reigned in Ashtaroth.(MY) 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”

14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire(MZ) of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace(NA) with them to let them live,(NB) and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near(NC) them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth(ND) and Kiriath Jearim.(NE) 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath(NF) to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled(NG) against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath(NH) we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live,(NI) but let them be woodcutters and water carriers(NJ) in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.

22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way(NK) from you,’ while actually you live near(NL) us? 23 You are now under a curse:(NM) You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told(NN) how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands.(NO) Do to us whatever seems good and right(NP) to you.”

26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites(NQ) woodcutters and water carriers(NR) for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose.(NS) And that is what they are to this day.

The Sun Stands Still

10 Now Adoni-Zedek(NT) king of Jerusalem(NU) heard that Joshua had taken Ai(NV) and totally destroyed[u](NW) it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon(NX) had made a treaty of peace(NY) with Israel and had become their allies. He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron,(NZ) Piram king of Jarmuth,(OA) Japhia king of Lachish(OB) and Debir(OC) king of Eglon.(OD) “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace(OE) with Joshua and the Israelites.”

Then the five kings(OF) of the Amorites(OG)—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal:(OH) “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army,(OI) including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid(OJ) of them; I have given them into your hand.(OK) Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”(OL)

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion(OM) before Israel,(ON) so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon.(OO) Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon(OP) and cut them down all the way to Azekah(OQ) and Makkedah.(OR) 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones(OS) down on them,(OT) and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(OU) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.(OV)
13 So the sun stood still,(OW)
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on[v] its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.(OX)

The sun stopped(OY) in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting(OZ) for Israel!

15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.(PA)

Five Amorite Kings Killed

16 Now the five kings had fled(PB) and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, 18 he said, “Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. 19 But don’t stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don’t let them reach their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”

20 So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely,(PC) but a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities.(PD) 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.

22 Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 When they had brought these kings(PE) to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put your feet(PF) on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet(PG) on their necks.

25 Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.(PH) This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” 26 Then Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were left hanging on the poles until evening.

27 At sunset(PI) Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.(PJ)

Southern Cities Conquered

28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors.(PK) And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.(PL)

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah(PM) and attacked it. 30 The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish;(PN) he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into Israel’s hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer(PO) had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.

34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon;(PP) they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron(PQ) and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone(PR) in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 2:10 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Joshua 2:10 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  3. Joshua 3:4 That is, about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters
  4. Joshua 4:9 Or Joshua also set up twelve stones
  5. Joshua 4:23 Or the Sea of Reeds
  6. Joshua 5:1 Another textual tradition we
  7. Joshua 5:3 Gibeath Haaraloth means the hill of foreskins.
  8. Joshua 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for roll.
  9. Joshua 5:12 Or the day
  10. Joshua 5:14 Or lord
  11. Joshua 6:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 18 and 21.
  12. Joshua 7:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 11, 12, 13 and 15.
  13. Joshua 7:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 2:6; Hebrew Zabdi; also in verses 17 and 18.
  14. Joshua 7:21 Hebrew Shinar
  15. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  16. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  17. Joshua 7:26 Achor means trouble.
  18. Joshua 8:26 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  19. Joshua 8:28 Ai means the ruin.
  20. Joshua 9:4 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) They prepared provisions and loaded their donkeys
  21. Joshua 10:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 28, 35, 37, 39 and 40.
  22. Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over