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The Israelites Cross the Jordan

Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove[a] and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing. Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp, giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a mile[b] behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”

Then Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.”

In the morning Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” And so they started out and went ahead of the people.

The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”

So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what the Lord your God says. 10 Today you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you. 11 Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River! 12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

14 So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. 15 It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, 16 the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea[c] until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.

17 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

Memorials to the Jordan Crossing

When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.

Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.

10 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed. 11 And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.

12 The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. 13 These armed men—about 40,000 strong—were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.

14 That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

15 The Lord had said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant[d] to come up out of the riverbed.” 17 So Joshua gave the command. 18 As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.

19 The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.[e] Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.

21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea[f] when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast[g] heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.

Israel Reestablishes Covenant Ceremonies

At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise this second generation of Israelites.[h] So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the entire male population of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.[i]

Joshua had to circumcise them because all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died in the wilderness. Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but none of those born after the Exodus, during the years in the wilderness, had been circumcised. The Israelites had traveled in the wilderness for forty years until all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died. For they had disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord vowed he would not let them enter the land he had sworn to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey. So Joshua circumcised their sons—those who had grown up to take their fathers’ places—for they had not been circumcised on the way to the Promised Land. After all the males had been circumcised, they rested in the camp until they were healed.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal[j] to this day.

10 While the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.[k] 11 The very next day they began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land. 12 No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the land, and it was never seen again. So from that time on the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan.

The Lord’s Commander Confronts Joshua

13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”

14 “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”

At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.

The Fall of Jericho

Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”

So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.”

After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant followed behind them. Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns. 10 “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp.

12 Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the Lord. All this time the priests were blowing their horns. 14 On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.

15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed[l] as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.

18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”

20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.

22 Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute’s house and bring her out, along with all her family.”

23 The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel.

24 Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.

26 At that time Joshua invoked this curse:

“May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone
    who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho.
At the cost of his firstborn son,
    he will lay its foundation.
At the cost of his youngest son,
    he will set up its gates.”

27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout the land.

Footnotes

  1. 3:1 Hebrew Shittim.
  2. 3:4 Hebrew about 2,000 cubits [920 meters].
  3. 3:16 Hebrew the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea.
  4. 4:16 Hebrew Ark of the Testimony.
  5. 4:19 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
  6. 4:23 Hebrew sea of reeds.
  7. 5:1 Hebrew along the sea.
  8. 5:2 Or circumcise the Israelites a second time.
  9. 5:3 Gibeath-haaraloth means “hill of foreskins.”
  10. 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew word galal, meaning “to roll.”
  11. 5:10 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
  12. 6:17 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in 6:18, 21.

Crossing the Jordan

Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim(A) and went to the Jordan,(B) where they camped before crossing over. After three days(C) the officers(D) went throughout the camp,(E) giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant(F) of the Lord your God, and the Levitical(G) priests(H) 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[a](I) between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,(J) for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things(K) 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(L) in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.(M) Tell the priests(N) 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(O) is among you(P) and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites,(Q) Hivites, Perizzites,(R) Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.(S) 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth(T) will go into the Jordan ahead of you.(U) 12 Now then, choose twelve men(V) 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(W)—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream(X) will be cut off(Y) and stand up in a heap.(Z)

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant(AA) went ahead(AB) of them. 15 Now the Jordan(AC) is at flood stage(AD) all during harvest.(AE) 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.(AF) It piled up in a heap(AG) a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,(AH) while the water flowing down(AI) to the Sea of the Arabah(AJ) (that is, the Dead Sea(AK)) was completely cut off.(AL) So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.(AM) 17 The priests(AN) who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground,(AO) while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.(AP)

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

So Joshua called together the twelve men(AV) 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.(AW) 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(AX) among you. In the future, when your children(AY) ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’(AZ) tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off(BA) 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(BB) to the people of Israel forever.”

So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones(BC) from the middle of the Jordan,(BD) according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua;(BE) and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones(BF) that had been[b] 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.(BG)

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,(BH) Gad(BI) and the half-tribe of Manasseh(BJ) crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites,(BK) as Moses had directed them.(BL) 13 About forty thousand armed for battle(BM) crossed over(BN) before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.

14 That day the Lord exalted(BO) 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(BP) 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(BQ) and ran at flood stage(BR) as before.

19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal(BS) on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones(BT) 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?’(BU) 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’(BV) 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[c] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.(BW) 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know(BX) that the hand of the Lord is powerful(BY) and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.(BZ)

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast(CA) heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[d] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear(CB) 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(CC) and circumcise(CD) the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.[e]

Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age(CE)—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt.(CF) 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(CG) forty years(CH) 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,(CI) a land flowing with milk and honey.(CJ) 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.(CK)

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

10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month,(CM) while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.(CN) 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land:(CO) unleavened bread(CP) and roasted grain.(CQ) 12 The manna stopped the day after[g] 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.(CR)

The Fall of Jericho

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man(CS) standing in front of him with a drawn sword(CT) 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(CU) to the ground(CV) in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[h] 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.”(CW) And Joshua did so.

Now the gates of Jericho(CX) 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(CY) 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(CZ) in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.(DA) When you hear them sound a long blast(DB) on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout;(DC) 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.”(DD) And he ordered the army, “Advance(DE)! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark(DF) 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(DG) 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!(DH) 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.(DI) 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!(DJ) 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[i](DK) to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute(DL) and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid(DM) the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things,(DN) 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(DO) and bring trouble(DP) on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron(DQ) are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

20 When the trumpets sounded,(DR) the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout,(DS) the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.(DT) 21 They devoted(DU) the city to the Lord and destroyed(DV) 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(DW) who had spied out(DX) 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.(DY) 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.(DZ) They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

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

26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath:(EG) “Cursed(EH) 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.”(EI)

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

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 3:4 That is, about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters
  2. Joshua 4:9 Or Joshua also set up twelve stones
  3. Joshua 4:23 Or the Sea of Reeds
  4. Joshua 5:1 Another textual tradition we
  5. Joshua 5:3 Gibeath Haaraloth means the hill of foreskins.
  6. Joshua 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for roll.
  7. Joshua 5:12 Or the day
  8. Joshua 5:14 Or lord
  9. 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.