13 And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said, “Whose side are you on—ours or our enemies’?”

14 He said, “Neither. I’m commander of God’s army. I’ve just arrived.” Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, “What orders does my Master have for his servant?”

15 God’s army commander ordered Joshua, “Take your sandals off your feet. The place you are standing is holy.”

Joshua did it.

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The Fall of Jericho

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man(A) standing in front of him with a drawn sword(B) 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(C) to the ground(D) in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[a] 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.”(E) And Joshua did so.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 5:14 Or lord