Joshua 5
Amplified Bible
Israel Is Circumcised
5 Now it happened when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted [in despair], and there was no [fighting] spirit in them any longer because of the Israelites [and what God had done for them].
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise the [new generation of the] sons of Israel as [was done] before.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at [a]Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness along the way after they left Egypt. 5 All the males who came out were circumcised, but all the males who were born in the wilderness on the way as they left Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the Israelites walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, died because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord; to them the Lord had sworn [an oath] that He would not let them see the land which He had promised to their fathers to give us, a land [of abundance] [b]flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was their uncircumcised sons whom He raised up in their place, whom Joshua circumcised, because circumcision had not been performed on the way.
8 Then, when they had finished circumcising all [the males of] the nation, they stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach (derision, ridicule) of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal (rolling) to this day.
10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. 11 On the day after Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread, and roasted grain.(A) 12 And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the Israelites no longer had manna, but they ate some of the produce of the land of Canaan during that year.
13 Now when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, [c]a man was standing opposite him with his drawn sword in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.” Then Joshua fell with his face toward the earth and bowed down, and said to him, “What does my lord have to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy (set apart to the Lord).” And Joshua did so.(B)
Footnotes
- Joshua 5:3 Hebrew for “the hill of the foreskins,” named for the event.
- Joshua 5:6 This phrase referred to the abundant fertility of the land of Canaan. Milk (typically that of goats and sheep) was associated with abundance; “honey” referred mainly to syrups made from dates or grapes and was the epitome of sweetness. Bees’ honey was very rare and was considered the choicest of foods.
- Joshua 5:13 Whether the divine messenger was an angel or the pre-incarnate Christ is not clear from the Hebrew text; however, the message of godly assistance and pending victory was made clear to Joshua by the encounter.
Joshua 5
English Standard Version
The New Generation Circumcised
5 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites (A)who were by the sea, (B)heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts (C)melted and (D)there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make (E)flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.[a] 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: (F)all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the people of Israel walked (G)forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord (H)swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, (I)a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was (J)their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.
8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the (K)reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called (L)Gilgal[b] to this day.
First Passover in Canaan
10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover (M)on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And (N)the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
The Commander of the Lord's Army
13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, (O)a man was standing before him (P)with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua (Q)fell on his face to the earth and worshiped[c] and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, (R)“Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Footnotes
- Joshua 5:3 Gibeath-haaraloth means the hill of the foreskins
- Joshua 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for to roll
- Joshua 5:14 Or and paid homage
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.