The Commander of the Lord's Army

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, (A)a man was standing before him (B)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 (C)fell on his face to the earth and worshiped[a] and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, (D)“Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 5:14 Or and paid homage

Commander of the Lord’s Army

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

14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.”(B)

Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage(C) and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.”(D) And Joshua did that.

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