Chapter 5

The Circumcision at Gilgal. ¹ When all of the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all of the Canaanite kings who lived along the coast heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had passed over it, they grew fainthearted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

^2 [a]It was at that time that the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself and circumcise the Israelites again.” ³ So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth. ⁴ This is the reason why Joshua had to perform this circumcision. All of the men who had come out of Egypt, all of the fighting men, had died in the wilderness on their way from Egypt. ⁵ All of the men who had come out had been circumcised, but all of those who had been born in the wilderness on the way from Egypt had not been circumcised. ⁶ The Israelites had spent forty years in the wilderness until all of the fighting men who had come out of Egypt and who had not obeyed the command of the Lord had died. The Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had promised to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷ It was their children, whom he had raised up in their stead, whom Joshua circumcised, for they were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. ⁸ When he had finished circumcising the whole nation, they remained where they were until they recovered. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” So this site has been called Gilgal up to the present.

^10 [b]On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while they were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated Passover. ¹¹ The day after Passover, the very next day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and parched grain. ¹² The manna stopped the day after they had eaten the produce of the land. There was no more manna for the Israelites, but that same year they ate the produce of the land of Canaan.

¹³ Worship at Jericho.^[c] As Joshua drew near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” ¹⁴ He answered, “Neither. I, the commander of the army of the Lord, have now arrived.” Joshua fell to the ground, face first, and worshiped him. He said, “What does my lord bid of his servant?” ¹⁵ The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, “Take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Joshua did this.

Chapter 6^[d]

Jericho Overtaken. ¹ Now Jericho was shut up tight on account of the people of Israel, none went out and none came in. ² The Lord said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho, its king, and its mighty warriors into your hands. ³ Your soldiers are to march all around the city once, doing that for six days. ⁴ Seven priests will carry seven trumpets made from ram’s horns in front of the Ark. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times while the priests blow their trumpets.^{[e] 5} Then they will make a long blast on the ram’s horns. As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, have all of the people give a great shout. The walls will fall down, and the people will go on up, every man in a straight line.”

⁶ So Joshua, the son of Nun, summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant. Have seven priests holding trumpets made from rams’ horns precede the Ark of the Lord.” ⁷ He gave the command to the people, “Advance! March around the city with the armed soldiers walking in front of the Ark of the Lord.” ⁸ When Joshua finished speaking to the people, the seven priests carrying trumpets made from rams’ horns walked in front of the Lord and moved forward, blowing their trumpets, and the Ark of the Lord followed them. ⁹ The armed soldiers marched in front of the priests who were blowing their trumpets, and a rear guard followed the Ark. The whole time the trumpets were being blown. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, “Do not shout or raise your voices. Do not say a thing until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout.”

¹¹ So he had the Ark of the Lord carried around the city once. They then went back into the camp where they spent the night. ¹² Joshua rose early the next morning, and the priests took the Ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the trumpets made from rams’ horns went ahead of the Ark of the Lord, blowing on their trumpets as they went. The armed soldiers marched in front of them, and a rear guard followed the Ark of the Lord, with the trumpets being blown the whole time. ¹⁴ Thus they went around the city once on the second day, and then they returned to the camp. They did this for six days in a row.

¹⁵ On the seventh day they rose at daybreak and went around the city seven times just as they had before, but that day they went around the city seven times. ¹⁶ On the seventh time around when the priests blew their trumpets, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout out, for the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it are devoted^[f] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are in her household, for she hid the spies whom we sent there. ¹⁸ But avoid those things that are dedicated, lest you call a curse on yourself when you take something that is dedicated and you bring a curse and destruction upon the camp of Israel. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and objects of bronze and iron are dedicated to the Lord. They must go into the treasury of the Lord.”

²⁰ The people shouted and the priests blew their trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpets and the people let out a great shout, the wall collapsed, and each man went up in a straight line and they took the city. ²¹ They wiped out everything that was in the city, men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, by the edge of the sword.

²² Rahab’s Family Spared. But Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the countryside, “Go to the harlot’s house and bring her out to me, her and everyone who is with her, just as you promised her that you would do.” ²³ So the young men who had done the spying brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and everyone whom she had with her. They brought out the entire family and left them outside of the camp of Israel. ²⁴ They then burned the entire city with everything that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the objects of bronze and iron were put into the treasury in the house of the Lord. ²⁵ But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, along with her father’s household, and all that she owned because she had hid the spies whom Joshua had sent. She lives among the Israelites up to the present.

²⁶ Joshua then said, “May the man who attempts to rebuild this city, Jericho, be cursed by the Lord. May he lose his firstborn^[g] if he lays its foundation, may he lose his youngest if he sets up its gates.” ²⁷ The Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation became known throughout the land.

Chapter 7

Israelites Defeated at Ai.^{[h] 1} The Israelites, however, acted treacherously with regard to those things that had been dedicated. Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the dedicated things for himself. The Lord’s anger blazed forth against the Israelites. ² Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, to the east of Bethel. He said to them, “Go up and take a look at the countryside,” so the men went up and investigated Ai. ³ They returned and said to Joshua, “You should not send the entire nation there, only send about two or three thousand men against Ai to conquer it. You should not bother the whole nation, for there are not that many of them. ⁴ So about three thousand men went up there, and they had to flee from before the men of Ai. ⁵ The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them when they chased them from their gates all the way down to Shebarim. They killed them as they ran down the slopes, and the people’s courage melted away like water.

⁶ Joshua tore his clothes and threw himself face down on the earth in front of the Ark of the Lord, remaining there until the evening. The elders of Israel did the same, tossing dust upon their heads. ^7 [i]Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord, why did you bring this people across the Jordan just to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites so they could destroy us? It would have been better if we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan. ⁸ O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has fled before its enemies? ⁹ The Canaanites and all of the other inhabitants of the land will surely hear about this. They will surround us and wipe out remembrance of our name from the earth. What would happen to the grandeur of your name?”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned. They have violated my covenant that I commanded them to observe. They have taken some of the dedicated things for themselves. They have stolen, they have lied, they have placed these things together with their own property. ¹² This is why the Israelites could not stand up to their enemies. They turned their backs and fled because they were under a curse. I will not be with you anymore unless you wipe out those who are cursed from your midst. ¹³ Arise, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Sanctify yourselves in preparation for tomorrow. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “There are things that have been dedicated in your midst, O Israel. You will not be able to stand up to your enemies until you remove the dedicated things from your midst.” ¹⁴ In the morning you will present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord chooses will present itself clan by clan. The clan that the Lord chooses will present itself family by family. The family that the Lord chooses will present itself person by person.^{[j] 15} That person who has taken dedicated things will be thrown into the flames, he and all that he owns. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ ”

¹⁶ Achan’s Guilt and Punishment. Early the next morning Joshua had the people of Israel come forward by their tribes, and Judah was chosen. ¹⁷ The clans of Judah then came forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was chosen. The clan of the Zerahites came forward family by family, and the family of Zabdi was chosen. ¹⁸ The family came forward person by person, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah was chosen.

¹⁹ Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make your confession to him. Tell me now what you have done, do not hide it from me.” ²⁰ Achan answered Joshua, “I have truly sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, for this is what I have done. ²¹ I spotted among the spoils a good garment made in Babylonia,^[k] and two hundred silver shekels, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I coveted them so I took them. They are hidden in my tent, with the silver buried underneath it.”

²² Joshua sent some runners to the tent, and there it was in the tent, with the silver buried underneath it. ²³ They took it out of the tent and brought it to Joshua and to all of the Israelites, laying it out before the Lord. ^24 [l]Joshua, together with all of Israel, took Achan, the son of Zerah, along with the silver, the garment, and the bar of gold, his sons and his daughters, his oxen, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all his other property to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵ Joshua said, “Why have you brought this calamity upon us? The Lord will bring a calamity down upon you today.” Then all of the Israelites stoned him, and after they stoned the rest of them, they threw them in the fire. ²⁶ They piled up a great mound of stones over Achan that is still there to the present. The fierce anger of the Lord was thus quenched. This is why this site is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

Chapter 8

Joshua Conquers Ai. ¹ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged! Arise and take all of your soldiers with you, going up to Ai. See that I have given the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land into your hands. ² You shall treat Ai and its king just like you did Jericho, except that you can take its plunder and cattle for yourselves. Set up an ambush for them behind the city.”

³ So Joshua and all of the soldiers went up to Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of the strongest and most courageous and sent them out by night,^{[m] 4} commanding them, “Set up an ambush for them behind the city. Stay fairly close to the city, and be alert! ⁵ I will go with everyone who is with me and we will approach near the city. When they come out against us like they did before, we will flee before them. ⁶ They will chase after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say to themselves, ‘They are fleeing away from us just like the first time.’ When we flee from them, ⁷ you are to spring out of the ambush and take the city. The Lord, your God, will deliver it into your hands. ⁸ When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded you to do! See, you now have my orders.”

⁹ Joshua sent them off, and they went into their ambush, lying in wait between Bethel and Ai, on the western side of Ai. Joshua spent the night with his people. ¹⁰ Early the next morning Joshua mustered the people, and he and the elders^[n] of Israel marched off before them to Ai. ¹¹ All of the soldiers who were with him went up and approached the city, drawing up in front of it. They pitched camp on the northern side of Ai, with the valley lying between them and Ai. ¹² He had taken about five thousand men and set them up in an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the western side of the city. ¹³ All the soldiers were thus ready, those who were on the northern side of the city and those lying in wait on the western side of the city. That night Joshua went down into the valley. ¹⁴ When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men from the city rose early and went out to do battle with Israel at a fixed place in the plain. He did not know about the ambush that was lying in wait for him behind the city. ¹⁵ Joshua and all the Israelites were driven back before them, and they fled in the direction of the desert. ¹⁶ All of the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them. They followed after Joshua, and thus were drawn away from the city. ¹⁷ Every single man in Ai and Bethel went out after the Israelites. They left the city open and pursued the Israelites.

¹⁸ The Lord then said to Joshua, “Stretch out the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will deliver it into your hands.” So Joshua stretched out the spear in his hands toward the city. ¹⁹ As soon as he stretched out his hand, the men who were hiding in ambush rose from their place and rushed forward. They entered into the city and captured it, quickly setting it on fire. ²⁰ The men from Ai looked back, and they saw smoke rising up into the sky from the city. There was no possibility of fleeing in any direction, for the people who had fled into the desert turned back upon their pursuers. ²¹ Joshua and all of the Israelites saw that those who had been in ambush had taken the city and that smoke was rising up from the city, so they turned and attacked the men from Ai. ²² The others also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle between two Israelite forces. They cut them down; none of them escaped or survived ²³ except for the king of Ai, whom they captured alive and brought to Joshua.

²⁴ When the Israelites had finished killing all of those who lived in Ai, in the fields, and in the wilderness where they had chased them, putting all of them to the edge of the sword, all of the Israelites returned to Ai and put everyone in it to death by the sword. ²⁵ Twelve thousand men and women were slain that day, all of those who lived in Ai. ²⁶ Joshua did not pull back the hand that held the outstretched spear until he had wiped out everyone who had lived in Ai. ²⁷ The Israelites carried off the cattle and plunder from the city as booty for themselves, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. ²⁸ Joshua burned Ai, leaving it a heap of ruins, and it remains desolate to this very day. ²⁹ He hung the king of Ai from a tree until that evening. When the sun was setting, Joshua ordered that they should take his body down from the tree and toss it down at the entrance to the city gate. They piled a large mound of stones on it, which is still there today.

³⁰ The Altar on Mount Ebal.^[o] Joshua then built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord, the God of Israel ³¹ as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the Israelites to do in the book of the law. Moses had written, “It is to be an altar of unhewn stones that no one has touched with iron tools.” They offered burnt offerings to the Lord there, and also sacrificed peace offerings. ³² There, in front of all of the Israelites, he copied on the stones the law that Moses had written. ³³ All of the Israelites, including their elders, their officials, and their judges were standing on either side of the Ark. They were facing the priests, the Levites who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. There were both the foreigners and the native born. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of the people stood in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously commanded, so that they might bless the people of Israel. ³⁴ Afterward he read all of the words of the law along with its blessings and curses, just as all of it is written in the book of the law. ³⁵ Joshua read every single word that Moses had commanded before the whole assembly of Israel, along with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were living with them.