Beginning

Circumcision Renewed

5 When all the kings of the Amorites who were in the region west of the Jordan and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the people of Israel until we^[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted, and they lost all courage in the presence of the Israelites.

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise the sons of Israel again, a second time.” ³ So Joshua made flint knives, and he circumcised the sons of Israel at the Hill of the Foreskins.

⁴ This is the reason Joshua had to circumcise the men of Israel again: All the people who came up out of Egypt—all the males, the fighting men—died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt. ⁵ All the people who came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey after they had come out from Egypt had not been circumcised. ⁶ Yes, for forty years the Israelites walked through the wilderness until the whole nation was gone—all the fighting men who had gone out from Egypt, who had not listened to the voice of the Lord. The Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷ So it was their sons, whom the Lord had raised up in their place, whom Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since the people had not circumcised them during the journey.

⁸ When the whole nation had been circumcised, they stayed at their places in the camp until they recuperated.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is Gilgal^[b] to this day.

¹⁰ While the people of Israel were camped at Gilgal, they celebrated the Passover on the plain near Jericho on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening at sunset. ¹¹ They ate from the produce of the land on the day after the Passover. On that very day they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain. ¹² The manna stopped the day after the first day that they had eaten from the produce of the land. The people of Israel no longer received manna. Instead, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the Lord’s Army Leads the Campaign

¹³ When Joshua was at Jericho, he looked up and saw a man was standing right there in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?”

¹⁴ The man said, “Neither! I have now come as the commander of the army of the Lord.” Joshua fell with his face to the ground and worshipped. Then he said to him, “What does my Lord have to say to his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, “Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did so.

6 Jericho was shut up tight because of the Israelites. There was no one going out and no one coming in.

² So the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho and its king into your hands even though they are strong warriors. ³ You shall march around the city with all the fighting men. Circle the city one time. Do this for six days. ⁴ Seven priests shall carry seven special ram’s horns^[c] in front of the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the ram’s horns. ⁵ When there is a long blast on the special ram’s horn of jubilee, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn,^[d] all the people shall shout with a loud war cry. Then the wall of the city will collapse on itself, and the people^[e] will go up into the city, one man after another.”

The Fall of Jericho

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called for the priests and said to them, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant, and seven priests shall carry seven special ram’s horns in front of the Ark of the Lord.” ⁷ Then he said to the people, “Move out. March around the city. The armed contingent shall march in front of the Ark of the Lord.”

⁸ When Joshua had given orders to the people, the seven priests with the seven special ram’s horns moved forward in front of the Lord, blowing the ram’s horns continuously, with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord following them. ⁹ The armed contingent was marching ahead of the priests, who were blowing the ram’s horns, and the rear guard was following the ark. The priests kept blowing the ram’s horns as they went. ¹⁰ But to the people Joshua had given the order, “Do not shout and do not let your voice be heard. Do not let a word go out of your mouth until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” ¹¹ So he had the Ark of the Lord go around the city, sending it out to circle the city one time. Then they came back to the camp and spent the night there.

¹² Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests lifted up the Ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests with the seven special ram’s horns moved forward in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing the ram’s horns continuously. The armed contingent was marching in front of them, and the rear guard was following behind the Ark of the Lord. The priests kept blowing the ram’s horns as they went. ¹⁴ They marched around the city one time on the second day, and then they returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

¹⁵ Then on the seventh day they got up early, at daybreak, and they marched around the city seven times, following the directions they had been given. It was only on the seventh day that they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ Then on the seventh time, the priests blew the ram’s horns, and Joshua said to the people, “Shout, because the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city will be devoted to destruction.^[f] The city and everything in it will be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute will live—she along with all who are with her in the house—because she hid the agents whom we sent. ¹⁸ But you must keep away from the things devoted to destruction, or you will make yourselves subject to destruction by taking some of the devoted things, and you will make the camp of Israel subject to destruction and bring disaster upon it. ¹⁹ But all the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to^[g] the Lord. They must go into the treasury of the Lord.”

²⁰ So the people shouted, and the priests blew the ram’s horns. When the people heard the sound of the ram’s horns, they shouted with a loud war cry. Then the wall collapsed on itself, and the people went up into the city, one man after another. So they captured the city. ²¹ Then they applied the decree of destruction by the edge of the sword to everything that was in the city—both men and women, young and old, and also the oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

²² To the two men who had spied on the land Joshua said, “Go to the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and everyone who belongs to her, just as you swore to her.” ²³ So the young men who had acted as spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and everyone who belonged to her. They brought out all her family members, and they settled them outside the camp of Israel.

²⁴ But the city and everything in it they burned with fire. Only the silver and gold and the bronze and iron vessels were placed into the treasury of the House of the Lord. ²⁵ But Joshua spared the lives of Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and everyone who belonged to her, and she has lived within Israel to this day, because she hid the agents that Joshua sent to spy on Jericho.

²⁶ At that time Joshua swore an oath:

²⁷ So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread through the whole land.

Achan’s Sin

7 The people of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things. Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things, and the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

² Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He said to them, “Go up and spy on^[h] the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.

³ They returned to Joshua and told him, “All the people do not need to go up. Let about two or three thousand men go up, and they can defeat Ai. Do not trouble all the people with going up there, because there are only a few people in Ai.” ⁴ So about three thousand men from among the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. ⁵ The men of Ai struck dead about thirty-six of them. They pursued them from the city gate as far as Shebarim,^[i] and they struck them dead on the way down the descent. So the hearts of the people melted and turned to water.

⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell down with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord until evening—he and the elders of Israel. They also threw dust on their heads. ⁷ Joshua said, “Ah, my Lord God! Why did you bring this people across the Jordan to place us into the hand of the Amorites to exterminate us? If only we had been willing to settle in the area on the other side of the Jordan! ⁸ Please bear with me, my Lord! What can I say after Israel has turned its back before its enemies? ⁹ Now the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?”

¹⁰ Then the Lord gave directions to Joshua:

¹⁶ Joshua got up early in the morning, and he had Israel come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe of Judah was identified. ¹⁷ Then he had the tribe of Judah come forward, and he identified the clan of the Zerahites. Next, he had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by individual families, and Zabdi’s family was identified. ¹⁸ Then he had Zabdi’s household come forward one man at a time, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was identified.

¹⁹ Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory now to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him praise. Now tell me what you did. Do not conceal it from me.”

²⁰ Achan answered Joshua, “It is true. I am the one who has sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: ²¹ Among the plunder I saw an expensive Mesopotamian robe,^[l] a fine one, and two hundred shekels of silver and one wedge^[m] of gold—it weighed fifty shekels.^[n] I coveted them and I took them. Now they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver is underneath it.”

²² So Joshua sent agents. They ran to the tent, and there it was! The robe was hidden in his tent, and the silver was underneath it! ²³ They took them from the middle of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel, where they poured them out before the Lord.

²⁴ Then Joshua took Achan son of Zerah and the silver, the garment, and the wedge of gold, as well as Achan’s sons and his daughters, his ox, his donkey and his flock, and his tent and everything that belonged to him—so all Israel, led by Joshua, brought them up to the Valley of Achor.

²⁵ Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you this day!”

Then all Israel stoned Achan to death. They also burned him and them^[o] with fire, and they pelted them with stones. ²⁶ They erected a large heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from the heat of his anger. For that reason the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor^[p] to this day.

The Capture of Ai

8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid. Do not be overwhelmed. Take with you the whole military force^[q] and get ready to go up to Ai. You see, I have given the king of Ai into your hand with his people, his city, and his land. ² You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king, but its plunder and its livestock you may take as spoils of war for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city on the west side of it.”

³ So Joshua and the whole military force got ready to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, strong warriors, and sent them out during the night. ⁴ He commanded them, “See to it that you set up an ambush against the city on its west side, not very far from the city. All of you are to be on alert. ⁵ Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When the men of Ai come out to face us just as they did the first time, we will flee from them. ⁶ They will come out after us until we lure them away from the city, because they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us just as they did the first time!’ and we will flee from them. ⁷ Then you are to spring up from the ambush and seize the city, and the Lord your God will give it into your hand. ⁸ When you have taken the city, you are to set the city on fire. According to the word of the Lord you are to act in this way. Look, I have commanded you.”

⁹ So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place for the ambush. They lay hidden on the west side of Ai, between Bethel and Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people of the main force.

¹⁰ Joshua got up early in the morning, and he mustered the people. Then he went up—he and the elders of Israel—leading the main force of the people to Ai. ¹¹ The whole military force that was with him went up and advanced. They arrived opposite the city, and they camped north of Ai. The valley was between Joshua and Ai. ¹² He had taken about five thousand men and set them as an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.

¹³ This is how they positioned the people: The whole army that had come from the camp was north of the city, but the detachment in the ambush was west of the city. That night Joshua went out into the middle of the valley.

¹⁴ When the king of Ai saw this, the men of the city got up quickly and went out to face Israel in battle—the king and all his people—at the chosen place^[r] facing the Arabah. But he did not know that there was an ambush for him west of the city. ¹⁵ Then Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled toward the wilderness. ¹⁶ All the people that were in the city were marshaled to pursue them. As they pursued Joshua, they were lured away from the city. ¹⁷ So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.

¹⁸ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Point toward Ai with the javelin that is in your hand, because I will give Ai into your hand.” So Joshua reached out toward the city with the javelin that was in his hand. ¹⁹ The ambush force quickly sprang up from its place and came running as soon as he reached out his hand. Then they went into the city, took it, and quickly set it on fire.

²⁰ The men of Ai turned to look behind them, and, to their surprise, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky! They were not strong enough to escape this way or that, because the people of Israel who had been fleeing toward the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. ²¹ When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush force had taken the city and that smoke was rising from the city, they turned back and struck the men of Ai. ²² Then the other Israelites came out of the city against the men of Ai so that they were trapped in the middle of Israel, with some Israelites on this side of them and some on that. So Israel struck them down until there was no one left, no survivor, no escapee. ²³ But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴ When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai who were in the open country of the wilderness, into which the men of Ai had pursued them, and when all of the men of Ai had fallen by the edge^[s] of the sword so that they were finished off, then all Israel turned back to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵ All those who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. ²⁶ Joshua did not lower his hand that held the javelin until he had completely destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷ But the livestock and the plunder from that city the Israelites took as spoils of war for themselves, according to the word of the Lord that he had commanded Joshua.

²⁸ Then Joshua burned Ai and reduced it to a mound of rubble, which lies in ruins to this day. ²⁹ He hanged the king of Ai on a tree^[t] until evening. When the sun was setting, Joshua gave the command, and they took down his corpse from the tree and threw it at the entrance to the gatehouse of the city. Then they erected a large heap of stones over him, which remains to this day.

The Altar at Mount Ebal

³⁰ Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, ³¹ just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the people of Israel. According to the directions written in the Book of the Law of Moses, it was an altar of uncut stones, upon which no one had used an iron tool. They offered up burnt offerings to the Lord on it, and they also sacrificed fellowship offerings.

³² There on the stones Joshua wrote a copy of the Law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the people of Israel.

³³ All Israel with its elders and officers and its judges were standing on both sides of the ark facing the priests from the tribe of Levi who held the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Both the resident aliens and the native-born stood there, half in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded previously, so that the people of Israel could be blessed.

³⁴ After that, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, exactly as all of it is written in the Book of the Law.

³⁵ There was not one word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read aloud before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the children, and the aliens living among them.