Joshua 1-12

Amplified Bible

God’s Commission to Joshua

1 Now it happened after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant (attendant), saying,^{(A) 2} “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore ^[a]arise [to take his place], cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the ^[b]sons of Israel. ³ I have given you every place on which the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness [of Arabia in the south] and this Lebanon [in the north], even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates [in the east], all the land of the ^[c]Hittites (Canaan), and as far as the Great [Mediterranean] Sea toward the west shall be your territory. ⁵ No man will [be able to] stand before you [to oppose you] as long as you live. Just as I was [present] with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or abandon you. ⁶ Be strong and confident and courageous, for you will give this people as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers (ancestors) to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do [everything] in accordance with the entire law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper and be successful wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be ^[d]successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Assumes Command

¹⁰ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, ¹¹ “Go throughout the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to cross this [river] Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess [as an inheritance].’”

¹² To the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest (peace) and will give you this land [east of the Jordan].’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your ^[e]children, and your cattle shall [be allowed to] stay in the land which Moses gave you on this [eastern] side of the Jordan, but you shall go across [the river] before your brothers (the other tribes) armed for battle, all your brave warriors, and you shall help them [conquer and take possession of their land], ¹⁵ until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He has given you, and they also take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall [be allowed to] return to your own land, and take possession of that which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

^16 [f]They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we obey you; only may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. ¹⁸ Any man who rebels against your ^[g]command and does not obey everything that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.”

Rahab Shelters Spies

2 Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as scouts secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially ^[h]Jericho [the walled city].” So they went and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there. ² Now the king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy and search out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, because they have come [as spies] to search out all the land.” ⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them; so she said, “Yes, two men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ When it was time to close the [city] gate at dark, the men left; I do not know where they went. Pursue them quickly, for [if you do] you will overtake them.” ⁶ But [in fact] she had brought the scouts up to the roof and had hidden them under the ^[i]stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof [to dry]. ⁷ So the [king’s] men pursued them on the road to the Jordan as far as the ^[j]fords [east of Jericho]; as soon as the pursuers had gone out after them, the gate [of the city] was shut.

⁸ Now before the two men lay down [to sleep], Rahab came up to them on the roof, ⁹ and she said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror and dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted [in despair] because of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the ^[k]Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan [on the east], to Sihon and Og, whom you ^[l]utterly destroyed. ¹¹ When we heard it, our hearts melted [in despair], and a [fighting] spirit no longer remained in any man because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.^{(B) 12} And now, please swear [an oath] to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s household (family), and give me a pledge of truth and faithfulness, ¹³ and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, along with everyone who belongs to them, and let us all live.” ¹⁴ So the men said to her, “Our lives for yours if you do not tell [anyone about] this business of ours; then when the Lord gives us the land we will show you kindness and faithfulness [and keep our agreement with you].”

The Promise to Rahab

¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built ^[m]into the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. ¹⁶ And she said to them, “Go [west] to the hill country, so that the pursuers [who have headed east] will not encounter you; hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you can go your way.” ¹⁷ The men said to her, “We shall be blameless and free from this oath which you have made us swear, ¹⁸ unless, when we come into the land, you tie this ^[n]cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and bring into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household [so that they will be safe]. ¹⁹ But if anyone goes out the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head [that is, his own responsibility], and we shall be blameless and free [from our oath]; however, if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. ²⁰ But if you tell [anyone] this business of ours, we shall be blameless and free from the oath which you made us swear.” ²¹ She said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then Rahab sent them off, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

²² They left and went [on their way] to the hill country [west of Jericho], and stayed there [hidden in the caves] three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the road but had not found them. ²³ Then the two men turned back and came down from the hill country and crossed over [the Jordan] and came to Joshua the son of Nun [at Shittim], and told him everything that had happened to them. ²⁴ They said to Joshua, “Certainly the Lord has given all the land into our hands; for all the inhabitants of the land have melted [in despair] because of us.”

Israel Crosses the Jordan

3 Joshua got up early in the morning; then he and all the children of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they spent the night there before they crossed [the river]. ² And it happened at the end of three days that the officers went throughout the camp, ³ and they commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from where you are and follow it. ⁴ However, there shall be a distance between you and it of about 2,000 cubits (3,000 ft.) by measurement. Do not come near it, ^[o]so that you may [be able to see the ark and] know the way you are to go, for you have not passed this way before.”

⁵ Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves [for His purpose], for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders (miracles) among you.” ⁶ Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over [the river] ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went on ahead of the people.

⁷ The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to magnify and exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that just as I was with Moses, I will [also] be with you. ⁸ You shall command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” ⁹ Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here, and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will, without fail, drive out from before you the ^[p]Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you [leading the way] into the Jordan. ¹² So now take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. ¹³ When the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, [come to] rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing down from above will be cut off, and they will stand in one mass [of water].”

¹⁴ So when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan with the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were submerged at the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all of its banks throughout the time of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters which were flowing down from above stopped and rose up in one mass a great distance away at ^[q]Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan. Those [waters] flowing downward toward the sea of the Arabah, the ^[r]Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed [the river] opposite Jericho.^{(C) 17} And while all [the people of] Israel crossed over on dry ground, the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan [riverbed], until all the nation had finished crossing over the Jordan.

Memorial Stones from Jordan

4 So it was when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Take for yourselves the twelve men [chosen] from among the people, one man from each tribe, ³ and command them, ‘Pick up for yourselves twelve stones [one each] from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm; carry them over with you and lay them down at the place where you will spend the night tonight.’” ⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them, “Cross over again to the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, ⁶ so that this may be a sign among you; when your children ask later, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ then you shall say to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall become a memorial for Israel forever.”

⁸ So the [twelve men chosen from the] sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had spoken to Joshua; and they carried them over with them to the place where they were spending the night and put them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up [a second monument of] twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. ¹⁰ For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in accordance with everything that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried and crossed [the dry riverbed]; ¹¹ and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. ¹² The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed for battle before the [other] sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; ¹³ about 40,000 [men] armed and equipped for war crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.

¹⁴ On that day the Lord magnified and exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so they feared him [with profound awe and reverence], just as they had feared Moses all the days of his life.

¹⁵ Now the Lord said to Joshua, ¹⁶ “Order the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” ¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan.” ¹⁸ When the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of their feet were raised up to the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and flowed over all its banks as before.

¹⁹ Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth [day] of the first month and encamped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. ²⁰ And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹ He said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; ²⁴ so that all the peoples of the earth may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that the hand of the Lord is mighty and extraordinarily powerful, so that you will fear the Lord your God [and obey and worship Him with profound awe and reverence] forever.”

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 ^[s]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] ^[t]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.^{(D) 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, ^[u]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.^(E)

The Conquest of Jericho

6 Now Jericho [a fortified city with high walls] was tightly closed because [of the people’s fear] of the sons of Israel; no one went out or came in. ² The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty warriors. ³ Now you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do this [once each day] for six days. ⁴ Also, seven priests shall carry seven trumpets [made] of rams’ horns ahead of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall cry out with a great shout (battle cry); and the wall of the city will fall down in its place, and the people shall go up, each man [going] straight ahead [climbing over the rubble].”

⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called for the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets made of rams’ horns ahead of the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ He said to the people, “Go forward! March around the city, and let the armed men go ahead of the ark of the Lord.” ⁸ And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets made of rams’ horns went on before the Lord and blew the trumpets; then the ark of the covenant of the Lord went behind them. ⁹ The armed men went in front of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued to blow the trumpets. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout [the battle cry] nor let your voice be heard nor let a word come out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout!” ¹¹ So Joshua had the ark of the Lord taken around the city [on the first day], circling it once; then they came back into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

¹² Then Joshua got up early in the morning [on the second day], and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets made of rams’ horns ahead of the ark of the Lord went on continually, blowing the trumpets; and the armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued to blow the trumpets. ¹⁴ On the second day they marched around the city once, and returned to the camp; they did this for six days.

¹⁵ Then on the seventh day they got up early at daybreak and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day they marched around the city ^[v]seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷ The city and everything that is in it shall be under the ban [that is, designated to be destroyed as a form of tribute] to the Lord; only Rahab the prostitute and all [the people] who are with her in her house shall [be allowed to] live, because she hid and protected the messengers (scouts) whom we sent. ¹⁸ But as for you, keep yourselves [away] from the things under the ban [which are to be destroyed], so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban [for personal gain], and put the camp of Israel under the ban (doomed to destruction), and bring disaster upon it. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy (consecrated) to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” ²⁰ So the people shouted [the battle cry], and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout and the wall [of Jericho] fell down, so that the sons of Israel went up into the city, every man straight ahead [climbing over the rubble], and they overthrew the city. ²¹ Then they utterly destroyed everything that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

²² But Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all that she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” ²³ So the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and everything that she had; they also brought out all her relatives and allowed them to stay outside the camp of Israel [at Gilgal during the time required for ceremonial cleansing].^{(F) 24} Then they completely burned the city and everything that was in it. They put only the silver and the gold, and the articles of bronze and of iron, into the treasury of the house (tabernacle) of the Lord. ²⁵ So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and everything that she had; and she has lived among Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers (scouts) whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶ Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”^{(G) 27} So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

Israel Is Defeated at Ai

7 But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully and violated their obligation in regard to the things [off limits] under the ban [those things belonging to the Lord], for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban [for personal gain]. Therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.

² Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. ³ Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not make all the people go up [to fight]; have only about two thousand or three thousand men go up and attack Ai; do not make the entire army go up there, for they [of Ai] are few.” ⁴ So about three thousand men from the sons of Israel went up there, but they fled [in retreat] from the men of Ai. ⁵ The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of Israel’s men, and chased them from the gate as far as [the bluffs of] Shebarim and struck them down as they descended [the steep pass], so the hearts of the people melted [in despair and began to doubt God’s promise] and became like water (disheartened).

⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and [with great sorrow] they put dust on their heads. ⁷ Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord ^[w]God, why have You brought this people across the Jordan at all, only to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to live beyond the Jordan! ⁸ O Lord, what can I say now that [the army of] Israel has turned back [in retreat and fled] before their enemies? ⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear about it, and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name [to keep it from dishonor]?”

¹⁰ So the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them [to keep]. They have even taken some of the things under the ban, and they have both stolen and ^[x]denied [the theft]. Moreover, they have also put the stolen objects among their own things. ¹² That is why the ^[y]soldiers of Israel could not stand [and defend themselves] before their enemies; they turned their backs [and ran] before them, because they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from among you. ¹³ Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “There are things under the ban among you, O Israel. You cannot stand [victorious] before your enemies until you remove the things under the ban from among you.” ¹⁴ In the morning you shall come forward by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the Lord chooses by lot shall come forward by families, and the family which the Lord chooses shall come forward by [separate] households, and the household which the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵ It shall be that the one who is chosen with the things under the ban shall be [killed and his body] burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done a ^[z]disgraceful and disobedient thing in Israel.’”^(H)

The Sin of Achan

¹⁶ So Joshua got up early in the morning and had Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was chosen [by lot]. ¹⁷ He had the families of Judah come forward, and the family of the Zerahites was chosen; and he had the family of the Zerahites come forward man by man, and Zabdi was chosen. ¹⁸ He brought his household forward man by man; and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. ¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him [in recognition of His righteous judgments]; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.” ²⁰ So Achan answered Joshua and said, “In truth, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done: ²¹ when I saw among the spoils [in Jericho] a ^[aa]beautiful robe from Shinar (southern Babylon) and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I wanted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and they saw the stolen objects hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ²³ And they took them from the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and ^[ab]spread them out before the Lord. ²⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the [royal] robe, the bar of gold, ^[ac]his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor (Disaster). ²⁵ Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring you disaster this day.” Then all Israel stoned them [to death] with stones; afterward they burned their bodies in the fire. ²⁶ Then they piled up over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor (Disaster) to this day.

The Conquest of Ai

8 Now the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed (intimidated). Take all the men of war with you and set out, go up to Ai; see, I have given the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land into your hand. ² You shall do [the same] to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king; [except that] you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set up an ambush for the city behind it [on the west side].”

³ So Joshua set out with all the people of war to go up against Ai; then Joshua chose thirty thousand valiant men, and sent them out at night. ⁴ He commanded them, saying, “Listen closely, you are going to lie in wait and ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far away from the city, but all of you be ready. ⁵ Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us [for battle] as [they did] the first time, we will run away from them. ⁶ They will come out after us until we have lured them away from the city, because they will say, ‘They are running from us as [they did] before.’ So we will run from them. ⁷ Then you will emerge from the ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will hand it over to you. ⁸ When you have taken the city, you shall set it on fire; you shall do [exactly] as the Lord commanded. See, I have commanded you.” ⁹ So Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place for the ambush and stayed [hidden] between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people [in Gilgal].

¹⁰ Now Joshua got up early in the morning and assembled the people, and went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai. ¹¹ Then all the fighting men who were with him went up and advanced and arrived in front of the city, and camped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a ravine between them and Ai. ¹² And Joshua took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. ¹³ So they stationed the people, all the army—the main encampment that was north of the city, and their rear guard on the west side of the city—and Joshua spent that night in the valley. ¹⁴ Now when the king [and the people] of Ai saw it, the men of the city hurried and got up early and went out to meet Israel in battle, the king and all his people at the appointed [time and] place before the desert plain (the Arabah). But he did not know that there was an ambush against him [waiting] behind the city [on the west side]. ¹⁵ So Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them, and ran toward the wilderness. ¹⁶ Then all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. ¹⁷ Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel; so they left the city open and unguarded and they pursued Israel.

¹⁸ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Reach out with the spear that is in your hand [and point it] toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” So Joshua reached out with the spear in his hand [and pointed it] toward the city. ¹⁹ The [men in] ambush emerged quickly from their [hiding] place, and when Joshua stretched out his hand they ran and entered the city and captured it, and quickly set the city on fire. ²⁰ When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city was ascending toward the sky, ^[ad]and they had no opportunity to run this way or that way. Then the people who had been running to the wilderness turned back toward the pursuers. ²¹ When Joshua and all Israel saw that the [men in] ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was ascending, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. ²² Then the others came out of the city to confront the men of Ai [as they returned], so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; then Israel struck them until none of them survived or escaped. 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 in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵ And all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand, all the people of Ai. ²⁶ For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the spear until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷ Israel took only the livestock and the spoil of that city as plunder for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it a ^[ae]rubbish heap forever, a desolation until this day. ²⁹ He ^[af]hanged [the body of] the king of Ai on a tree [leaving it there] until evening; at sunset Joshua gave a command and they took the body down from the tree and dumped it at the entrance of the city gate, and piled a great heap of stones over it that stands to this day.

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 sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no one has wielded an iron tool; and they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. ³² And there, in the presence of the sons of Israel, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses which Moses had written. ³³ All Israel, the stranger as well as the native born [among them], with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on either side of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel. ³⁴ Then afterward Joshua read all the words of the law, the blessing and curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and the children and the foreigners who were living among them.

Guile of the Gibeonites

9 Now when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland [at the western edge of the hills of Judea], and all along the coast of the Great [Mediterranean] Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of this [army and its victories over Jericho and Ai], ² they gathered together with ^[ag]one purpose to fight with Joshua and with Israel.

³ But when the people of Gibeon [the Hivites] heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they too acted craftily and cunningly, and set out and took along provisions, but took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins (leather bottles) that were worn out and split open and patched together, ⁵ and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes; and all their supply of food was dry and had turned to crumbs. ⁶ They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; so now, make a covenant (treaty) with us.” ⁷ But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you are living within our land; how then can we make a covenant (treaty) with you?” ⁸ They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?” ⁹ They said to him, “Your servants have come from a country that is very far away because of the fame of the Lord your God; for we have heard the news about Him and all [the remarkable things] that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and everything that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon and to Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and all the residents of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for the journey and go to meet the sons of Israel and say to them, “We are your servants; now make a covenant (treaty) with us.”’ ¹² This bread of ours was hot (fresh) when we took it along as our provision from our houses on the day we left to come to you; now look, it is dry and has turned to crumbs. ¹³ These wineskins which we filled were new, and look, they are split; our clothes and our sandals are worn out because of the very long journey [that we had to make].” ¹⁴ So the men [of Israel] took some of their own provisions [and offered them in friendship], and [foolishly] did not ask for the counsel of the Lord. ¹⁵ Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant (treaty) with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation [of Israel] swore an oath to them.

¹⁶ It happened that three days after they had made a covenant (treaty) with them, the Israelites heard that they were [actually] their neighbors and that they were living among them. ¹⁷ Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now the cities [of the Hivites] were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸ But the sons of Israel did not strike them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord the God of Israel [to spare them]. And all the congregation murmured [expressing great dissatisfaction] against the leaders. ¹⁹ But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, so now we cannot touch them. ²⁰ This [is what] we will do to them: we will let them live, so that the wrath [of God] does not come upon us for [violating] the oath which we have sworn to them.” ²¹ The leaders said to them, “Let them live [as our slaves].” So they became the cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the entire congregation, just as the leaders had said of them.

²² Joshua called the [Hivite] men and said, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when [in fact] you live among us? ²³ Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall always be slaves, both cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the house of my God.” ²⁴ They replied to Joshua and said, “Because your servants were told in no uncertain terms that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the land’s inhabitants before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and so we did this [deceptive] thing. ²⁵ Now look, we are in your hands; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight.” ²⁶ So that is what he did to them; he rescued them from the hands of the Israelites and they did not kill them. ²⁷ Now on that day Joshua made them cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place which He would choose.

Five Kings Attack Gibeon

10 When Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it—as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king—and that the residents of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were [living] among them, ² he [and his people] feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. ³ So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ “Come up to me and help me, and let us attack Gibeon [with a combined army], because it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons (people) of Israel.” ⁵ Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and they camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

⁶ So the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not ^[ah]abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all [five of] the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have assembled against us.” ⁷ So Joshua ^[ai]went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the men of valor. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, because I have given them into your hand; not ^[aj]one of them shall stand before you.” ⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly, [surprising them] by marching [uphill] all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰ And the Lord caused them to panic and be confused before Israel, and He struck them dead in a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goes up to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones [of hail] from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. More [Amorites] died because of the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord handed over the Amorites to the sons of Israel, and Joshua said in the sight of Israel,

Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stood still in the middle of the sky and was in no hurry to go down for about a whole day. ¹⁴ There has not been a day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to (heeded) the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.

¹⁵ Then ^[ak]Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Victory at Makkedah

¹⁶ Now these five [Amorite] kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ And Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found and are hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸ Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them, ¹⁹ but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰ Now when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking the Amorites dead in a very great defeat, until they were wiped out, and the surviving remnant among them had entered the fortified cities, ²¹ all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one ^[al]uttered a [threatening] word against any of the sons of Israel.

²² Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring out to me those five [Amorite] kings from the cave.” ²³ They did so, and brought these five [Amorite] kings out of the cave to him—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴ When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and told the commanders of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come up close, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and put their feet on the necks [of the five kings]. ²⁵ Joshua said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed (intimidated)! Be strong and courageous, for this is what the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you [are about to] fight.” ²⁶ Then afterward Joshua struck them [with his sword] and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees; and they ^[am]hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷ At sunset Joshua gave a command, and they took the bodies down from the trees and threw them into the cave where the kings had hidden themselves, and placed large stones over the mouth of the cave, [where they remain] to this very day.

²⁸ Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and ^[an]everyone who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.^(I)

Joshua’s Conquest of Southern Canaan

²⁹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. ³⁰ The Lord gave it also along with its king into the hands of Israel, and Joshua struck it and every ^[ao]person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to the king of Libnah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ And Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³² The Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and Joshua captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.

³³ Then Horam king of Gezer went up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people down until he had left him no survivor.

³⁴ And Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³⁵ They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and on that day he utterly destroyed every person who was in it, just as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it ³⁷ and captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, just as he had done to Eglon. He utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and fought against it. ³⁹ He captured it with its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so Joshua did to Debir and its king, as he had done also to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰ So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, the Negev (South country) and the lowland and the slopes [that descend to the Dead Sea] and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.^{(J) 41} Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon. ⁴² Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³ So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Northern Canaan Taken

11 Then when Jabin king of Hazor heard [of Israel’s other victories] he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the kings who were in the north, in the hill country, and in the Arabah [the plain] south of Chinnereth (the Sea of Galilee) and in the lowland and on the hills of Dor on the west; ³ to the Canaanite in the east and in the west, and to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of [Mount] Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. ⁴ They went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵ So all these kings met and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

⁶ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow by this time I am going to hand over all of them slain [by the sword] to Israel; you shall hamstring (disable) their horses and set fire to their chariots.” ⁷ So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and attacked them. ⁸ The Lord handed them over to Israel, who struck them and pursued them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh; they struck them down until no survivor was left. ⁹ Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him; he hamstrung (disabled) their horses and set fire to their chariots.

¹⁰ At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and struck its king dead with the sword; for Hazor previously was the head of all these kingdoms. ¹¹ They struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he set fire to Hazor. ¹² Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.^{(K) 13} But Israel did not burn any of the cities that stood [walled and fortified] on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned. ¹⁴ The sons of Israel took as their plunder all the spoil of these cities and the cattle; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one ^[ap]alive. ¹⁵ Just as the Lord had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses had commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁶ So Joshua took all this land: the hill country, all the Negev (South country), all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah [plain], the hill country of Israel and its lowland ¹⁷ from Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir [in the south], even as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon [in the north]. He captured all their kings and struck them and put them to death. ¹⁸ Joshua waged war with all these kings ^[aq]a long time [at least five years]. ¹⁹ There was no city that made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took all the others in battle. ²⁰ For it was [the purpose] of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle so that Israel would utterly destroy them, that they would receive no mercy, but that Israel would destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²¹ Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the ^[ar]Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. ²² There were no Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod [of Philistia] some remained. ²³ So Joshua took the whole land [of Canaan], according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. So the land had rest from war.

Kings Defeated by Israel

12 Now these are the kings of the land whom the sons of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed beyond the Jordan toward the east, from the valley of the [river] Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah [plain] to the east: ² Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the [river] Arnon, both the middle of the valley and half of Gilead, and as far as the brook Jabbok, [which is] the border of the sons of Ammon; ³ and the Arabah [plain] as far as the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) eastward, and as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt (Dead) Sea, eastward toward Beth-jeshimoth, and southward to the foot of the slopes of [Mount] Pisgah; ⁴ and the territory of Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, ⁵ and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all of Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead, as far as the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. ⁶ Moses the servant of the Lord and the sons of Israel defeated them; and Moses the servant of the Lord gave their land as a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.^(L)

⁷ These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions, ⁸ in the hill country, in the lowland (foothills), in the Arabah [plain], on the slopes [descending to the Dead Sea], and in the wilderness, and in the Negev (South country)—the [lands of the] Hittite, the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite: ^9 [as]the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; ¹⁰ the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; ¹¹ the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; ¹² the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; ¹³ the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; ¹⁴ the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; ¹⁵ the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; ¹⁶ the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; ¹⁷ the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; ¹⁸ the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; ¹⁹ the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; ²⁰ the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; ²¹ the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; ²² the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; ²³ the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one; ²⁴ the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.