Chapter 4

The Twelve Memorial Stones. ¹ When the entire people had passed over the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ² “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each of the tribes, ³ and tell them to take twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan where the priests had been standing, and to carry them over with you, depositing them at the place where you will be camping this evening.”

⁴ So Joshua called the twelve men together whom the Israelites had chosen, one man from each tribe, ⁵ and Joshua said to them, “Cross over in front of the Ark of the Lord, your God, into the middle of the Jordan and have each man place a rock on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites. ^6 [a]These will serve as a reminder for you when, in the future, your children ask, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ ⁷ you will answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan stopped flowing before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan ceased to flow.’ These stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”

⁸ The Israelites did just what Joshua had commanded them to do. They picked up twelve stones from the Jordan’s riverbed, just as the Lord had instructed Joshua to do, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, and they brought them out to the place where they were camping that night and they laid them down there. ⁹ Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the Jordan’s riverbed, where the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had been standing. They are still there today.

¹⁰ Now the priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything that the Lord had directed Joshua to tell the people had been done, the things that Moses had ordered Joshua to do. The people hurried over, ¹¹ and when all the people had completed the crossing, the Ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests crossed over in front of the people. ¹² The men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and the men of one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh passed in front of the Israelites, clad in battle gear, as Moses had instructed them to do. ¹³ About forty thousand men clad in battle gear passed over before the Lord into the plains of Jericho to do battle. ¹⁴ That day the Lord exalted Joshua before all of Israel. They revered him as long as he lived, even as they had revered Moses.

¹⁵ The Lord then said to Joshua, ¹⁶ “Tell the priests who are carrying the Ark of Testimony^[b] to come up out of the Jordan.” ¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” ¹⁸ So the priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, came up out of the Jordan. As soon as the priests’ feet touched dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned back to their place, flowing at flood stage as they had before.

^19 [c]The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month,^[d] and they camped at Gilgal to the east of Jericho. ²⁰ Joshua erected the twelve stones that had been taken out of the Jordan at Gilgal. ²¹ He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ ²² tell your children, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry land.’ ²³ The Lord, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you could cross over, just as the Lord, your God, had dried up the Red Sea before us until we had crossed over it. ²⁴ He did this so that everyone upon the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is mighty and so that you might always fear the Lord, your God.”

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 [e]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 [f]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.^[g] 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^[h]

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.^{[i] 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^[j] 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^[k] 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.

Prologue^[a]

Chapter 1

¹ Since many different individuals have undertaken the task to set down an account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, ² in accordance with their transmission to us by those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word from the beginning, ³ I too, after researching all the evidence anew with great care, have decided to write an orderly account for you, Theophilus, who are so greatly revered, ⁴ so that you may learn the unquestioned authenticity of the teachings you have received.

The Infancy Narrative^[b]

Announcement of the Birth of John.^[c] At the time of the reign of King Herod of Judea,^[d] there was a priest named Zechariah, a member of the priestly order of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the eyes of God, observing blamelessly all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.

⁸ On one occasion, when his division was on duty and he was exercising his priestly office before God, ⁹ he was designated by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense.^{[e] 10} At the hour of the offering of incense, all the people were outside, praying. ¹¹ Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

¹² When Zechariah beheld him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear for you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ He will be a source of joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

“He will never imbibe wine or any strong drink. Even when he is still in his mother’s womb, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ and he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to reconcile fathers with their children and to convert the disobedient to the ways of the righteous, so that a prepared people might be made ready for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be assured of this? For I am an old man and my wife is well past the stage of giving birth.” ¹⁹ The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to convey to you this good news. ²⁰ But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their appointed time, you will lose your power of speech and will become mute until the day that these things take place.”

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