Joshua 5
Good News Translation
5 All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea heard that the Lord had dried up the Jordan until the people of Israel had crossed it. They became afraid and lost their courage because of the Israelites.
The Circumcision at Gilgal
2 Then the Lord told Joshua, “Make some knives out of flint and circumcise the Israelites.” 3 So Joshua did as the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the Israelites at a place called Circumcision Hill. 4-6 (A)When the people of Israel left Egypt, all the males were already circumcised. However, during the forty years the people spent crossing the desert, none of the baby boys had been circumcised. Also, by the end of that time all the men who were of fighting age when they left Egypt had died because they had disobeyed the Lord. Just as he had sworn, they were not allowed to see the rich and fertile land that he had promised their ancestors. 7 The sons of these men had never been circumcised, and it was this new generation that Joshua circumcised.
8 After the circumcision was completed, the whole nation stayed in the camp until the wounds had healed. 9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have removed from you the disgrace of being slaves in Egypt.” That is why the place was named Gilgal,[a] the name it still has.
10 (B)While the Israelites were camping at Gilgal on the plain near Jericho, they observed Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11 The next day was the first time they ate food grown in Canaan: roasted grain and bread made without yeast. 12 (C)The manna stopped falling then, and the Israelites no longer had any. From that time on they ate food grown in Canaan.
Joshua and the Man with a Sword
13 While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw a man standing in front of him, holding a sword. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of our soldiers, or an enemy?”
14 “Neither,” the man answered. “I am here as the commander of the Lord's army.”
Joshua threw himself on the ground in worship and said, “I am your servant, sir. What do you want me to do?”
15 And the commander of the Lord's army told him, “Take your sandals off; you are standing on holy ground.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Footnotes
- Joshua 5:9 This name sounds like the Hebrew for “removed.”
Joshua 5
Names of God Bible
Preparations for the First Passover in Canaan
5 All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and all the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea heard that Yahweh had dried up the Jordan River so that the Israelites could cross. So they lost heart and had no courage left to face the people of Israel.
2 At that time Yahweh spoke to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise the men of Israel.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the men of Israel at the Hill of Circumcision.[a]
4 This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the soldiers had died on the way through the desert after they left Egypt. 5 The men who left Egypt had been circumcised. However, the men born later, on the way through the desert, were not circumcised. 6 For 40 years the Israelites wandered through the desert until all their soldiers who left Egypt died. They died because they disobeyed Yahweh. Yahweh swore that he would not let them see this land flowing with milk and honey which Yahweh had sworn to give our ancestors.
7 The sons who took their place had not been circumcised on the way. So Joshua circumcised them. 8 When all the men had been circumcised, they remained in the camp until they recovered.
9 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have removed the disgrace of Egypt from you.” So Joshua named the place Gilgal,[b] the name it still has today.
10 The people of Israel camped at Gilgal in the Jericho plain. There they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11 On the day after the Passover, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The day after that, the manna stopped. The people of Israel never had manna again. That year they began to eat the crops that grew in Canaan.
The Commander of the Lord’s Army Speaks with Joshua
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?” 14 He answered, “Neither one! I am here as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” Immediately, Joshua bowed with his face touching the ground and worshiped. He asked, “Sir, what do you want to tell me?” 15 The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did as he was told.
Footnotes
- Joshua 5:3 Or “Hill of Foreskins.”
- Joshua 5:9 There is a play on words here between Hebrew gilgal (rolled) and gallothi (roll away/remove).
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.