Chronological
5 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they[a] crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites.[b]
A New Generation is Circumcised
2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.”[c] 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at the Hill of the Foreskins.[d] 4 This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the wilderness after they left Egypt.[e] 5 Now[f] all the men[g] who left were circumcised, but all the sons[h] born on the journey through the wilderness after they left Egypt were uncircumcised. 6 Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the wilderness until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off.[i] For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn by oath to their ancestors to give them,[j] a land rich in[k] milk and honey. 7 He replaced them with their sons,[l] whom Joshua circumcised. They were uncircumcised; their fathers had not circumcised them along the way. 8 When all the men[m] had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they had healed. 9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away[n] the disgrace[o] of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal[p] even to this day.
10 So the Israelites camped in Gilgal and celebrated the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month in the rift valley plains of Jericho.[q] 11 They ate some of the produce of the land the day after the Passover, including unleavened bread and roasted grain.[r] 12 The manna stopped appearing the day they ate[s] some of the produce of the land; the Israelites never ate manna again.[t] They ate from the produce of the land of Canaan that year.
Israel Conquers Jericho
13 When Joshua was near[u] Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword.[v] Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?”[w] 14 He answered,[x] “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army.[y] Now I have arrived!”[z] Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground[aa] and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army answered Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.
6 Now Jericho was shut tightly[ab] because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter.[ac] 2 The Lord told Joshua, “See, I am about to defeat Jericho for you,[ad] along with its king and its warriors. 3 Have all the warriors march around the city one time;[ae] do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns[af] in front of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 5 When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn,[ag] have the whole army give a loud battle cry.[ah] Then the city wall will collapse,[ai] and the warriors should charge straight ahead.”[aj]
6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and instructed them, “Pick up the ark of the covenant, and seven priests must carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 And he told[ak] the army,[al] “Move ahead[am] and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
8 When Joshua gave the army its orders,[an] the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved ahead and blew the horns as the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed behind. 9 Armed troops marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark blowing rams’ horns. 10 Now Joshua had instructed the army,[ao] “Do not give a battle cry[ap] or raise your voices; say nothing[aq] until the day I tell you, ‘Give the battle cry.’[ar] Then give the battle cry!”[as] 11 So Joshua made sure they marched the ark of the Lord around the city one time.[at] Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there.[au]
12 Bright and early the next morning Joshua had the priests pick up the ark of the Lord.[av] 13 The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams’ horns. 14 They marched around the city one time on the second day, then returned to the camp. They did this six days in all.
15 On the seventh day they were up at the crack of dawn[aw] and marched around the city as before—only this time they marched around it seven times.[ax] 16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua told the army,[ay] “Give the battle cry,[az] for the Lord is handing the city over to you![ba] 17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord;[bb] only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies[bc] we sent. 18 But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for God. If you take any of it, then you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster.[bd] 19 All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord.[be] They must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
20 The rams’ horns sounded,[bf] and when the army[bg] heard the signal,[bh] they gave a loud battle cry.[bi] The wall collapsed,[bj] and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.[bk] 21 They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city,[bl] including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys. 22 Joshua told the two men who had spied on the land, “Enter the prostitute’s house[bm] and bring out the woman and all who belong to her as you promised her.”[bn] 23 So the young spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and took them to a place outside[bo] the Israelite camp. 24 But they burned[bp] the city and all that was in it, except for the silver, gold, and bronze and iron items they put in the treasury of the Lord’s house.[bq] 25 Yet Joshua spared[br] Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family,[bs] and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel[bt] to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. 26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration:[bu] “The man who attempts to rebuild[bv] this city of Jericho[bw] will stand condemned before the Lord.[bx] He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!”[by] 27 The Lord was with Joshua and he became famous throughout the land.[bz]
Achan Sins and is Punished
7 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches.[ca] Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi,[cb] son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches.[cc] The Lord was furious with the Israelites.[cd]
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. 3 They returned and reported to Joshua,[ce] “Don’t send the whole army.[cf] About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai.[cg] Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.”[ch]
4 So about 3,000 men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures[ci] and defeated them on the steep slope.[cj] The people’s[ck] courage melted away like water.[cl]
6 Joshua tore his clothes;[cm] he and the leaders[cn] of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening[co] and threw dirt on their heads.[cp] 7 Joshua prayed,[cq] “O, Sovereign Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us? If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated[cr] before its enemies? 9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us[cs] from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?”[ct]
10 The Lord responded[cu] to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down?[cv] 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment![cw] They have taken some of the riches;[cx] they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions.[cy] 12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation.[cz] I will no longer be with you,[da] unless you destroy what has contaminated you.[db] 13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because this is what the Lord God of Israel has said, “You are contaminated,[dc] O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.”[dd] 14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order.[de] The tribe the Lord selects[df] must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families.[dg] The family the Lord selects must approach man by man.[dh] 15 The one caught with the riches[di] must be burned up[dj] along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”
16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order,[dk] and the tribe of Judah was selected. 17 He then made the clans of Judah approach, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach, and Zabdi[dl] was selected.[dm] 18 He then made Zabdi’s[dn] family approach man by man[do] and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor[dp] the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me.” 20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way:[dq] 21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon,[dr] 200 silver pieces,[ds] and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent, with the silver underneath.”
22 Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath.[dt] 23 They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placed[du] it before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, oxen, donkeys, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster.[dv] 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on[dw] us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.)[dx] 26 Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day[dy]) and the Lord’s anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.
Israel Conquers Ai
8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic![dz] Take the whole army with you and march against Ai![ea] See, I am handing over to you[eb] the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land. 2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai.[ec] Joshua selected 30,000 brave warriors and sent them out at night. 4 He ordered them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! 5 I and all the troops[ed] who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. 6 They will attack[ee] us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. 7 Then you rise up from your hiding place[ef] and seize[eg] the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 When you capture the city, set it[eh] on fire in keeping with the Lord’s message. See, I have given you orders.”[ei] 9 Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place[ej] west of Ai, between Bethel and Ai.[ek] Joshua spent that night with the army.[el]
10 Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered[em] the army,[en] and he and the leaders[eo] of Israel marched[ep] at the head of it[eq] to Ai. 11 All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city.[er] They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.[es] 12 He took 5,000 men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai. 13 The army was in position—the main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into[et] the middle of the valley.
14 When the king of Ai and all his people saw Israel, they rushed to get up early. Then the king and the men of the city went out to meet Israel in battle, at the meeting place near the rift valley.[eu] But he did not realize an ambush was waiting for him behind the city.[ev] 15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them, and they retreated along the way to the wilderness. 16 All the reinforcements[ew] in Ai[ex] were ordered[ey] to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 No men were left in Ai or Bethel;[ez] they all went out after Israel.[fa] They left the city wide open and chased Israel.
18 The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword[fb] in your hand, for I am handing the city[fc] over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. 19 When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked.[fd] They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. 20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw[fe] the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction.[ff] In the meantime the men who were retreating to the wilderness turned against their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke,[fg] they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. 22 At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle.[fh] The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the men[fi] of Ai who had chased them toward the wilderness[fj] (they all fell by the sword),[fk] all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. 25 So 12,000 men and women died[fl] that day, including all the men of Ai. 26 Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai.[fm] 27 But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in keeping with the Lord’s orders[fn] to Joshua. 28 Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day).[fo] 29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening.[fp] At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree.[fq] They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day).[fr]
Covenant Renewal
30 Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool.[fs] On it they offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord and sacrificed tokens of peace.[ft] 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses.[fu] 33 All the people,[fv] rulers,[fw] leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there.[fx] Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had previously instructed them to do for the formal blessing ceremony.[fy] 34 Then[fz] Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. 35 Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given[ga] before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them.[gb]
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