19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal(A) on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones(B) they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’(C) 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’(D) 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea[a] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.(E) 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know(F) that the hand of the Lord is powerful(G) and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.(H)

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast(I) heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[b] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear(J) and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives(K) and circumcise(L) the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.[c]

Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age(M)—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt.(N) All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness(O) forty years(P) until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us,(Q) a land flowing with milk and honey.(R) So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.(S)

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal[d](T) to this day.

10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month,(U) while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.(V) 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land:(W) unleavened bread(X) and roasted grain.(Y) 12 The manna stopped the day after[e] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 4:23 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Joshua 5:1 Another textual tradition we
  3. Joshua 5:3 Gibeath Haaraloth means the hill of foreskins.
  4. Joshua 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for roll.
  5. Joshua 5:12 Or the day

19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.

21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.

And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.

Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.

For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: unto whom the Lord sware that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.

And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.

11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.

12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.