Add parallel Print Page Options

And it cometh to pass when all the kings of the Amorite which [are] beyond the Jordan, towards the sea, and all the kings of the Canaanite which [are] by the sea, hear how that Jehovah hath dried up the waters of the Jordan at the presence of the sons of Israel till their passing over, that their heart is melted, and there hath not been in them any more spirit because of the presence of the sons of Israel.

At that time said Jehovah unto Joshua, `Make for thee knives of flint, and turn back, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time;'

and Joshua maketh for him knives of flint, and circumciseth the sons of Israel at the height of the foreskins.

And this [is] the thing [for] which Joshua circumciseth [them]: all the people who are coming out of Egypt, who are males, all the men of war have died in the wilderness, in the way, in their coming out of Egypt,

for all the people who are coming out were circumcised, and all the people who [are] born in the wilderness, in the way, in their coming out from Egypt, they have not circumcised;

for forty years have the sons of Israel gone in the wilderness, till all the nation of the men of war who are coming out of Egypt, who hearkened not to the voice of Jehovah, to whom Jehovah hath sworn not to show them the land which Jehovah sware to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey, are consumed;

and their sons He raised up in their stead, them hath Joshua circumcised, for they have been uncircumcised, for they have not circumcised them in the way.

And it cometh to pass when all the nation have completed to be circumcised, that they abide in their places in the camp till their recovering;

and Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `To-day I have rolled the reproach of Egypt from off you;' and [one] calleth the name of that place Gilgal unto this day.

10 And the sons of Israel encamp in Gilgal, and make the passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plains of Jericho;

11 and they eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow of the passover, unleavened things and roasted [corn], in this self-same day;

12 and the manna doth cease on the morrow in their eating of the old corn of the land, and there hath been no more manna to the sons of Israel, and they eat of the increase of the land of Canaan in that year.

13 And it cometh to pass in Joshua's being by Jericho, that he lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, one standing over-against him, and his drawn sword in his hand, and Joshua goeth unto him, and saith to him, `Art thou for us or for our adversaries?'

14 And He saith, `No, for I [am] Prince of Jehovah's host; now I have come;' and Joshua falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and saith to Him, `What is my Lord speaking unto His servant?'

15 And the Prince of Jehovah's host saith unto Joshua, `Cast off thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place on which thou art standing is holy;' and Joshua doth so;

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast(A) heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear(B) 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(C) and circumcise(D) the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.[b]

Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age(E)—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt.(F) 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(G) forty years(H) 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,(I) a land flowing with milk and honey.(J) 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.(K)

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

10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month,(M) while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.(N) 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land:(O) unleavened bread(P) and roasted grain.(Q) 12 The manna stopped the day after[d] 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.(R)

The Fall of Jericho

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man(S) standing in front of him with a drawn sword(T) in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown(U) to the ground(V) in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[e] have for his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”(W) And Joshua did so.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 5:1 Another textual tradition we
  2. Joshua 5:3 Gibeath Haaraloth means the hill of foreskins.
  3. Joshua 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for roll.
  4. Joshua 5:12 Or the day
  5. Joshua 5:14 Or lord