Joshua 5–6

5And 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, ^awhich were by the sea, ^bheard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart ^cmelted, ^dneither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

²At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee ^||sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. ³And Joshua made him ^||sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at ^||the hill of the foreskins. ⁴And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: ^eAll 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. ⁵Now 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. ⁶For the children of Israel walked ^fforty 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 ^gsware that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, ^ha land that floweth with milk and honey. ⁷And ⁱtheir children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. ⁸And it came to pass, ^†when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, ^ktill they were whole. ⁹And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away ^lthe reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called ^||mGilgal unto this day.

¹⁰And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover ⁿon the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. ¹¹And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and ^oparched corn in the selfsame day. ¹²And ^pthe 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.

¹³And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood ^qa man over against him ^rwith his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? ¹⁴And he said, Nay; but as ^||captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua ^sfell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? ¹⁵And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, ^tLoose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

6Now Jericho ^†was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. ²And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, ^aI have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and ^bthe mighty men of valour. ³And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. ⁴And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven ^ctrumpets ^dof rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and ^ethe priests shall blow with the trumpets. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that when they ^fmake a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down ^†flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

⁶And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. ⁷And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord. ⁸And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. ⁹And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the ^†rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. ¹⁰And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor ^†make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. ¹¹So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. ¹²And Joshua rose early in the morning, and ^gthe priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. ¹⁴And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. ¹⁵And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. ¹⁶And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. ¹⁷And the city shall be ^||accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because ^hshe hid the messengers that we sent. ¹⁸And ye, ^hin any wise keep yourselves from the ^||accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the ^||accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel ^||a curse, and ⁱtrouble it. ¹⁹But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are ^†consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. ²⁰So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that ^kthe wall fell down ^†flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ²¹And they ^lutterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. ²²But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, ^mas ye sware unto her. ²³And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, ⁿand her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her ^†kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. ²⁴And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: ^oonly the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and ^pshe dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. ²⁶And Joshua ^qadjured them at that time, saying, ^rCursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. ^27sSo the Lord was with Joshua; and ^this fame was noised throughout all the country.