5All of the Amorite and Canaanite kings heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River. They heard how he had dried it up for the people of Israel until they had gone across it. The Amorite kings lived west of the Jordan. The kings of Canaan lived along the Mediterranean Sea.

When all of those kings heard what the Lord had done, their hearts melted away in fear. They weren’t brave enough to face the people of Israel anymore.

²At that time the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Make knives out of hard stone. Circumcise the men of Israel.”

³So Joshua made knives out of hard stone. Then he circumcised the men of Israel at Gibeath Haaraloth.

⁴Here is why Joshua circumcised them. All of the men who came out of Egypt had died. They died while they were going through the Sinai Desert after they had left Egypt. They were the men who were old enough to serve in the army. ⁵All of the men who came out had been circumcised. But all of the men who were born in the desert during the journey from Egypt hadn’t been circumcised.

⁶The people of Israel had moved around in the desert for 40 years. By the end of that time all of the men who were old enough to serve in the army when they left Egypt had died. That’s because they hadn’t obeyed the Lord. The Lord had taken an oath. He had told them they wouldn’t see the land. It’s the land he had promised with an oath to their people to give us. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey.

⁷Because they hadn’t obeyed him, he raised up their sons to take their place. They were the ones Joshua circumcised. They hadn’t been circumcised yet. That’s because no one had circumcised them during the journey. ⁸So Joshua circumcised all of those men. The whole nation remained in the camp until the men were healed.

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Today I have taken away from you the shame of being laughed at by Egypt.” That’s why the place where the men were circumcised has been called Gilgal to this very day.

¹⁰The people of Israel celebrated the Passover Feast. They observed it on the evening of the 14th day of the month. They did it while they were camped at Gilgal on the flatlands around Jericho. ¹¹The day after the Passover, they ate some of the food that was grown in the land. On that very day they ate grain that had been cooked. They also ate bread that was made without yeast. ¹²The manna stopped coming down the day after they ate the food that was grown in the land. The people of Israel didn’t have manna anymore. Instead, that year they ate food that was grown in Canaan.

Israel Captures Jericho

¹³When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword. He was ready for battle. Joshua went up to him. He asked, “Are you on our side? Or are you on the side of our enemies?”

¹⁴“I am not on either side,” he replied. “I have come as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua fell with his face to the ground. He asked the man, “What message does my Lord have for me?”

¹⁵The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” So Joshua took them off.

6The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the people of Israel. No one went out. No one came in.

²Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed its king and its fighting men over to you.

³“March around the city once with all of your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. ⁴Have seven priests get trumpets that are made out of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Have the priests blow the trumpets as you march.

⁵“You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, have all of the men give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will go up to the city. Every man will go straight in.”

⁶So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them, “Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷He gave an order to the men. He said, “Move out! March around the city. Some of the fighting men must march in front of the ark of the Lord.”

⁸When Joshua had spoken to the men, the seven priests went forward. They were carrying the seven trumpets as they marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They were blowing the trumpets. The ark of the Lord’s covenant was carried behind the priests. ⁹Some of the fighting men marched ahead of the priests who were blowing the trumpets. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. That whole time the priests were blowing the trumpets.

¹⁰But Joshua had given an order to the fighting men. He had said, “Don’t give a war cry. Don’t raise your voices. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

¹¹So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They spent the night there.

¹²Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests went and got the ark of the Lord. ¹³The seven priests who were carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets.

¹⁴On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They did all of those things for six days.

¹⁵On the seventh day, they got up at sunrise. They marched around the city, just as they had done before. But on that day they went around it seven times.

¹⁶On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets.

Then Joshua gave a command to the men. He said, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷The city and everything that is in it must be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. But the prostitute Rahab and all those who are with her in her house must be spared. That’s because she hid the spies we sent.

¹⁸“But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed. ¹⁹All of the silver and gold is holy. It is set apart to the Lord. So are all of the articles that are made out of bronze and iron. All of those things must be added to the treasures that are kept in the Lord’s house.”

²⁰The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the fighting men heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down. Every man charged straight in. So they took the city. ²¹They set it apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. They destroyed every living thing in it with their swords. They killed men and women. They wiped out young people and old people. They destroyed cattle, sheep and donkeys.

²²Then Joshua spoke to the two men who had gone in to check out the land. He said, “Go into the prostitute’s house. Bring her out. Also bring out everyone who is with her. That’s what you promised her you would do when you took an oath.”

²³So the young men who had checked out the land went into Rahab’s house. They brought her out along with her parents and brothers. They brought out everyone else who was there with her. They put them in a place that was outside the camp of Israel.

²⁴Then they burned the whole city and everything that was in it. But they added the silver and gold to the treasures that were kept in the Lord’s house. They also put there the articles that were made out of bronze and iron.

²⁵But Joshua spared the prostitute Rahab. He spared her family. He also spared everyone else who was in the house with her. He did it because she hid the spies he had sent to Jericho. Rahab lives among the people of Israel to this very day.

²⁶At that time Joshua took an oath and called down a curse. He said, “May the man who tries to rebuild this city of Jericho be under the Lord’s curse.

“If he lays its foundations,

it will cost the life of his oldest son.

If he sets up its gates,

it will cost the life of his youngest son.”

²⁷So the Lord was with Joshua. And Joshua became famous everywhere in the land.

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