Joshua 5:2–8

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.