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¶ And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the sons of Israel until we had passed, that their heart melted, and there was no more spirit in them before the sons of Israel.

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

And Joshua made himself sharp knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people that had come out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, had died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.

Now all the people that had come out were circumcised; but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way, after they came forth out of Egypt, were not circumcised.

For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness until all the people that were men of war, who had come out of Egypt, were consumed because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD; therefore, the LORD swore unto them that he would not let them see the land which the LORD had sworn unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that flows with milk and honey.

But their sons, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised by the way.

And when they had finished circumcising all the people, they abode in the same place in the camp until they were whole.

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

10 ¶ And the sons of Israel encamped in Gilgal and celebrated the passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, in the plains of Jericho.

11 And they ate of the fruit of the land, unleavened cakes, on the next day after the passover and parched new ears of grain in the same day.

12 And the manna ceased on the next day after they had begun to eat of the fruit of the land; and the sons of Israel never had manna again; but they ate of the fruits of the land of Canaan that year.

13 ¶ And Joshua, being near Jericho, lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him and said unto him, Art thou one of us or one of our adversaries?

14 And he said, No, but I am the Prince of the host of the LORD; now I am come. Then Joshua falling upon his face in the earth worshipped him and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his slave?

15 And the Prince of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place on which thou dost stand is holy. And Joshua did 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