5 All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings by the sea heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed. And their hearts became weak. There was no spirit in them any more because of the people of Israel.

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Make knives for yourselves out of hard stone. And cut the piece of skin from the sex part of the sons of Israel as before.” ³ So Joshua made knives of hard stone. Then he had the sons of Israel go through this religious act at Gibeath-haaraloth. ⁴ This is the reason why Joshua had them go through this religious act. All the males who had come out of Egypt, all the soldiers, had died in the desert on the way from Egypt. ⁵ All the people who came out went through this religious act. But all the people who were born in the desert on the way from Egypt had not gone through this religious act. ⁶ For the people of Israel walked forty years in the desert, until all the men of war who came out of Egypt died, because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord. The Lord had promised them that He would not let them see the land He had promised to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷ So Joshua went through the religious act on their children, whom the Lord raised up in their place. For they had not gone through this religious act along the way. ⁸ When the whole nation had gone through this religious act, they stayed in their places among the tents until they were healed. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the shame of Egypt.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. ¹⁰ The people of Israel stayed at Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. ¹¹ On the very next day after the Passover, they ate some of the food of the land. They ate bread without yeast, and dry grain. ¹² The bread from heaven stopped on the day after they had eaten some of the food of the land. So the people of Israel no longer had bread from heaven. But they ate food of the land of Canaan during that year.

¹³ When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing near him with his sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said, “Are you for us or for those who hate us?” ¹⁴ “No,” He said, “I have now come as Captain of the army of the Lord.” Joshua fell on his face to the ground and worshiped, and said to Him, “What has my Lord to say to His servant?” ¹⁵ The Captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your shoes off your feet. For the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.