Joshua

Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal.

At that time, the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.”

Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

This is the reason Joshua circumcised: all the people who came out of Egypt, who were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.

Their children, whom he raised up in their place, were circumcised by Joshua; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them on the way.

The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal, to this day.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him, and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of the LORD’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”

The prince of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your shoes off of your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.

The LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor.

Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven shofars of rams’ horns before the LORD’s ark.”

It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven shofars of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced, and blew the shofars; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.

Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.”

Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the LORD’s ark.

At the seventh time, when the priests blew the shofars, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!

Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring out from there the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.”

But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Joshua commanded them with an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed is the man before the LORD, who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”

So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the land.” The men went up and spied out Ai.

They returned to Joshua, and said to him, “Don’t let all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Don’t make all the people to toil there, for there are only a few of them.”

Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the LORD’s ark until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? I wish that we had been content and lived beyond the Jordan!

The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you fallen on your face like that?

So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected.