Joshua 5

The Second Generation Circumcised

1 So it was, 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 children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel. So it was, 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 children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.5 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lordto whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.7 Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.8 So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the Army of the Lord

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are You for us or for our adversaries?14 So He said, No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What does my Lord say to His servant?15 Then the Commander of the Lords army said to Joshua, Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.

JOSHUA 5

1 The Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea lost their courage and their will to fight, when they heard how the [Lord] had dried up the Jordan River to let Israel go across.

Israel Gets Ready //To Celebrate Passover

2 While Israel was camped at Gilgal, the [Lord] said, “Joshua, make some flint knivest and circumcise the rest of the Israelite men and boys.”t
3 Joshua made the knives, then circumcised those men and boys at Haaraloth Hill.t

4-7 t This had to be done, because none of Israel's baby boys had been circumcised during the 40 years that Israel had wandered through the desert after leaving Egypt.
And why had they wandered for 40 years? It was because right after they left Egypt, the men in the army had disobeyed the [Lord]. And the [Lord] had said, “None of you men will ever live to see the land that I promised Israel. It is a land rich with milk and honey, and someday your children will live there, but not before you die here in the desert.”

8 Everyone who had been circumcised needed time to heal, and they stayed in camp.

9 The [Lord] told Joshua, “It was a disgrace for my people to be slaves in Egypt, but now I have taken away that disgrace.” So the Israelites named the place Gilgal, t and it still has that name.

10  t Israel continued to camp at Gilgal in the desert near Jericho, and on the fourteenth day of the same month, t they celebrated Passover.

11-12  t The next day, God stopped sending the Israelites mannat to eat each morning, and they started eating food grown in the land of Canaan. They ate roasted graint and thin breadt made of the barley they had gathered from nearby fields.

Israel Captures Jericho

13 One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man standing some distance in front of him. The man was holding a sword, so Joshua walked up to him and asked, “Are you on our side or on our enemies' side?”

14 “Neither,” he answered. “I am here because I am the commander of the [Lord]'s army.”
Joshua fell to his knees and bowed down to the ground. “I am your servant,” he said. “Tell me what to do.”

15 “Take off your sandals,” the commander answered. “This is a holy place.”
So Joshua took off his sandals.