Joshua 5
5:1 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord> had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they1 crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites.2
A New Generation is Circumcised
5:2 At that time the Lord> told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.”3
5:3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of the Foreskins.4
5:4 This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt.5
5:5 Now6 all the men7 who left were circumcised, but all the sons8 born on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt were uncircumcised.
5:6 Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord>, died off.9 For the Lord> had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them,10 a land rich in11 milk and honey.
5:7 He replaced them with their sons,12 whom Joshua circumcised. They were uncircumcised; their fathers had not circumcised them along the way.
5:8 When all the men13 had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they had healed.
5:9 The Lord> said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away14 the disgrace15 of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal16 even to this day.
5:10 So the Israelites camped in Gilgal and celebrated the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho.17
5:11 They ate some of the produce of the land the day after the Passover, including unleavened bread and roasted grain.18
5:12 The manna stopped appearing the day they ate19 some of the produce of the land; the Israelites never ate manna again.20
Israel Conquers Jericho
5:13 When Joshua was near21 Jericho,22 he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword.23 Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?”24
5:14 He answered,25 “Truly I am the commander of the Lord>’s army.26 Now I have arrived!”27 Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground28 and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”
5:15 The commander of the Lord>’s army answered Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.
Next Chapter