Now after the death of His servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Mosesʼ assistant, saying,
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people:
But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,
So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go.
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
Then the two men started back, came down from the hill country, and crossed the river. So they came to Joshua son of Nun and reported all that had happened to them.
“The LORD has surely delivered the entire land into our hands,” they said to Joshua. “Indeed, all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of us.”
Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
Now the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.
So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.”
He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,
So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,
and said to them, “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Israel,
Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down.
Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.
Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until the people had completed everything the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell them, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried across,
On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.
Then the LORD said to Joshua,
So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.”
And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.
At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.”
So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
Now this is why Joshua circumcised them: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of war—had died on the journey in the wilderness after they had left Egypt.
And he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORDʼs army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”
The Commander of the LORDʼs army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
And the LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor.
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven ramsʼ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”
After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven ramsʼ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!”
Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD.
After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!
Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”
And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her fatherʼs household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day.
At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
On returning to Joshua, they reported, “There is no need to send all the people; two or three thousand men are enough to go up and attack Ai. Since the people of Ai are so few, you need not wear out all our people there.”
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
“O, Lord GOD,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?
So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.
So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
“It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:
So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.
They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD.
Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
So Joshua and the whole army set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out at night
So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people.
Joshua got up early the next morning and mobilized his men, and he and the elders of Israel marched before them up to Ai.
So the forces were stationed with the main camp to the north of the city and the rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley.
Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.
Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai,
When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai.
But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai.
Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.
So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day.
He hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.
At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel,
There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to read before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.
they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; please make a treaty with us.”
“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?”
And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?
The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.
On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.
Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction—doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.
“Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
So Joshua and his whole army, including all the mighty men of valor, came from Gilgal.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.”
After marching all night from Gilgal, Joshua caught them by surprise.
On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
And Joshua was informed: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men there to guard them.
So Joshua and the Israelites continued to inflict a terrible slaughter until they had finished them off, and the remaining survivors retreated to the fortified cities.
The whole army returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one dared to utter a word against the Israelites.
Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.”
When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.
“Do not be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua said. “Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all the enemies you fight.”
After this, Joshua struck down and killed the kings, and he hung their bodies on five trees and left them there until evening.
At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.
On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, along with its king. He devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. So he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.
And Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish. They laid siege to it and fought against it.
At that time Horam king of Gezer went to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors.
So Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon, and all Israel with him. They laid siege to it and fought against it.
Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it.
Finally Joshua and all Israel with him turned toward Debir and fought against it.
So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign.
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”
So by the waters of Merom, Joshua and his whole army came upon them suddenly and attacked them,
Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.
At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword, because Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms.
Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORDʼs servant had commanded.
Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned.
As the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,
Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time.
At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.
So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.
And these are the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir (according to the allotments to the tribes of Israel, Joshua gave them as an inheritance
Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed.
Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel.
Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me.
Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.
According to the LORDʼs command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)
They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance among their fatherʼs brothers, in keeping with the command of the LORD.
Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has blessed us abundantly.”
Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”
So Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You have many people and great strength. You shall not have just one allotment,
So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?
As the men got up to go out, Joshua commanded them to map out the land, saying, “Go and survey the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will cast lots for you here in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.”
So the men departed and went throughout the land, mapping it city by city into seven portions. Then they returned with the document to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh.
And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.
When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them,
These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.
Then the LORD said to Joshua,
Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel
Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh
So Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way, and they went to their homes.
(To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan among their brothers.) When Joshua sent them to their homes he blessed them,
A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, when Joshua was old and well along in years,
he summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers. “I am old and well along in years,” he said,
Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.
But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.
“No!” replied the people. “We will serve the LORD!”
Then Joshua told them, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “We are witnesses!” they said.
So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice.”
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.
Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD.
And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”
Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Some time later, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
Israel had served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the works that the LORD had done for Israel.