Joshua

5 As soon as all the kings of the Amʹor·ites+ who were on the west side* of the Jordan and all the kings of the Caʹnaan·ites+ who were by the sea heard that Jehovah had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, they lost heart,*+ and they lost all courage* because of the Israelites.+

2 At that time Jehovah said to Joshua: “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise+ the men of Israel again, a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the men of Israel at Gibʹe·ath-ha·arʹa·loth.*+ 4 This is why Joshua circumcised them: All the males of the people who left Egypt, all the men of war,* had died in the wilderness on the journey after they left Egypt.+ 5 All the people who left Egypt were circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the journey after they left Egypt were not circumcised. 6 The Israelites had walked for 40 years+ in the wilderness until the entire nation had died off, that is, the men of war who left Egypt who did not obey the voice of Jehovah.+ Jehovah swore to them that he would never let them see the land+ that Jehovah had sworn to their forefathers to give to us,+ a land flowing with milk and honey.+ 7 So he raised up their sons instead of them.+ These Joshua circumcised; they were uncircumcised because they had not circumcised them during the journey.

8 When they finished circumcising the entire nation, they remained where they were in the camp until they recovered.

9 Then Jehovah said to Joshua: “Today I have rolled away from you the reproach of Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilʹgal*+ until this day.

10 The Israelites continued to camp at Gilʹgal, and they observed the Passover on the 14th day of the month,+ in the evening, on the desert plains of Jerʹi·cho. 11 And they began to eat the produce of the land the day after the Passover, unleavened bread+ and roasted grains, on this same day. 12 Then the manna stopped on the day following when they had eaten some of the produce of the land; there was no longer manna for the Israelites,+ but they began to eat the produce of the land of Caʹnaan in that year.+

13 When Joshua was near Jerʹi·cho, he looked up and saw a man+ standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand.+ Joshua walked up to him and asked: “Are you on our side or on the side of our adversaries?” 14 To this he said: “No, but I have come as prince* of Jehovah’s army.”+ With that Joshua fell with his face to the ground and prostrated himself and said to him: “What does my lord have to say to his servant?” 15 The prince of Jehovah’s army replied to Joshua: “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy.” At once Joshua did so.+