Joshua 5

1 Therefore, after all the kings of the Amorites, who were living across the Jordan toward the western region, and all the kings of Canaan, who possessed the places beside the great sea, had heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel, until they crossed over it, their heart was broken, and there remained in them no spirit, out of fear at the entrance of the sons of Israel.

Now when the news came to all the kings of the Amorites on the west side of Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites living by the sea, how the Lord had made the waters of Jordan dry before the children of Israel, till they had gone across, their hearts became like water, and there was no more spirit in them, because of the children of Israel.

2 So at that time, the Lord said to Joshua: “Make for yourself knives of stone, and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.”

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, Make yourself stone knives and give the children of Israel circumcision a second time.

3 He did what the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

So Joshua made stone knives and gave the children of Israel circumcision at Gibeath-ha-araloth.

4 Now this is the reason for the second circumcision: All the people who departed from Egypt of the male gender, all the men fit for war, died in the desert during the very long wandering way;

And this is the reason why Joshua did so: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the fighting-men, had been overtaken by death in the waste land on the way, after they came out of Egypt.

5 all these had been circumcised. But the people who were born in the desert,

All the people who came out had undergone circumcision; but all the people whose birth had taken place in the waste land on their journey from Egypt had not.

6 throughout the forty years of the journey in the very broad wilderness, were uncircumcised, until the ones who had not listened to the voice of the Lord were consumed. For he had sworn to them before, that he would not reveal to them the land flowing with milk and honey.

For the children of Israel were wandering in the waste land for forty years, till all the nation, that is, all the fighting-men, who had come out of Egypt, were dead, because they did not give ear to the voice of the Lord: to whom the Lord said, with an oath, that he would not let them see the land which the Lord had given his word to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

7 The sons of these ones succeeded to the place of their fathers, and they were circumcised by Joshua. For they were uncircumcised, just as they had been born, and no one had circumcised them along the way.

And their children, who came up in their place, now underwent circumcision by the hands of Joshua, not having had it before: for there had been no circumcision on the journey.

8 Then, after they were all circumcised, they remained in the same place of the camp until they were healed.

So when all the nation had undergone circumcision, they kept in their tents till they were well again.

9 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And the name of that place was called Gilgal, even to the present day.

And the Lord said to Joshua, Today the shame of Egypt has been rolled away from you. So that place was named Gilgal, to this day.

10 And the sons of Israel stayed at Gilgal, and they kept the Passover, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the plains of Jericho.

So the children of Israel put up their tents in Gilgal; and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, in the lowlands of Jericho.

11 And on the following day, they ate unleavened bread from the grain of the land, and cooked grain, of the same year.

And on the day after the Passover, they had for their food the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and dry grain on the same day.

12 And the manna ceased after they ate from the grain of the land. And the sons of Israel no longer made use of that food. Instead, they ate from the grain of the present year, from the land of Canaan.

And there was no more manna from the day after they had for their food the produce of the land; the children of Israel had manna no longer, but that year the produce of the land of Canaan was their food.

13 And when Joshua was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and he saw a man standing opposite him, holding a drawn sword. And he went to him and said, “Are you one of ours, or one of our adversaries?”

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, lifting up his eyes he saw a man in front of him, with his sword uncovered in his hand: and Joshua went up to him and said, Are you for us or against us?

14 And he responded: “Not at all. Instead, I am a prince of the host of the Lord, and now I have arrived.” Joshua fell prone on the ground. And reverencing, he said, “What does my lord say to his servant?”

And he said, No; but I have come as captain of the armies of the Lord. Then Joshua, falling down with his face to the earth in worship, said, What has my lord to say to his servant?

15 He said: “Remove your shoes from your feet. For the place on which you stand is holy.” And Joshua did just as he had been commanded.

And the captain of the Lord's army said to Joshua, Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. And Joshua did so.