Joshua 5

1 Now when all the kings of the Amorrhites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of Chanaan, who possessed the places near the great sea, had heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel, till they passed over, their heart failed them, and there remained no spirit in them, fearing the coming in of the children of Israel.

All the kings of the people-groups to the west of the Jordan River and all the kings of the groups who were descendants of Canaan and who lived close to the [Mediterranean] Sea heard about how Yahweh had dried up the water of the Jordan [River] until all we Israeli people had crossed over. So they became very dismayed. They no longer were courageous enough to fight us.

2 At that time the Lord said to Josue: Make thee knives of stone, and circumcise the second time the children of Israel.

While [they were camped at Gilgal], Yahweh said to Joshua, “[The Israeli males who lived in Egypt were circumcised before they left there. Now] make knives from flint stones and circumcise all the Israeli males [who have been born since then].”

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

So Joshua [made knives and] circumcised the Israeli males at a place that is now called ‘Circumcision Hill’.

4 Now this is the cause of the second circumcision: All the people that came out of Egypt that were males, all the men fit for war, died in the desert, during the time of the long going about in the way.

[The reason they did that is that all the men who left Egypt], those who were old enough to be soldiers, died in the desert after they left Egypt.

5 Now these were all circumcised. But the people that were born in the desert,

They had been circumcised in Egypt, but the baby boys who had been born while their parents were camping in the desert after they left Egypt had not been circumcised.

6 Luring the forty years of the journey in the wide wilderness, were uncircumcised: till all they were consumed that had not heard the voice of the Lord, and to whom he had sworn before, that he would not shew them the land flowing with milk and honey.

Our Israeli ancestors traveled around in the desert for 40 years, and all the men who were old enough to be soldiers had died. [The women had also died]. They had not obeyed Yahweh, so Yahweh said that they would not arrive at the land that he had promised to our ancestors that he would give to us, a land that was very fertile [MTY].

7 The children of these succeeded in the place of their fathers, and were circumcised by Josue: for they were uncircumcised even as they were born, and no one had circumcised them in the way.

The sons of those who had disobeyed Yahweh were the ones whom Joshua circumcised at Gilgal. They were circumcised because they had not been circumcised [while they were traveling in the desert].

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

After all the Israeli males had been circumcised, they remained in the camp and rested until their wounds were healed.

9 And the Lord said to Josue: This day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt. And the name of that place was called Galgal, until this present day.

Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “[Because your forefathers were slaves in Egypt], the Egyptians felt a revulsion toward you. But today I have removed the revulsion the Egyptians have had toward you.” Because of that, the people called the place ‘Gilgal’, [which sounds like the Hebrew word ‘removed’, ] and it still has that name.

10 And the children of Israel abode in Galgal, and they kept the phase on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plains of Jericho:

In the evening of the fourteenth day of that month, while the Israeli people were camped at Gilgal, on the plain near Jericho [city], they celebrated the Passover [Festival].

11 And they ate on the next day unleavened bread of the corn of the land, and frumenty of the same year.

The next day, they found some barley grain in the fields in that area. So they took that and roasted it and ate it with bread that was made without yeast.

12 And the manna ceased after they ate of the corn of the land, neither did the children of Israel use that food any more, but they ate of the corn of the present year of the land of Chanaan.

The next day, [God] stopped [sending] manna for the Israeli people to eat. After that, they ate food that was grown in Canaan.

13 And when Josue was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over against him: holding a drawn sword, and he went to him, and said: Art thou one of ours, or of our adversaries?

One day when Joshua came near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you [going to fight] for us or against us?”

14 And he answered: No: but I am prince of the host of the Lord, and now I am come. Josue fell on his face to the ground. And worshipping, add: What saith my lord to his servant?

The man replied, “I am not [planning to fight with you] or [against you]. Instead, I am the commander of Yahweh’s army [in heaven], and I have come [down from there to assure you that Yahweh will help you].” Then Joshua bowed down with his face on the ground (to show his respect for/to worship) the man, and said to him, “Tell me what [you want me to do].”

15 Loose, saith he, thy shoes from off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Josue did as was commanded him.

The commander of Yahweh’s army replied, “Take off your sandals! [I am Yahweh, and] the ground on which you are standing is holy because I am here.” So Joshua took off his sandals.