001:001 Now it happened after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh,
that Yahweh spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying,
001:002 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan,
you, and all this people, to the land which I give to them,
even to the children of Israel.
001:003 I have given you every place that the sole of your foot will
tread on, as I told Moses.
001:004 From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even to the great river,
the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites,
and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun,
shall be your border.
001:005 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.
As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail
you nor forsake you.
001:006 Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this
people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers
to give them.
001:007 Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according
to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you.
Don't turn from it to the right hand or to the left,
that you may have good success wherever you go.
001:008 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth,
but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may
observe to do according to all that is written therein:
for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you
shall have good success.
001:009 Haven't I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage.
Don't be afraid, neither be dismayed: for Yahweh your God
is with you wherever you go.
001:010 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
001:011 "Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people,
saying, 'Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass
over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which Yahweh
your God gives you to possess it.'"
001:012 Joshua spoke to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to
the half-tribe of Manasseh, saying,
001:013 "Remember the word which Moses the servant of Yahweh
commanded you, saying, 'Yahweh your God gives you rest,
and will give you this land.
001:014 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock, shall live
in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but you
shall pass over before your brothers armed, all the mighty
men of valor, and shall help them
001:015 until Yahweh has given your brothers rest, as he has given you,
and they have also possessed the land which Yahweh your God
gives them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession,
and possess it, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you
beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.'"
001:016 They answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us
we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
001:017 Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you.
Only may Yahweh your God be with you, as he was with Moses.
001:018 Whoever rebels against your commandment, and doesn't listen to your
words in all that you command him, he shall be put to death.
Only be strong and of good courage."
002:001 Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim
as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, and Jericho."
They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name
was Rahab, and slept there.
002:002 The king of Jericho was told, "Behold, men of the children
of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land."
002:003 The king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men
who have come to you, who have entered into your house;
for they have come to spy out all the land."
002:004 The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "Yes,
the men came to me, but I didn't know where they came from.
002:005 It happened about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it
was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went, I don't know.
Pursue them quickly; for you will overtake them."
002:006 But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with
the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.
002:007 The men pursued them the way to the Jordan to the fords:
and as soon as those who pursued them had gone out,
they shut the gate.
002:008 Before they had laid down, she came up to them on the roof;
002:009 and she said to the men, "I know that Yahweh has given
you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen on us,
and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
002:010 For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the
Red Sea{or, Sea of Reeds} before you, when you came out of Egypt;
and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond
the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
002:011 As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, neither did
there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you:
for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above,
and on earth beneath.
002:012 Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt
kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my
father's house, and give me a true token;
002:013 and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers,
and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver
our lives from death."
002:014 The men said to her, "Our life for yours, if you don't talk
about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives
us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."
002:015 Then she let them down by a cord through the window;
for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived
on the wall.
002:016 She said to them, "Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you;
and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers
have returned. Afterward, you may go your way."
002:017 The men said to her, "We will be guiltless of this your oath
which you have made us to swear.
002:018 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line
of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by.
You shall gather to yourself into the house your father,
your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.
002:019 It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into
the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless.
Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head,
if any hand is on him.
002:020 But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall
be guiltless of your oath which you have made us to swear."
002:021 She said, "According to your words, so be it." She sent them away,
and they departed. She tied the scarlet line in the window.
002:022 They went, and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days,
until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them
throughout all the way, but didn't find them.
002:023 Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain,
passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told
him all that had happened to them.
002:024 They said to Joshua, "Truly Yahweh has delivered into our hands
all the land. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt
away before us."
003:001 Joshua rose up early in the morning; and they moved from Shittim,
and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel.
They lodged there before they passed over.
003:002 It happened after three days, that the officers went through
the midst of the camp;
003:003 and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark
of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and the priests
the Levites bearing it, then you shall move from your place,
and follow it.
003:004 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two
thousand cubits by measure. Don't come near to it, that you
may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed
this way before."
003:005 Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow
Yahweh will do wonders among you."
003:006 Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark
of the covenant, and pass over before the people."
They took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
003:007 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to magnify you
in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I
was with Moses, so I will be with you.
003:008 You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant,
saying, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan,
you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"
003:009 Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here, and hear
the words of Yahweh your God."
003:010 Joshua said, "Hereby you shall know that the living God is
among you, and that he will without fail drive the Canaanite,
and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite,
and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite out
from before you.
003:011 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth
passes over before you into the Jordan.
003:012 Now therefore take twelve men out of the tribes of Israel,
for every tribe a man.
003:013 It shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests
who bear the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth,
rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan
will be cut off, even the waters that come down from above;
and they shall stand in one heap."
003:014 It happened, when the people moved from their tents to pass
over the Jordan, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant
being before the people,
003:015 and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan,
and the feet of the priests who bore the ark had dipped
in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its
banks all the time of harvest),
003:016 that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose
up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is
beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea
of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off.
Then the people passed over right against Jericho.
003:017 The priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh
stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan;
and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation
had passed completely over the Jordan.
004:001 It happened, when all the nation had completely passed over
the Jordan, that Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
004:002 "Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
004:003 and command them, saying, 'Take from out of the middle of
the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm,
twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them
down in the lodging place, where you will lodge tonight.'"
004:004 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared
of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
004:005 Joshua said to them, "Pass over before the ark of Yahweh your
God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you pick up
a stone and put it on your shoulder, according to the number
of the tribes of the children of Israel;
004:006 that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask
in time to come, saying, 'What do you mean by these stones?'
004:007 then you shall tell them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan
were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh.
When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were
cut off. These stones shall be for a memorial to the children
of Israel forever.'"
004:008 The children of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve
stones out of the middle of the Jordan, as Yahweh spoke to Joshua,
according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;
and they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged,
and laid them down there.
004:009 Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan,
in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark
of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
004:010 For the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan,
until everything was finished that Yahweh commanded Joshua to speak
to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua;
and the people hurried and passed over.
004:011 It happened, when all the people had completely passed over,
that the ark of Yahweh passed over, with the priests,
in the presence of the people.
004:012 The children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe
of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel,
as Moses spoke to them.
004:013 About forty thousand men, ready and armed for war passed
over before Yahweh to battle, to the plains of Jericho.
004:014 On that day, Yahweh magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel;
and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days
of his life.
004:015 Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
004:016 "Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony,
that they come up out of the Jordan."
004:017 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up out
of the Jordan!"
004:018 It happened, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant
of Yahweh had come up out of the middle of the Jordan,
and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the dry ground,
that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place,
and went over all its banks, as before.
004:019 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day
of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east
border of Jericho.
004:020 Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of
the Jordan, n Gilgal.
004:021 He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, "When your
children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What do
these stones mean?'
004:022 Then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel came
over this Jordan on dry land.
004:023 For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from
before you, until you had passed over, as Yahweh your God
did to the Red Sea{or, Sea of Reeds}, which he dried up
from before us, until we had passed over;
004:024 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Yahweh,
that it is mighty; that you may fear Yahweh your God forever.'"
005:001 It happened, when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond
the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites,
who were by the sea, heard how that Yahweh had dried up
the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel,
until we had passed over, that their heart melted, neither was
there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
005:002 At that time, Yahweh said to Joshua, "Make flint knives,
and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time."
005:003 Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the children
of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
005:004 This is the reason Joshua circumcised: all the people who came
out of Egypt, who were males, even all the men of war,
died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
005:005 For all the people who came out were circumcised; but all
the people who were born in the wilderness by the way as they
came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.
005:006 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness,
until all the nation, even the men of war who came out of Egypt,
were consumed, because they didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh.
Yahweh swore to them that he wouldn't let them see the land
which Yahweh swore to their fathers that he would give us,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
005:007 Their children, whom he raised up in their place,
were circumcised by Joshua; for they were uncircumcised,
because they had not circumcised them on the way.
005:008 It happened, when they were done circumcising all the nation,
that they stayed in their places in the camp until
they were healed.
005:009 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach
of Egypt from off you." Therefore the name of that place
was called Gilgal,{"Gilgal" sounds like the Hebrew for "roll."
} to this day.
005:010 The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept
the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening
in the plains of Jericho.
005:011 They ate unleavened cakes and parched grain of the produce
of the land on the next day after the Passover, in the same day.
005:012 The manna ceased on the next day, after they had eaten of the produce
of the land. The children of Israel didn't have manna any more;
but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
005:013 It happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up
his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him
with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him,
and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?"
005:014 He said, "No; but I have come now as commander of Yahweh's army."
Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped,
and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?"
005:015 The prince of Yahweh's army said to Joshua, "Take your shoes
off of your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy."
Joshua did so.
006:001 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel.
No one went out, and no one came in.
006:002 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand,
with its king and the mighty men of valor.
006:003 All your men of war shall march around the city, going around
the city once. You shall do this six days.
006:004 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before
the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city
seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
006:005 It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn,
and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people
shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city
shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man
straight before him."
006:006 Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them,
"Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear
seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh."
006:007 They said to the people, "Advance! March around the city,
and let the armed men pass on before Yahweh's ark."
006:008 It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people,
the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams'
horns before Yahweh advanced, and blew the trumpets;
and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed them.
006:009 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets,
and the ark went after them. The trumpets sounded as they went.
006:010 Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout,
nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed
out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout.
Then you shall shout."
006:011 So he caused the ark of Yahweh to go around the city,
going about it once. Then they came into the camp, and lodged
in the camp.
006:012 Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up
the ark of Yahweh.
006:013 The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams'
horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually,
and blew the trumpets: and the armed men went before them.
The rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh. The trumpets
sounded as they went.
006:014 The second day they marched around the city once, and returned
into the camp. They did this six days.
006:015 It happened on the seventh day, that they rose early at the dawning
of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times.
Only on this day they marched around the city seven times.
006:016 It happened at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets,
Joshua said to the people, "Shout, for Yahweh has given
you the city!
006:017 The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is in it, to Yahweh.
Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with
her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
006:018 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the devoted thing,
lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing;
so would you make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it.
006:019 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron,
are holy to Yahweh. They shall come into Yahweh's treasury."
006:020 So the people shouted, and the priests blew the trumpets.
It happened, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet,
that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall
fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city,
every man straight before him, and they took the city.
006:021 They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man
and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and donkey,
with the edge of the sword.
006:022 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land,
"Go into the prostitute's house, and bring out from there
the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her."
006:023 The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab
with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had.
They also brought out all her relatives, and they set them
outside of the camp of Israel.
006:024 They burnt the city with fire, and all that was in it.
Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of brass
and of iron into the treasury of Yahweh's house.
006:025 But Rahab the prostitute, her father's household, and all
that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lived in the midst
of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers,
whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
006:026 Joshua charged them with an oath at that time, saying, "Cursed be
the man before Yahweh, who rises up and builds this city Jericho.
With the loss of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation,
and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up its gates."
006:027 So Yahweh was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.
007:001 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing;
for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son
of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing:
and the anger of Yahweh was kindled against the children of Israel.
007:002 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven,
on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, Go up
and spy out the land. The men went up and spied out Ai.
007:003 They returned to Joshua, and said to him, Don't let all
the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go
up and strike Ai; don't make all the people to toil there;
for they are but few.
007:004 So there went up there of the people about three thousand men:
and they fled before the men of Ai.
007:005 The men of Ai struck of them about thirty-six men; and they
chased them [from] before the gate even to Shebarim, and struck
them at the descent; and the hearts of the people melted,
and became as water.
007:006 Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before
the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel;
and they put dust on their heads.
007:007 Joshua said, Alas, Lord Yahweh, why have you at all brought
this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand
of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? would that we had been
content and lived beyond the Jordan!
007:008 Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel has turned
their backs before their enemies!
007:009 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will
hear of it, and will compass us round, and cut off our name
from the earth: and what will you do for your great name?
007:010 Yahweh said to Joshua, Get you up; why are you thus fallen
on your face?
007:011 Israel has sinned; yes, they have even transgressed my
covenant which I commanded them: yes, they have even taken
of the devoted thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also;
and they have even put it among their own stuff.
007:012 Therefore the children of Israel can't stand before their enemies;
they turn their backs before their enemies, because they
are become accursed: I will not be with you any more,
except you destroy the devoted thing from among you.
007:013 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves
against tomorrow: for thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, There is
a devoted thing in the midst of you, Israel; you can not stand
before your enemies, until you take away the devoted thing
from among you.
007:014 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes:
and it shall be, that the tribe which Yahweh takes shall come
near by families; and the family which Yahweh shall take
shall come near by households; and the household which Yahweh
shall take shall come near man by man.
007:015 It shall be, that he who is taken with the devoted thing shall
be burnt with fire, he and all that he has; because he has
transgressed the covenant of Yahweh, and because he has done
folly in Israel.
007:016 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel
near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
007:017 and he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family
of the Zerahites: and he brought near the family of the Zerahites
man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
007:018 and he brought near his household man by man; and Achan,
the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah,
of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
007:019 Joshua said to Achan, My son, please give glory to Yahweh,
the God of Israel, and make confession to him; and tell me
now what you have done; don't hide it from me.
007:020 Achan answered Joshua, and said, Of a truth I have sinned
against Yahweh, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
007:021 when I saw among the spoil a goodly Babylonian mantle,
and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold
of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them;
and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent,
and the silver under it.
007:022 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and, behold,
it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
007:023 They took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them
to Joshua, and to all the children of Israel; and they laid
them down before Yahweh.
007:024 Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah,
and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold,
and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his donkeys,
and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had:
and they brought them up to the valley of Achor.
007:025 Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? Yahweh shall
trouble you this day. All Israel stoned him with stones;
and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones.
007:026 They raised over him a great heap of stones, to this day;
and Yahweh turned from the fierceness of his anger.
Therefore the name of that place was called "The valley of Achor"
to this day.
008:001 Yahweh said to Joshua, Don't be afraid, neither be dismayed:
take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up
to Ai; behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai,
and his people, and his city, and his land;
008:002 You shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king:
only the spoil of it, and the livestock of it, shall you
take for a prey to yourselves: set you an ambush for the
city behind it.
008:003 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai:
and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor,
and sent them forth by night.
008:004 He commanded them, saying, Behold, you shall lie in ambush against
the city, behind the city; don't go very far from the city,
but be all ready:
008:005 and I, and all the people who are with me, will approach to the city.
It shall happen, when they come out against us, as at the first,
that we will flee before them;
008:006 and they will come out after us, until we have drawn them
away from the city; for they will say, They flee before us,
as at the first: so we will flee before them;
008:007 and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of
the city: for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.
008:008 It shall be, when you have seized on the city, that you shall set
the city on fire; according to the word of Yahweh shall you do:
behold, I have commanded you.
008:009 Joshua sent them forth; and they went to set up the ambush,
and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai:
but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
008:010 Joshua arose up early in the morning, and mustered the people,
and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
008:011 All the people, [even] the [men of] war who were with him,
went up, and drew near, and came before the city, and encamped
on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between
him and Ai.
008:012 He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between
Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
008:013 So they set the people, even all the army who was on the north
of the city, and their ambush on the west of the city;
and Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
008:014 It happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hurried
and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against
Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed,
before the Arabah; but he didn't know that there was an ambush
against him behind the city.
008:015 Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them,
and fled by the way of the wilderness.
008:016 All the people who were in the city were called together
to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua,
and were drawn away from the city.
008:017 There was not a man left in Ai or Beth El, who didn't
go out after Israel: and they left the city open,
and pursued after Israel.
008:018 Yahweh said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in
your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand.
Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand
toward the city.
008:019 The ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon
as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city,
and took it; and they hurried and set the city on fire.
008:020 When the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold,
the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no
power to flee this way or that way: and the people who fled
to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
008:021 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city,
and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again,
and killed the men of Ai.
008:022 The others came forth out of the city against them;
so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side,
and some on that side: and they struck them, so that they
let none of them remain or escape.
008:023 The king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
008:024 It happened, when Israel had made an end of killing all the
inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they
pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword,
until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai,
and struck it with the edge of the sword.
008:025 All that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand,
even all the men of Ai.
008:026 For Joshua didn't draw back his hand, with which he stretched
out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the
inhabitants of Ai.
008:027 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took
for prey to themselves, according to the word of Yahweh
which he commanded Joshua.
008:028 So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation,
to this day.
008:029 The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the evening:
and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they
took his body down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance
of the gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap
of stones, to this day.
008:030 Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel,
in Mount Ebal,
008:031 as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel,
as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar
of uncut stones, on which no man had lifted up any iron:
and they offered thereon burnt offerings to Yahweh,
and sacrificed peace offerings.
008:032 He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses,
which he wrote, in the presence of the children of Israel.
008:033 All Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges,
stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests
the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh,
as well the foreigner as the native; half of them in front
of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal;
as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first,
that they should bless the people of Israel.
008:034 Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing
and the curse, according to all that is written in the book
of the law.
008:035 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua
didn't read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women,
and the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.
009:001 It happened, when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan,
in the hill country, and in the lowland, and on all the shore
of the great sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite,
the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite,
heard of it;
009:002 that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua
and with Israel, with one accord.
009:003 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done
to Jericho and to Ai,
009:004 they also resorted to a ruse, and went and made as if they
had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys,
and wineskins, old and torn and bound up,
009:005 and old and patched shoes on their feet, and old garments on them;
and all the bread of their provision was dry and was become moldy.
009:006 They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him,
and to the men of Israel, We are come from a far country:
now therefore make you a covenant with us.
009:007 The men of Israel said to the Hivites, What if you dwell among us;
and how shall we make a covenant with you?
009:008 They said to Joshua, We are your servants. Joshua said to them,
Who are you? and from whence come you?
009:009 They said to him, From a very far country your servants
are come because of the name of Yahweh your God:
for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
009:010 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites,
who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon,
and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.
009:011 Our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke
to us, saying, Take provision in your hand for the journey,
and go to meet them, and tell them, We are your servants:
and now make you a covenant with us.
009:012 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses
on the day we came forth to go to you; but now, behold, it is dry,
and is become moldy:
009:013 and these wineskins, which we filled, were new; and behold,
they are torn: and these our garments and our shoes are become
old by reason of the very long journey.
009:014 The men took of their provision, and didn't ask counsel at
the mouth of Yahweh.
009:015 Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them,
to let them live: and the princes of the congregation
swore to them.
009:016 It happened at the end of three days after they had made a covenant
with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors,
and that they lived among them.
009:017 The children of Israel traveled, and came to their cities on
the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah,
and Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim.
009:018 The children of Israel didn't strike them, because the princes
of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel.
All the congregation murmured against the princes.
009:019 But all the princes said to all the congregation,
We have sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel:
now therefore we may not touch them.
009:020 This we will do to them, and let them live; lest wrath be on us,
because of the oath which we swore to them.
009:021 The princes said to them, Let them live: so they became
wood cutters and drawers of water to all the congregation,
as the princes had spoken to them.
009:022 Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying,
Why have you deceived us, saying, We are very far from you;
when you dwell among us?
009:023 Now therefore you are cursed, and there shall never fail to be
of you bondservants, both wood cutters and drawers of water
for the house of my God.
009:024 They answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly
told your servants, how that Yahweh your God commanded
his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to
destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you;
therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of you,
and have done this thing.
009:025 Now, behold, we are in your hand: as it seems good and right
to you to do to us, do.
009:026 So did he to them, and delivered them out of the hand of
the children of Israel, that they didn't kill them.
009:027 That day Joshua made those wood cutters and drawers of water
for the congregation, and for the altar of Yahweh, to this day,
in the place which he should choose.
010:001 Now it happened, when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua
had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done
to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king;
and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel,
and were among them;
010:002 that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city,
as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai,
and all the men of it were mighty.
010:003 Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron,
and to Piram king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish,
and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,
010:004 Come up to me, and help me, and let us strike Gibeon; for it
has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
010:005 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem,
the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish,
the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up,
they and all their armies, and encamped against Gibeon,
and made war against it.
010:006 The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the camp to Gilgal,
saying, Don't slack your hand from your servants;
come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us:
for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill
country are gathered together against us.
010:007 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war
with him, and all the mighty men of valor.
010:008 Yahweh said to Joshua, Don't fear them: for I have delivered
them into your hands; there shall not a man of them
stand before you.
010:009 Joshua therefore came on them suddenly; [for] he went up
from Gilgal all the night.
010:010 Yahweh confused them before Israel, and he killed them
with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way
of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them to Azekah,
and to Makkedah.
010:011 It happened, as they fled from before Israel, while they
were at the descent of Beth Horon, that Yahweh cast down
great stones from the sky on them to Azekah, and they died:
they were more who died with the hailstones than they whom
the children of Israel killed with the sword.
010:012 Then spoke Joshua to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh
delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel;
and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand you still
on Gibeon; You, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.
010:013 The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation
had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn't this written
in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the midst of the sky,
and didn't hurry to go down about a whole day.
010:014 There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh
listened to the voice of a man: for Yahweh fought for Israel.
010:015 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal.
010:016 These five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.
010:017 It was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found,
hidden in the cave at Makkedah.
010:018 Joshua said, Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave,
and set men by it to keep them:
010:019 but don't stay; pursue after your enemies, and strike the hindmost
of them; don't allow them to enter into their cities:
for Yahweh your God has delivered them into your hand.
010:020 It happened, when Joshua and the children of Israel had
made an end of killing them with a very great slaughter,
until they were consumed, and the remnant which remained
of them had entered into the fortified cities,
010:021 that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at
Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of
the children of Israel.
010:022 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth
those five kings to me out of the cave.
010:023 They did so, and brought forth those five kings to him out
of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron,
the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.
010:024 It happened, when they brought forth those kings to Joshua,
that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said
to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him,
Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.
They came near, and put their feet on the necks of them.
010:025 Joshua said to them, Don't be afraid, nor be dismayed;
be strong and of good courage: for thus shall Yahweh do
to all your enemies against whom you fight.
010:026 Afterward Joshua struck them, and put them to death, and hanged
them on five trees: and they were hanging on the trees
until the evening.
010:027 It happened at the time of the going down of the sun,
that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees,
and cast them into the cave in which they had hidden themselves,
and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, to this very day.
010:028 Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it with the edge
of the sword, and the king of it: he utterly destroyed them
and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining;
and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the
king of Jericho.
010:029 Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah,
and fought against Libnah:
010:030 and Yahweh delivered it also, and the king of it, into the hand
of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword,
and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining in it;
and he did to the king of it as he had done to the king of Jericho.
010:031 Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish,
and encamped against it, and fought against it:
010:032 and Yahweh delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel;
and he took it on the second day, and struck it with
the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were therein,
according to all that he had done to Libnah.
010:033 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua
struck him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.
010:034 Joshua passed from Lachish, and all Israel with him, to Eglon;
and they encamped against it, and fought against it;
010:035 and they took it on that day, and struck it with the edge
of the sword; and all the souls who were therein he utterly
destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
010:036 Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron;
and they fought against it:
010:037 and they took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword,
and the king of it, and all the cities of it, and all the souls
who were therein; he left none remaining, according to all
that he had done to Eglon; but he utterly destroyed it,
and all the souls who were therein.
010:038 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir,
and fought against it:
010:039 and he took it, and the king of it, and all the cities of it;
and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly
destroyed all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining:
as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king of it;
as he had done also to Libnah, and to the king of it.
010:040 So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, and the South,
and the lowland, and the slopes, and all their kings:
he left none remaining, but he utterly destroyed all that breathed,
as Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded.
010:041 Joshua struck them from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all
the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon.
010:042 All these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time,
because Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
010:043 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal.
011:001 It happened, when Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent
to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron,
and to the king of Achshaph,
011:002 and to the kings who were on the north, in the hill country,
and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland,
and in the heights of Dor on the west,
011:003 to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite,
and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the
hill country, and the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
011:004 They went out, they and all their armies with them, much people,
even as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude,
with horses and chariots very many.
011:005 All these kings met together; and they came and encamped
together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.
011:006 Yahweh said to Joshua, Don't be afraid because of them;
for tomorrow at this time will I deliver them up all slain
before Israel: you shall hamstring their horses, and burn
their chariots with fire.
011:007 So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them
by the waters of Merom suddenly, and fell on them.
011:008 Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Israel, and they struck them,
and chased them to great Sidon, and to Misrephoth Maim,
and to the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they struck them,
until they left them none remaining.
011:009 Joshua did to them as Yahweh bade him: he hamstrung their horses,
and burnt their chariots with fire.
011:010 Joshua turned back at that time, and took Hazor, and struck
the king of it with the sword: for Hazor before was the head
of all those kingdoms.
011:011 They struck all the souls who were therein with the edge of the sword,
utterly destroying them; there was none left who breathed:
and he burnt Hazor with fire.
011:012 All the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them,
did Joshua take, and he struck them with the edge of
the sword, and utterly destroyed them; as Moses the servant
of Yahweh commanded.
011:013 But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned
none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.
011:014 All the spoil of these cities, and the livestock, the children
of Israel took for a prey to themselves; but every man they
struck with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them,
neither left they any who breathed.
011:015 As Yahweh commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua:
and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that
Yahweh commanded Moses.
011:016 So Joshua took all that land, the hill country, and all the South,
and all the land of Goshen, and the lowland, and the Arabah,
and the hill country of Israel, and the lowland of the same;
011:017 from Mount Halak, that goes up to Seir, even to Baal Gad
in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon: and all their
kings he took, and struck them, and put them to death.
011:018 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
011:019 There was not a city that made peace with the children
of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon:
they took all in battle.
011:020 For it was of Yahweh to harden their hearts, to come against
Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them,
that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them,
as Yahweh commanded Moses.
011:021 Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the
hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from
all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country
of Israel: Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
011:022 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the children
of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod,
did some remain.
011:023 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Yahweh
spoke to Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance
to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes.
The land had rest from war.
012:001 Now these are the kings of the land, whom the children of
Israel struck, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan toward
the sunrise, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon,
and all the Arabah eastward:
012:002 Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ruled
from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon,
and [the city that is in] the middle of the valley, and half Gilead,
even to the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon;
012:003 and the Arabah to the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and to
the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way
to Beth Jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah:
012:004 and the border of Og king of Bashan, of the remnant of the Rephaim,
who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
012:005 and ruled in Mount Hermon, and in Salecah, and in all Bashan,
to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites,
and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.
012:006 Moses the servant of Yahweh and the children of Israel struck them:
and Moses the servant of Yahweh gave it for a possession to
the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.