God’s Command to Joshua

1 After Moses, the servant of the ·Lord [or Yahweh; ^C“Lord” (capital letters) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”], died, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ ·assistant [aide; servant]. ² The Lord said, “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people ·go across [get ready to cross; ^Larise and cross] the Jordan River into the land I am giving to the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel]. ³ I promised Moses I would give you this land [Deut. 11:24], so I will give you every place ·you go [^Lthe sole of your foot walks/treads] in the land. ⁴ All the land from the ·desert in the south [^Ldesert; wilderness] to ·Lebanon in the north [^LLebanon] will be yours. All the land from the great river, the ·Euphrates, in the east [^LEuphrates], to the ·Mediterranean [^LGreat] Sea ·in the west [^Ltoward the going down of the sun] will be yours, too, ·including [or which is all] the land of the Hittites [^CPalestine was known as “Hatti-land” (or “Hittite country”) by the Egyptians and Babylonians]. ⁵ No one will be able to ·defeat [resist; stand against] you all your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [desert; forsake] you.

⁶ “Joshua, be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]! You must lead these people ·so they can take [to possess/inherit] the land that I promised their fathers I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Be ·sure [careful] to obey all the ·teachings [law] my servant Moses ·gave [commanded] you. If you ·follow them exactly [^Ldo not turn from it to the right or to the left], you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ ·Always remember [^LDo not let depart from your mouth] what is written in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law]. ·Study [Meditate on] it day and night to be ·sure [careful; diligent] to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be ·wise [prudent; successful] and ·successful [prosperous] ·in everything [or along life’s path; along the way]. ⁹ ·Remember that I [^LHave I not…?] commanded you to be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed], because the Lord your God will be with you ·everywhere you go [or in all you do].”

Joshua’s Orders to the People

¹⁰ Then Joshua gave orders to the ·officers [leaders] of the people: ¹¹ “Go through the camp and ·tell [command] the people, ‘Get your ·supplies [provisions] ready. ·Three days from now [or Within a few days] you will cross the Jordan River and take the land the Lord your God is ·giving you [^Lgiving you to inherit/possess].’”

¹² Then Joshua said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [^Lthe half-tribe of] Manasseh, ¹³ “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you [Deut. 3:18–20]. He said the Lord your God would give you ·rest [a place of rest/security] and would give you this land. ¹⁴ Now your wives, children, and animals may stay here in the land Moses has given you east of the Jordan River, but your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers to help them. ¹⁵ The Lord has given you a place ·to rest [of security] and will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River, the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you [Deut. 3:18–20].”

¹⁶ Then the people answered Joshua, “Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. ·We ask only that [or And may] the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ Whoever ·refuses to obey [rebels against] your commands or ·turns against [refuses to obey] you will be put to death. Just be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]!”

Spies Sent to Jericho

2 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two spies from ·Acacia [^LShittim; ^Ca Hebrew word meaning “acacia”] and said to them, “Go and ·look at [check out] the land, particularly at the city of Jericho.”

So the men went to Jericho and ·stayed [lodged] at the house of a prostitute named Rahab.

² Someone told the king of Jericho, “[^LLook; ^TBehold] Some men from Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.”

³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house. They have come to spy out our whole land.”

⁴ But the woman had hidden the two men. She said, “They did come here, but I didn’t know where they came from. ⁵ In the evening, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know where they went, but if you go quickly, maybe you can catch them.” ⁶ (The woman had taken the men up to the roof and had hidden them there under stalks of flax that she had spread out.) ⁷ So the king’s men went out looking for the spies on the road that leads to the ·crossings [fords] of the Jordan River. The city gate was closed just after the king’s men left the city.

⁸ Before the spies went to sleep for the night, Rahab went up to the roof. ⁹ She said to them, “I know the Lord has given this land to your people. ·You frighten us very much [^LA terror of you has fallen on us]. Everyone living in this land is ·terribly afraid of [^Lmelting away before] you ¹⁰ because we have heard how the Lord dried up the ·Red Sea [or Sea of Reeds] when you came out of Egypt [Ex. 14:15–31]. We have heard how you ·destroyed [or devoted to the Lord for destruction; see 6:17; Deut. 20:15–18] Sihon and Og, two Amorite kings who lived ·east of [beyond] the Jordan. ¹¹ When we heard this, ·we were very frightened [^Lour hearts melted]. ·Now our men are afraid to fight you [^LAnd there rose up no spirit/breath in a man because of you] because the Lord your God ·rules [^Lis God in] the heavens above and the earth below! ¹² So now, ·promise [swear to] me ·before [or by] the Lord that you will show ·kindness [loyalty] to my family just as I showed ·kindness [loyalty] to you. Give me ·some proof [a sure sign; a solemn pledge] that you will do this. ¹³ Allow my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all of their families to live. ·Save [Rescue; Preserve] us from death.”

¹⁴ The men agreed and said, “It will be our lives for your lives if you don’t tell anyone what we are doing. When the Lord gives us the land, we will be ·kind [loyal] and ·true [faithful] to you.”

¹⁵ The house Rahab lived in was built on the city wall, so she used a rope to let the men down through a window. ¹⁶ She said to them, “Go into the hills so the ·king’s men [^Lpursuers] will not find you. Hide there for three days. After the ·king’s men [^Lpursuers] return, you may go on your way.”

¹⁷ The men said to her, “You must do as we say. If not, we ·cannot be responsible for keeping [will be free from] this oath you have made us swear. ¹⁸ When we return to this land, you must tie this ·red [scarlet] rope in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your ·family [^Lfather’s house] into your house. ¹⁹ If anyone leaves your house and is killed, ·it is his own fault [^Lhis blood is on his head]. We ·cannot be responsible for him [are innocent]. If anyone in your house ·is hurt [^Lhas a hand laid on them], ·we will be responsible [his blood will be on our head]. ²⁰ But if you tell anyone about this, we will be free from the oath you made us swear.”

²¹ Rahab answered, “·I agree to this [^LLet it be according to your words].” So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the ·red [scarlet] rope in the window.

²² The men left and went into the hills where they stayed for three days. The ·king’s men [pursuers] looked for them all along the road, but after three days, they returned to the city without finding them. ²³ Then the two men started back. They left the hills and crossed the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. ²⁴ They said, “The Lord surely has given ·us all of the land [^Lall the land into our hand]. All the people in that land are ·terribly afraid of [melting away before] us.”

Crossing the Jordan

3 Early the next morning Joshua and all the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] left ·Acacia [^CHebrew: Shittim; 2:1]. They traveled to the Jordan River and camped there before crossing it. ² After three days the ·officers [leaders] went through the camp ³ and gave orders to the people: “When you see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord your God [Ex. 25:10–22], leave where you are and follow it. ⁴ That way you will know which way to go since you have never ·been here [passed this way] before. But do not ·follow too closely [come near it]. Stay about ·a thousand yards [^Ltwo thousand cubits] behind the Ark.”

⁵ Then Joshua told the people, “·Make yourselves holy [Consecrate yourselves], because tomorrow the Lord will do ·amazing [miraculous] things among you.”

⁶ Joshua said to the priests, “Take the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] and go ahead of the people.” So the priests lifted the Ark and carried it ahead of the people.

⁷ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to ·make you great [exalt/honor you] in the ·opinion [^Leyes] of all the Israelites so the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses. ⁸ ·Tell [Command] the priests who carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] to go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water.”

⁹ Then Joshua said to the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ Here is proof that the living God is ·with [among] you and that he will ·force [drive] out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. ¹¹ [^LLook; ^TBehold] The Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord of the whole world will go ahead of you into the Jordan River. ¹² Now choose twelve men from among you, one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the ·Master [Ruler; Lord] of the whole world [Ex. 9:29], into the Jordan ahead of you. When they step into the water, it will stop. The ·river will stop flowing [^Lwaters going down will be cut off from above] and will stand up in a heap [^Cthus reminding them of the crossing of the sea in Ex. 14].”

¹⁴ So the people left ·the place where they had camped [their camp/^Ltents], and they followed the priests who carried the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] across the Jordan River. ¹⁵ During harvest the Jordan overflows its banks. When the priests carrying the Ark came to the edge of the river and stepped into the water, ¹⁶ the water ·upstream [^Lgoing down from above] stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam, a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the ·Dead [^LSalt] Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river ·near [opposite; across from] Jericho. ¹⁷ The priests carried the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord to the middle of the river and stood there on dry ground. They waited there while ·all the people [the whole nation] of Israel walked across the Jordan River on dry land.

Rocks to Remind the People

4 After all the ·people [nation] had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe. ³ ·Tell [Command; Instruct] them to get twelve rocks from the middle of the river, from where the priests stood. Carry the rocks and put them down where you ·stay [camp; lodge] tonight.”

⁴ So Joshua ·chose [appointed] one man from each tribe. Then he called the twelve men together ⁵ and said to them, “Go out into the river where the Ark of the Lord your God is. Each of you bring back one rock, one for each tribe of Israel, and carry it on your shoulder. ⁶ They will be a ·sign [reminder; memorial] among you. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean [^Lto you]?’ ⁷ Tell them the water stopped flowing in the Jordan when the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord crossed the ·river [^LJordan]. These rocks will always remind the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] of this [^Cstone memorials are common in the OT; 7:26; 24:26–27; Gen. 28:18–22; 31:45–47].”

⁸ So the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] obeyed Joshua and carried twelve rocks from the middle of the Jordan River, one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Joshua. They carried the rocks with them and put them down where they made their camp. ⁹ Joshua also put twelve rocks in the middle of the Jordan River where the priests had stood while carrying the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty]. These rocks are still there today.

¹⁰ The priests carrying the Ark continued standing in the middle of the river until everything was done that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, just as Moses had told Joshua. The people hurried across the river. ¹¹ After they finished crossing the river, the priests carried the Ark of the Lord to the other side as the people watched. ¹² The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [^Lthe half-tribe of] Manasseh obeyed what Moses had told them. They were dressed for war, and they crossed the river ahead of the other people. ¹³ About forty thousand soldiers prepared for war passed before the Lord as they marched across the river, going toward the plains of Jericho.

¹⁴ That day the Lord ·made Joshua great [honored/exalted Joshua] in the ·opinion [^Leyes] of all the Israelites. They ·respected [revered; stood in awe of] Joshua all his life, just as they had ·respected [revered; stood in awe of] Moses.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Joshua, ¹⁶ “Command the priests to bring the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; ^LTestimony] out of the river.”

¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

¹⁸ Then the priests carried the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord out of the river. As soon as their feet touched dry land, the water began flowing again. The river again overflowed its banks, just as it had before they crossed.

¹⁹ The people ·crossed [^Lcame up from] the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal, ·east [on the eastern border] of Jericho. ²⁰ They carried with them the twelve rocks taken from the Jordan, and Joshua set them up at Gilgal. ²¹ Then he spoke to the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel]: “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What ·do these rocks mean [^Lare these stones]?’ ²² Tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry land. ²³ The Lord your God ·caused the water to stop flowing [^Ldried up the river before you] until you finished crossing it, just as the Lord did to the ·Red Sea [or Sea of Reeds; Ex. 14–15]. He ·stopped the water [^Ldried it up] until we crossed it. ²⁴ The Lord did this so all ·people [^Lthe nations/people of the earth] would know ·he has great power [^Lthat the hand of the Lord is powerful] and so you would always ·respect [revere; fear] the Lord your God.’”

5 All the kings of the Amorites west of the Jordan and the Canaanite kings living by the ·Mediterranean Sea [^LSea] heard that the Lord dried up the Jordan River until the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] had crossed it. ·After that they were scared [^LTheir hearts melted] and ·too afraid to face [^Lthere was no breath/spirit in them because of] the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel].

The Israelites Are Circumcised

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make knives from flint stones and circumcise [Gen. 17:7–14] the ·Israelites [^Lsons of Israel a second time].” ³ So Joshua made knives from flint stones and circumcised the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] at ·Gibeath Haaraloth [^CHebrew for “Hill of Foreskins”].

⁴ This is why Joshua circumcised the men: After the Israelites left Egypt, all the men old enough to serve in the army died in the desert on the ·way [journey] ·out of [or after leaving] Egypt. ⁵ The men who had come out of Egypt had been circumcised, but none of those who were born in the desert on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised. ⁶ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] had moved about in the ·desert [wilderness] for forty years. During that time all the fighting men who had left Egypt had died because they had not obeyed the Lord [Num. 13–14]. So the Lord swore they would not see the land he had promised their ancestors to give them, a ·fertile land [^Lland flowing with milk and honey; ^Ca phrase describing the natural bounty of the land]. ⁷ Their sons ·took [were raised up in] their places. But none of the sons born on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised, so Joshua circumcised them. ⁸ After all the Israelites had been circumcised, they stayed in camp until they were healed.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have ·removed [rolled away] the shame [disgrace; reproach] of ·your slavery in Egypt [^LEgypt].” So that place was named Gilgal [^Csounds like Hebrew for “rolled away”; 4:19], which it is still named today.

¹⁰ The ·people [^Lsons/^Tchildren] of Israel were camped at Gilgal [4:19] on the plains of Jericho. It was there, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, they celebrated the Passover Feast [Ex. 12]. ¹¹ The day after the Passover, the people ate food grown on that land: ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] and roasted grain. ¹² The day they ate this food, the manna stopped coming [Ex. 16:35]. The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] no longer got the manna from heaven. They ate the food grown in the land of Canaan that year.

¹³ Joshua was near Jericho when he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in his hand [Ex. 3:2—4:17; Judg. 6:11–23]. Joshua went to him and asked, “Are you ·a friend or an enemy [^Lfor us or for our enemies/adversaries]?”

¹⁴ The man answered, “·I am neither [^LNo]. I have come as the commander of the Lord’s army [^CGod himself who comes as a warrior; Ex. 15:3].”

Then Joshua bowed facedown on the ground and asked, “Does my ·master [lord] have a ·command [message] for me, his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the Lord’s army answered, “Take off your sandals, because the place where you are standing is holy [Ex. 3:5].” So Joshua did.

The Fall of Jericho

6 The people of Jericho were afraid because the Israelites were near. They closed the city gates and guarded them [^LNow Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel]. No one went into the city, and no one came out.

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have given ·you Jericho [^LJericho into your hands], its king, and all its fighting men. ³ March around the city with your ·army [^Lfighting men] once a day for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets made from ·horns of male sheep [rams’ horns] and have them march in front of the Ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times and have the priests blow the trumpets as they march. ⁵ They will make one long blast on the trumpets. When you hear that sound, have all the people give a loud shout. Then the walls of the city will ·fall [collapse] so the people can ·go [charge] straight into the city.”

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests together and said to them, “Carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty]. Tell seven priests to carry trumpets and march in front of it.” ⁷ Then Joshua ordered the ·people [or army], “Now go! March around the city. The ·soldiers with weapons [armed troops; or royal guard] should march in front of the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord.”

⁸ When Joshua finished speaking to the ·people [or army], the seven priests began marching before the Lord. They carried the seven trumpets and blew them as they marched. The priests carrying the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord followed them. ⁹ ·Soldiers with weapons [Armed troops; or The royal guard] marched in front of the priests, and ·armed men [the rear guard] walked behind the Ark. The priests were blowing their trumpets. ¹⁰ But Joshua had ·told [commanded] the people not to give ·a war cry [the shout]. He said, “Don’t shout. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you. Then shout.” ¹¹ So Joshua had the Ark of the Lord carried around the city one time. Then they went back to camp for the night.

¹² Early the next morning Joshua got up, and the priests carried the Ark of the Lord again. ¹³ The seven priests carried the seven trumpets and marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their trumpets. ·Soldiers with weapons [Armed troops or The royal guard] marched in front of them, and ·other soldiers [the rear guard] walked behind the Ark of the Lord. ·All this time the priests were blowing their trumpets […while the trumpets kept blowing]. ¹⁴ So on the second day they marched around the city one time and then went back to camp. They did this every day for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day they got up at dawn and marched around the city, just as they had on the days before. But on that day they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around the priests blew their trumpets. Then Joshua gave the command: “Now, ·shout [give the battle cry]! The Lord has given you this city! ¹⁷ The city and everything in it are to be ·destroyed as an offering [^Ldevoted; set apart; 2:10] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone in her house should remain alive. They must not be killed, because Rahab hid the ·two spies [^Lmessengers] we sent out [2:1–24]. ¹⁸ ·Don’t take any of [Keep away from] the things that are ·to be destroyed as an offering [devoted; set apart] to the Lord. If you take them and bring them into ·our camp [^Lthe camp of Israel], you yourselves will be ·destroyed [devoted/set apart for destruction], and you will bring trouble to all of Israel. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and things made from bronze and iron belong to the Lord and must ·be saved for him [^Lgo into the treasury of the Lord].”

²⁰ When the priests blew the trumpets, the ·people [army] shouted. At the sound of the trumpets and the ·people’s [army’s] shout, the walls fell, and everyone ·ran [charged] straight into the city. So the Israelites ·defeated [captured; took] that city. ²¹ They ·completely destroyed [devoted to the Lord] with the ·sword [^Ledge of the sword] every living thing in the city—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys.

²² Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house. Bring her out and bring out those who ·are with [belong to] her, because of the ·promise you made [oath you swore] to her.” ²³ So the ·two men [young men] went into the house and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all ·those with [who belonged to] her. They put all of her family in a safe place outside the camp of Israel.

²⁴ Then Israel burned the whole city and everything in it, but they did not burn the things made from silver, gold, bronze, and iron. These were ·saved for [^Lput in the treasury of the house of] the Lord. ²⁵ Joshua saved Rahab the prostitute, her ·family [^Lfather’s household], and all who ·were with [belonged to] her, because Rahab had helped the men he had sent to spy out Jericho [Matt. 1:5; Heb. 11:31; James 2:25]. Rahab still lives among the Israelites today.

²⁶ Then Joshua ·made [or caused them to take] this oath:

²⁷ So the Lord was with Joshua, and Joshua became famous through all the land.

The Sin of Achan

7 But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] ·did not obey the Lord [^Lacted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; 6:17]. There was a man from the tribe of Judah named Achan. (He was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi, who was the son of Zerah.) Because Achan kept some of the ·things that were to be given to the Lord [^Ldevoted things], the ·Lord became very angry [^LLord’s anger burned] at the Israelites.

² Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai [^Cthe name means “dump,” indicating that it should have been an easy military target], which was near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He told them, “Go to Ai and spy out the area.” So the men went to spy on Ai.

³ Later they came back to Joshua and said, “There are ·only a few people [few soldiers] in Ai, so we will not need all our people to defeat them. Send only two or three thousand men to fight. ·There is no need to send [or Don’t tire out] all of our people.” ⁴ So about three thousand men went up to Ai, but ·the people of Ai beat them badly [^Lthey fled from the men of Ai]. ⁵ The people of Ai killed about thirty-six Israelites and then chased the rest from the city gate all the way down to ·the canyon [or the stone quarries; or Shebarim], killing them as they went down the hill. When the Israelites saw this, ·they lost their courage [^Lthe heart of the people melted and became like water].

⁶ Then Joshua tore his ·clothes in sorrow [^Lclothes]. He ·bowed [fell] facedown on the ground before the Ark of the Lord and stayed there until evening. The ·leaders [^Lelders] of Israel did the same thing. They also threw ·dirt [dust] on their heads [^Cto show their sorrow]. ⁷ Then Joshua said, “·Lord God [or Sovereign Lord], why did you bring our people across the Jordan River ·and then let the Amorites destroy us [to give us into the hands of the Amorites]? ·We would have [^LIf only we had] been happy to stay on the other side of the Jordan. ⁸ Lord, ·there is nothing I can say now [what can I say now that…]. Israel has ·been beaten by [fled from; ^Lturned their back before] the enemy. ⁹ The Canaanites and all the other people in this country will hear about this and will ·surround [encircle] and ·kill us all [^Lcut off our name from the earth]! Then what will you do for your own great name?”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why are you down on your face? ¹¹ The Israelites have sinned; they have broken the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] I commanded them to obey. They took some of the ·things I commanded them to destroy [devoted things]. They have stolen and lied and have ·taken those things for themselves [^Lput them among their own belongings]. ¹² That is why the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] cannot ·face [stand before] their enemies. They ·turn away from the fight and run [fled/turned their backs before their enemies], because I have ·commanded that they be destroyed [devoted them for destruction]. I will not ·help [^Lbe with] you anymore unless you destroy ·everything as I commanded [the things devoted for destruction from among] you.

¹³ “Now go! ·Make the people holy [Consecrate the people]. Tell them, ‘·Set yourselves apart to the Lord [Consecrate yourselves] for tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, says ·some of you are keeping things he commanded you to destroy [^Lthere are devoted things among you, Israel!]. You will never ·defeat [^Lstand before] your enemies until you ·throw away those things [^Lremove the devoted things from among you].

¹⁴ “‘Tomorrow morning you must be present with your tribes. The Lord will choose one tribe to stand alone before him. Then the Lord will choose ·one family group [clan] from that tribe to stand before him. Then the Lord will choose one family from that ·family group [clan] to stand before him, person by person. ¹⁵ The one who is ·keeping what should have been destroyed [^Lcaught with the devoted things] will himself be destroyed by fire. Everything ·he owns [that is his] will be destroyed with him. He has broken the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the Lord and has done a disgraceful thing ·among the people of [^Lin] Israel!’”

¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua led all of Israel to present themselves in their tribes, and the Lord chose the tribe of Judah. ¹⁷ So the ·family groups [clans] of Judah presented themselves, and the Lord then chose the ·family group [clan] of Zerah. When all the ·families [clan] of Zerah presented themselves, the family of Zabdi was chosen. ¹⁸ And Joshua told all the men in that family to present themselves. The Lord chose Achan son of Carmi. (Carmi was the son of Zabdi, who was the son of Zerah.)

¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, ·tell the truth. Confess to the Lord, the God of Israel [^LGive glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him; ^Ca solemn charge to tell the truth and confess his sins to God]. Tell me what you did, and don’t try to hide anything from me.”

²⁰ Achan answered, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: ²¹ Among the things I saw was a beautiful ·coat [robe; cloak] from ·Babylonia [^LShinar] and about ·five pounds [^Ltwo hundred shekels] of silver and ·more than one and one-fourth pounds of gold [^La gold bar weighing fifty shekels]. I wanted these things very much for myself, so I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²² So Joshua sent ·men [^Lmessengers] who ran to the tent and ·found the things [^Tbehold, it was] hidden there, with the silver underneath. ²³ The men brought them out of the tent, took them to Joshua and all the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], and spread them out on the ground before the Lord. ²⁴ Then Joshua and all the people led Achan son of Zerah to the Valley of ·Trouble [or Achor; ^Ca Hebrew word meaning “trouble” or “disaster”]. They also took the silver, the coat, the gold bar, Achan’s sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, tent, and everything he owned. ²⁵ Joshua said, “·I don’t know why [^LWhy have…?] you caused so much trouble [^CHebrew achor] for us, but now the Lord will bring trouble [^CHebrew achor] to you.” Then all the people threw stones at Achan and his family until they died [Ex. 19:13; Lev. 24:23; Num. 15:36]. Then the people burned them. ²⁶ They piled rocks over Achan’s body, and they are still there today. That is why it is called the Valley of ·Trouble [^LAchor]. After this the Lord ·was no longer angry [^Lturned from his burning anger].

Ai Is Destroyed

8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid or ·give up [be discouraged/dismayed; 1:9; 10:25]. Lead ·all your fighting men [the whole army] to Ai. I ·will help you defeat [^Lhave given into your hand] the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. ² You will do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you may ·take all the wealth [^Lplunder its goods and livestock] and keep it for yourselves. Now ·tell some of your soldiers to set up [^Lset] an ambush behind the city.”

³ So Joshua ·led his whole army toward [^Land all the people rose to go up against] Ai. Then he chose thirty thousand ·of his best fighting men [brave warriors] and sent them out at night. ⁴ Joshua gave them these orders: “·Listen carefully [Look; ^TBehold]. You must set up an ambush behind the city. Don’t go far from it, but continue to watch and be ready. ⁵ I and the men who are with me will march toward the city, and the men in the city will come out to fight us, just as they did before. Then we will ·turn and run away from [^Lflee before] them. ⁶ They will chase us away from the city, thinking we are running away from them as we did before. When we run away, ⁷ come out from your ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give ·you the power to win [^Lit into your hand]. ⁸ After you take the city, burn it. ·See to it [^LLook; ^TBehold]! You have your orders.”

⁹ Then Joshua sent them to wait in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua stayed the night ·with his [among the] people.

¹⁰ Early the next morning Joshua ·gathered his men together [mustered the army]. He and the ·older leaders [elders] of Israel led them up to Ai. ¹¹ All of the soldiers who were with Joshua marched up to Ai and stopped in front of the city and made camp north of it. There was a valley between them and the city. ¹² Then Joshua chose about five thousand men and set them in ambush in the area west of the city between Bethel and Ai. ¹³ So the people took their positions; the main camp was north of the city, and the ·other men [rear guard; ambush] were hiding to the west. That night Joshua went down into^[a] the valley.

¹⁴ Now when the king of Ai saw the army of Israel, he and his people got up early the next morning and hurried out to fight them. They went out to ·a place east of the city [or the meeting/appointed place near the Arabah/desert plain], but the king did not know soldiers were waiting in ambush behind the city. ¹⁵ Joshua and all the men of Israel ·let the army of Ai push them back [pretended to be defeated]. Then they ran toward the ·desert [wilderness]. ¹⁶ All the men in Ai were called to chase Joshua and his men, so they ·left the city and went after them [were lured away from the city]. ¹⁷ All the men of Ai and Bethel chased the army of Israel [^Cnearby Bethel must have been closely allied with Ai]. The city was left ·open [unguarded]; not a man ·stayed to protect it [^Lwas left in Ai or Bethel].

¹⁸ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold ·your spear [^Lthe spear/javelin that is in your hand] toward Ai, because I will give ·you that city [^Lit into your hand].” So Joshua held ·his spear [^Lthe spear/javelin that was in his hand] toward the city of Ai. ¹⁹ When the Israelites who were in ambush saw this, they quickly came out of their hiding place and hurried toward the city. They entered the city, ·took control of [captured] it, and quickly set it on fire.

²⁰ When the men of Ai looked back, ·they saw [^Llook; ^Tbehold] smoke rising [^Linto the sky] from their city. At the same time the Israelites stopped running and turned against ·the men of Ai [^Ltheir pursuers], who could not escape in any direction. ²¹ When Joshua and all ·his men [^LIsrael] saw that the ·army [men in ambush] had taken control of the city and saw the smoke rising from it, they stopped running and turned to ·fight [strike down] the men of Ai. ²² The men who were in ambush also came out of the city to help with the fight. So the men of Ai were caught between the armies of Israel. None of the enemy escaped. The Israelites ·fought [struck them down] until not one of the men of Ai ·was left alive [^Leither survived or escaped], except ²³ the king of Ai, and they brought him to Joshua.

A Review of the Fighting

²⁴ During the fighting the army of Israel chased the men of Ai into the fields and ·desert [wilderness] and killed all of them. Then they went back to Ai and killed everyone there. ²⁵ All the people of Ai died that day, twelve thousand men and women. ²⁶ Joshua ·had held his spear toward Ai, as a sign to destroy the city, and did not draw it back [^Ldid not draw back the hand that held his spear/javelin] until all the people of Ai were ·destroyed [devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17]. ²⁷ The people of Israel kept for themselves the animals and the ·other things the people of Ai had owned [plunder of the city], as the Lord had commanded Joshua to do.

²⁸ Then Joshua burned the city of Ai and made it [^Lpermanently; forever] a pile of ruins. And it is still like that today. ²⁹ Joshua hanged the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening [^Can act of humiliation and shame; Deut. 21:23]. At sunset Joshua told his men to take the king’s body down from the tree and to throw it down at the city gate. Then they covered it with a pile of rocks [7:26], which is still there today.

³⁰ Joshua built an altar for the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, as ³¹ Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel]. Joshua built the altar as it was explained in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law] of Moses. It was made from ·uncut [whole] stones; no tool was ever used on them. On that altar the Israelites offered burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord and ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1]. ³² There Joshua ·wrote [made a copy of] the teachings of Moses on stones for all the ·people [^Lsons; children] of Israel to see. ³³ The elders, officers, judges, and all the Israelites were there; ·Israelites and non-Israelites [native-born and foreigners] were all standing around the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant of] the Lord in front of the priests, the Levites who had carried the Ark. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Ebal, and half stood in front of Mount Gerizim. This was the way the Lord’s servant Moses had earlier commanded the people to be blessed [Deut. 11:29; 27:11–26].

³⁴ Then Joshua read all the words of the ·teachings [law; instruction], the blessings and the curses, exactly as they were written in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law]. ³⁵ All the Israelites were gathered together—men, women, and children—along with the ·non-Israelites [foreigners] who lived among them. Joshua read every ·command [word] that Moses had given.

The Gibeonite Trickery

9 All the kings ·west of [^Lbeyond] the Jordan River heard about these things: the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They lived in the ·mountains [hill country] and ·on the western foothills [or in the lowlands/^LShephelah] and along the whole ·Mediterranean [^LGreat] Sea coast. ² So all these kings gathered to fight Joshua and the Israelites.

³ When the ·people [inhabitants] of Gibeon heard ·how Joshua had defeated [^Lwhat Joshua had done to] Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they decided to trick the Israelites. They gathered old sacks and old ·leather wine bags [wineskins] that were cracked and mended, and they put them on the backs of their donkeys. ⁵ They put ·old [^Lworn and patched] sandals on their feet and wore ·old [ragged] clothes, and they took some dry, ·moldy [or crumbling] bread. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp near Gilgal [4:19].

The men said to Joshua and the ·Israelites [^Lmen of Israel], “We have traveled from a faraway country. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.”

⁷ The ·Israelites [men of Israel] said to these Hivites, “Maybe you live near us. How can we make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [Deut. 20:10–18]?”

⁸ The Hivites said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”

But Joshua asked, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

⁹ The men answered, “We are your servants who have come from a far country, because we heard of the ·fame [reputation; ^Lname] of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done and everything he did in Egypt. ¹⁰ We heard that he defeated the two kings of the Amorites ·from the east side of [^Lwho were beyond] the Jordan River—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan who ·ruled [^Lwas] in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and ·our people [^Lall the inhabitants of our country] said to us, ‘Take ·food [provisions] for your journey and go and meet ·the Israelites [^Lthem]. Tell them, “We are your servants. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.” ’

¹² “Look at our bread. On the day we left home to come to you it was warm and fresh, but now [^Llook; ^Tbehold] it is dry and ·moldy [or crumbling]. ¹³ Look at our ·leather wine bags [wineskins]. They were new and filled with wine, but now they ·are cracked and old [are ripped; or have burst]. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long journey.”

¹⁴ The men of Israel ·tasted [or examined; ^Ltook some of] the bread, but they did not ·ask the Lord what to do [seek the Lord’s guidance]. ¹⁵ So Joshua agreed to make peace with the Gibeonites and to let them live. And the leaders of the Israelites ·swore an oath to keep the agreement [^Lswore to them].

¹⁶ Three days after they had made the ·agreement [covenant; treaty], the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites ·lived nearby [^Lwere neighbors and lived in their midst]. ¹⁷ So the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] went to where they lived and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did not attack those cities, because they had ·made a promise [^Lsworn] to them before the Lord, the God of Israel.

·All the Israelites [The whole assembly/congregation] grumbled against the leaders. ¹⁹ But [^Lall] the leaders answered, “We ·have given our promise [^Lswore (an oath)] before the Lord, the God of Israel, so we cannot ·attack [^Ltouch] them now. ²⁰ This is what we must do. We must let them live. Otherwise, ·God’s anger [^Lwrath] will ·be against [come upon] us for breaking the oath we swore to them. ²¹ So let them live, but they will cut wood and carry water for ·our people [the whole congregation].” ·So the leaders kept their promise to them [or…as the leaders had decided].

²² Joshua called for the Gibeonites and asked, “Why did you ·lie to [deceive; trick] us? ·Your land was near our camp [^LYou live among us], but you told us you were from a far country. ²³ Now, you will be placed under a curse to ·be our slaves [never cease being slaves/servants]. You will have to cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”

²⁴ The Gibeonites answered Joshua, “We lied to you because we were afraid you would kill us. ·We heard [^LIt was clearly/with certainty reported to your servants] that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all of this land and to ·kill [destroy] all the people who lived in it [Deut. 20:15–18]. That is why we did this. ²⁵ Now [^Llook; ^Tbehold] ·you can decide what [^Lwe are in your hands] to do with us, whatever you think is right.”

²⁶ So Joshua saved their lives by not allowing the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] to kill them, ²⁷ but he made the Gibeonites slaves. They cut wood and carried water for the Israelites, and they did it for the altar of the Lord—·wherever he chose it to be [^Lat the place that he would choose; 1 Sam. 4:3; 1 Kin. 9:3]. They are still doing this today [2 Sam. 21:1–14].

The Sun Stands Still

10 At this time Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had ·defeated [captured] Ai and ·completely destroyed it [devoted it to destruction; 2:10; 6:17], doing to Ai and its king as he had also done to Jericho and its king. The king also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Israel and that they ·lived nearby [were living among them; or had become allies]. ² Adoni-Zedek and his people were very afraid because of this. Gibeon was not a little town like Ai; it was a ·large [great; important] city, ·as big as a city that had a king [^Llike one of the royal cities], and all its men were good fighters. ³ So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent a message to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon [^Cfive major cities in the southern mountains]. He begged them, ⁴ “Come with me and help me attack Gibeon, which has made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Joshua and the Israelites.”

⁵ Then these five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—gathered their armies, went to Gibeon, surrounded it, and attacked it.

⁶ The Gibeonites sent this message to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal [4:19]: “Don’t ·let us, your servants, be destroyed [abandon your servants]. Come quickly and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the mountains have joined their armies and are fighting against us.”

⁷ So Joshua marched out of Gilgal with his whole army, including his best fighting men. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of those armies, because I will ·hand them over to you [^Lgive them into your hand]. None of them will be able to stand against you.”

⁹ Joshua and his army marched all night from Gilgal for a surprise attack. ¹⁰ The Lord ·confused those armies [threw them into a panic] when Israel attacked, so Israel defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. They chased them along the road going up to Beth Horon and ·killed men [^Lstruck them down] all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they chased the enemy down the Beth Horon Pass to Azekah, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the ·sky [heavens] and killed them. More people were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites’ swords.

¹² On the day that the Lord gave up the Amorites to the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord:

·These words are [^LIs this not…?] written in the ·Book [Scroll] of Jashar [^Cmeaning “Upright One”; an extrabiblical account of Israel’s wars, now lost; 2 Sam. 1:18].

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and waited to go down for a full day. ¹⁴ ·That has never happened at any time [^LThere has been no day like it] before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a human being. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!

¹⁵ After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

¹⁶ During the fight the five kings ran away and hid in a cave ·near [at] Makkedah, ¹⁷ but someone found them hiding in the cave at Makkedah and told Joshua. ¹⁸ So he said, “·Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks [^LRoll large stones against the mouth of the cave]. Put some men there to guard it, ¹⁹ but don’t stay there yourselves. Continue chasing the enemy and attacking them from behind. Don’t let them get to their cities, because the Lord your God will ·hand them over to you [^Lgive them into your hand].”

²⁰ So Joshua and the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] ·killed the enemy [^Lfinished slaying them with a very great slaughter], but a ·few [remnant; few survivors] were able to get back to their strong, walled cities. ²¹ After the fighting, Joshua’s men came back safely to him at Makkedah. No one ·was brave enough to say a word against [or suffered even a scratch on his tongue; ^Cthe Hebrew idiom “sharpened/scratched his tongue” may mean to threaten with words or to suffer a minor injury] the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel].

²² Joshua said, “Move the ·rocks that are covering the opening [^Lmouth] of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” ²³ So Joshua’s men brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. ²⁴ When they brought the five kings out to Joshua, he called for all his men. He said to the commanders of his army, “Come here! Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came close and put their feet on their necks [^Ca gesture of triumph and dominance; 2 Sam. 22:41; Ps. 18:41].

²⁵ Joshua said to his men, “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed; 1:9; 8:1], because I will show you what the Lord will do to the enemies you will fight in the future.” ²⁶ Then Joshua killed the five kings and hung their bodies on five trees [^Can act of humiliation and shame; Deut. 21:23], where he left them until evening.

²⁷ At sunset Joshua ·told [commanded] his men to take the bodies down from the trees. Then they threw them into the same cave where they had been hiding and covered the opening of the cave with large rocks, which are still there today.

²⁸ That day Joshua ·defeated [^Lcaptured] Makkedah. He killed the king and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17; 10:1] all the people in that city as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive. He did the same thing to the king of Makkedah that he had done to the king of Jericho.

Defeating Southern Cities

²⁹ Joshua and all the Israelites traveled from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. ³⁰ The Lord handed over the city and its king. They ·killed [^Lstruck with the edge of the sword] every person in the city; no one was left alive. And they did the same thing to that king that they had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ Then Joshua and all the Israelites left Libnah and went to Lachish, which they ·surrounded [took up positions against; besieged] and attacked. ³² The Lord ·handed over Lachish [^Lgave Lachish into their hand] on the second day. The Israelites ·killed [^Lstruck with the edge of the sword] everyone in that city just as they had done to Libnah. ³³ During this same time Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish, but Joshua also defeated him and his army; no one was left alive.

³⁴ Then Joshua and all the Israelites went from Lachish to Eglon. They ·surrounded [took up positions against; besieged] Eglon, attacked it, and ³⁵ captured it the same day. They ·killed [^Lstruck with the edge of the sword] all its people and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 6:17; 10:28] everything in it as an offering to the Lord, just as they had done to Lachish.

³⁶ Then Joshua and the Israelites went from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it, ³⁷ capturing it and all the little towns near it. The Israelites ·killed [^Lstruck with the edge of the sword] its king, its surrounding towns, and everyone in Hebron; no one was left alive there. Just as they had done to Eglon, they ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 6:17; 10:28] the city and all its people as an offering to the Lord.

³⁸ Then Joshua and the Israelites went back to Debir and attacked it. ³⁹ They captured that city, its king, and all the little towns near it, ·completely destroying [^Lstriking with the edge of the sword and devoting to destruction; 10:37] everyone in Debir as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive there. Israel did to Debir and its king just as they had done to Libnah and its king, just as they had done to Hebron.

⁴⁰ So Joshua ·defeated [^Lstruck down] ·all the kings of the cities of these areas [^Lthe whole region/land]: the ·mountains [hill country], ·southern Canaan [^Lthe Negev], the ·western foothills [lowlands; ^LShephelah], and the slopes [^Land all their kings]. The Lord, the God of Israel, had ·told [commanded] Joshua to ·completely destroy [devote to destruction; 2:10; 6:17] all ·the people [^Lthat breathed] as an offering to the Lord, so he left no one alive in those places. ⁴¹ Joshua captured all the cities from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza, and from Goshen to Gibeon. ⁴² He captured all these cities and their kings ·on one trip [in one campaign; ^Lat one time], because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.

⁴³ Then Joshua and all the Israelites returned to their camp at Gilgal [4:19].

Defeating Northern Kings

11 When Jabin king of Hazor [^Cthe largest and best fortified of the Canaanite cities] heard about all that had happened, he sent messages to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Acshaph. ² He sent messages to the kings in the northern ·mountains [hill country] and also to the kings in the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah] south of ·Lake Galilee [^LKinnereth] and in the ·western foothills [lowlands; ^LShephelah]. He sent a message to the king of ·Naphoth [or the heights of] Dor in the west [^Cthe coastal plain south of Mount Carmel] ³ and to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west. He sent messages to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the ·mountains [hill country]. Jabin also sent one to the Hivites, who lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah [^Ca coalition of the northern cities of Palestine]. ⁴ So the armies of all these kings came together with their horses and chariots [^Ca great challenge to the Israelites, who only had foot soldiers]. There were as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore [Gen. 22:17].

⁵ All of these kings met together at the waters of Merom [^Cprobably modern Meirun, eight miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee], joined their armies together into one camp, and made plans to fight against the Israelites.

⁶ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow I will give them to you. You will ·cripple [hamstring] their horses and burn all their chariots.”

⁷ So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy [10:9] by attacking them at the waters of Merom. ⁸ The Lord ·handed them over to [^Lgave them into the hand of] Israel. They chased them to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the Valley of Mizpah in the east [^Clocations north and west of the battle]. Israel fought until none of the enemy was left alive. ⁹ Joshua did what the Lord said to do; he ·crippled [hamstrung] their horses and burned their chariots [^CIsrael did not take the horses and chariots to use themselves, in order to show their trust in God; Ps. 20:7].

¹⁰ Then Joshua went back and captured the city of Hazor and ·killed [^Lstruck with the sword] its king. (Hazor had been the leader of all the kingdoms that fought against Israel.) ¹¹ Israel ·killed [^Lstruck with the sword] everyone in Hazor, ·completely destroying them [devoting them to destruction; 2:10; 6:21]; no one was left ·alive [^Lthat breathed]. Then they burned Hazor itself.

¹² Joshua captured all of these cities, ·killed [^Lstruck with the edge of the sword] all of their kings, and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; v. 11] everything in these cities. He did this just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. ¹³ But the Israelites did not burn any cities that were built on their mounds [^Cso Israel could immediately occupy these strategically important cities; Deut. 6:10–11], except Hazor; only that city was burned by Joshua. ¹⁴ The ·people [^Lsons; children] of Israel kept for themselves ·everything [the plunder/spoil] they found in the cities, including all the animals. But they ·killed [^Lstruck with the edge of the sword] all the people there; they left no one ·alive [^Lthat breathed]. ¹⁵ Long ago the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do this, and then Moses had commanded Joshua to do it [Deut. 7:1–6; 20:16–18]. Joshua ·did everything [^Lleft nothing undone that] the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁶ So Joshua defeated all the people in the land [^Ca general statement, since not every city was taken; 17:16; Judg. 1]. He had control of the mountains and ·the area of southern Canaan [^Lall the Negev], all the areas of Goshen, the ·western foothills [lowlands; ^LShephelah], and the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah]. He controlled the ·mountains [hill country] of Israel and ·all the hills near them [or its lowlands/^LShephelah]. ¹⁷ ·Joshua controlled all the land from [^L…from] Mount Halak near ·Edom [^LSeir] to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. Joshua also captured all the kings in the land and killed them. ¹⁸ He ·fought [waged war] against them for ·many years [a long time; ^Lmany days]. ¹⁹ The people of only one city in all the land had made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Israel—the Hivites living in Gibeon. All the other cities were defeated in war. ²⁰ The Lord ·made those people stubborn [^Lhardened their hearts; Ex. 8:15] so they would fight against Israel and ·he could completely destroy them [would be devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17] without mercy. This is what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.

²¹ Now Joshua fought the Anakites [or Anakim; Num. 13:33] who lived in the ·mountains [hill country] of Hebron, Debir, Anab, Judah, and Israel, and he completely destroyed them and their towns. ²² There were no Anakites left living in the land of the Israelites ·and only a few were left [or though some remained] in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. ²³ Joshua took control of all the ·land of Israel [^Lland] as the Lord had ·told Moses to do [or promised Moses] long ago. He gave the land to Israel, ·because he had promised it to them [^Las an inheritance]. ·Then Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel [^L…according to their tribal divisions], and ·there was peace in the land [the land had rest from war].

Kings Defeated by Israel

12 The Israelites took control of the land east of the Jordan River from the Arnon ·Ravine [Gorge; Valley; ^Centers the middle of Dead Sea from the east] to Mount Hermon [^Cin the far north] and all the land along the eastern side of the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah]. These ·lands belonged to the kings [were the kings of the land] whom the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] defeated.

² Sihon king of the Amorites [Num. 21:21–30; Deut. 1:4; 2:24–37; 29:7–8] ·lived in [or ruled] the city of Heshbon and ruled the land from Aroer ·at [or on the edge/rim of] the Arnon ·Ravine [Gorge; Valley] to the Jabbok River [^Cflows from the northeast into the Jordan about 20 miles north of the Dead Sea]. His land started in the middle of the ravine, which was their border with the Ammonites. Sihon ruled over half the land of Gilead [^Cthe region east of the Jordan between Galilee and just north of the Dead Sea] ³ and over the eastern side of the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah] from Lake ·Galilee [^LKinnereth] to the ·Dead Sea [^LSea of Arabah, the Salt Sea]. And he ruled from Beth Jeshimoth south to the slopes of Pisgah [Deut. 34:1].

⁴ Og king of Bashan was one of the ·last [remnant] of the Rephaites. He ·ruled [or lived in] the land in Ashtaroth and Edrei [^Ccities east and southeast of Galilee]. ⁵ He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all the area of Bashan [^Ceast and northeast of Galilee] up to ·where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived [^Lthe border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites]. Og also ruled half the land of Gilead up to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

⁶ The Lord’s servant Moses and the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] defeated all these kings, and Moses gave that land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to ·East [^Lthe half-tribe of] Manasseh as their own [13:8–32; Deut. 3:12–13].

⁷ Joshua and the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] also defeated kings in the land west of the Jordan River. He gave the people the land ·and divided it among the twelve tribes to be their own [^Laccording to their tribal divisions]. It was between Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon [^Cthe far north] and Mount Halak near ·Edom [^LSeir; ^Cthe far south]. ⁸ This included the ·mountains [hill country], the ·western foothills [lowlands; ^LShephelah], the ·Jordan Valley [^LArabah], the slopes, the ·desert [wilderness], and ·southern Canaan [^Lthe Negev]. This was the land where the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had lived. The Israelites defeated the king of each of the following cities: ⁹ ·Jericho [^Lthe king of Jericho, one; ^Cand so throughout the list], Ai (near Bethel), ¹⁰ Jerusalem, Hebron, ¹¹ Jarmuth, Lachish, ¹² Eglon, Gezer, ¹³ Debir, Geder, ¹⁴ Hormah, Arad, ¹⁵ Libnah, Adullam, ¹⁶ Makkedah, Bethel, ¹⁷ Tappuah, Hepher, ¹⁸ Aphek, Lasharon, ¹⁹ Madon, Hazor, ²⁰ Shimron Meron, Acshaph, ²¹ Taanach, Megiddo, ²² Kedesh, Jokneam ·in [or near] Carmel, ²³ Dor (in Naphoth Dor), Goyim in Gilgal, and ²⁴ Tirzah.

The total number of kings was thirty-one.