Joshua Installed as Leader

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,^(A) the Lord said to Joshua^(B) son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River^(C) into the land^(D) I am about to give to them^(E)—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot,^(F) as I promised Moses.^{(G) 4} Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon,^(H) and from the great river, the Euphrates^(I)—all the Hittite^(J) country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.^{(K) 5} No one will be able to stand against you^(L) all the days of your life. As I was with^(M) Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake^(N) you. ⁶ Be strong^(O) and courageous,^(P) because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors^(Q) to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey^(R) all the law^(S) my servant Moses^(T) gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,^(U) that you may be successful wherever you go.^{(V) 8} Keep this Book of the Law^(W) always on your lips;^(X) meditate^(Y) on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.^{(Z) 9} Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid;^(AA) do not be discouraged,^(AB) for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”^(AC)

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered^(A) Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns^(B) in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.^{(C) 5} When you hear them sound a long blast^(D) on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout;^(E) then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned;^(A) they have violated my covenant,^(B) which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied,^(C) they have put them with their own possessions.^{(D) 12} That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies;^(E) they turn their backs^(F) and run^(G) because they have been made liable to destruction.^(H) I will not be with you anymore^(I) unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

¹³ “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves^(J) in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

¹⁴ “‘In the morning, present^(K) yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses^(L) shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵ Whoever is caught with the devoted things^(M) shall be destroyed by fire,^(N) along with all that belongs to him.^(O) He has violated the covenant^(P) of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”^(Q)

Ai Destroyed

8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid;^(A) do not be discouraged.^(B) Take the whole army^(C) with you, and go up and attack Ai.^(D) For I have delivered^(E) into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.

² You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder^(A) and livestock for yourselves.^(B) Set an ambush^(C) behind the city.”

Cities of Refuge^(A)

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally^(B) may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.^{(C) 4} When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate^(D) and state their case before the elders^(E) of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly^(F) and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”