"My servant Moses [is] dead. Get up and cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I [am] giving to them, to the {Israelites}.

Every place that the soles of your feet will tread, I have given it to you, as I promised to Moses.

Be strong and courageous, for you will give the people this land as an inheritance that I swore to their ancestors to give them.

Only be strong and very courageous {to observe diligently the whole law} that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it, [to] the right or left, so that you may succeed {wherever you go}.

The scroll of this law will not depart from your mouth; you will meditate on it day and night so that {you may observe diligently all that is written} in it. For then you will succeed [in] your ways and prosper.

"Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people: 'Prepare your provisions; {in} three days you [are to] cross the Jordan to go possess the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving you to possess.'"

"Remember the word that Moses Yahweh's servant commanded you, saying, 'Yahweh your God [is] giving rest to you, and he is giving you this land.'

Your wives, your little children, and your livestock, they will remain in the land that Moses gave to you beyond the Jordan. {All of the best fighting men} will cross armed in front of your families; they will help you

until Yahweh gives rest to your families as well as to you. They will take possession of the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to them. Then you will return to your own land and take possession of it, [the land] that Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan {to the east}."

And they answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you will send us we will go.

(But she had taken them to the roof and had hidden them {in the stalks of flax} that she {had spread out} on the roof.)

So the men chased after them on {the way to the Jordan} at the fords; and they shut the gate behind the pursuers that had gone out after them.

and said to the men, "I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away [in fear] because of your presence.

For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the waters of the {Red Sea} before you when you went out from Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that [were] beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

and you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that belongs to them; you will deliver our lives from death."

And she said to them, "Go to the mountain, so that the pursuers will not find you, and hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers return, and afterward you may go {on your way}."

The men said to her, "We [will be] released from this oath of yours that you made us swear.

But if you report this business of ours, we will be released from your oath that you made us swear."

The two men returned and went down from the mountain, and they crossed [over] and came to Joshua son of Nun, and they told him everything that happened to them.

[But] there will be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits in measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way that you must go, for you have not passed on [this] way {before}."

Then Yahweh said to Joshua, "This day I will begin exalting you {in the sight} of all Israel, that they may know that I was with Moses, and I will be with you.

You will command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, 'At the moment that you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you will stand [still] in the Jordan.'"

Joshua said, "By this you will know that [the] living God [is] in your midst, and he will certainly drive out the Canaanites {from before you}, and the Hittites, Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

the waters flowing down from above stood [still]; they stood up [in] one heap very far from Adam, the city that [is] beside Zarethan, while [the waters] flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, {were completely cut off}; and the people crossed [over] opposite Jericho.

so that this may be a reminder among you. When your children ask in the future, saying, '{What do these stones mean to you}?'

you will say to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off {from before} the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will be as a memorial for the {Israelites} for eternity."

The priests carrying the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything that Yahweh commanded Joshua to tell the people was finished, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua. And the people hastily crossed [over].

On that day Yahweh exalted Joshua {in the sight} of all Israel, and they respected him as they respected Moses all the days of his life.

And it happened that when the priests carrying the ark came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet {touched dry land}, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.

And those twelve stones that they took from the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.

so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of Yahweh [is] strong, so that you may fear Yahweh your God {forever}."

And it happened, when all the kings of the Amorites who [were] beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who [were] by the sea heard that Yahweh dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the {Israelites} until they crossed [over], their hearts melted, and {there was no courage left in them} because of the presence of the {Israelites}.

At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, "Make for yourself knives of flint, and circumcise the {Israelites} a second time."

For forty years the {Israelites} traveled in the wilderness until all the nation, the warriors that left Egypt, perished, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh. To them Yahweh swore that they would not see the land that he swore to their ancestors to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

And it was their children [whom] he raised in their place that Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised {on the journey}.

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you." Therefore, the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

On the next day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate from the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted corn.

And the manna ceased the day after, when they [started] eating the produce of the land, and there was no longer manna for the {Israelites}. They ate from the crop of the land of Canaan in that year.

Then on the seventh day they rose early at dawn, and they marched around the city in this manner seven times. [It was] only on that day that they marched around the city seven times.

The city and all that is in it will be devoted to Yahweh; only Rahab the prostitute and all who [are] with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

As for you, keep [away] from the things devoted to destruction so that you do not take them and bring about your own destruction, making the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it.

And they burned the city and all that [was] in it with fire; they put only the silver and gold, and the items of copper and iron, [into] the treasury of the house of Yahweh.

And Joshua swore at that time, saying, "Cursed [is] anyone before Yahweh who gets up and builds Jericho, this city. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates."

Israel has sinned and {transgressed my covenant} that I commanded them. They have taken from the devoted things; they have stolen and acted deceitfully, and they have put [them] among their belongings.

In the morning you will come forward, {tribe by tribe}, and the tribe that Yahweh will select by lot will come forward by clans, and the clan that Yahweh selects by lot will come forward by families, and the family that Yahweh selects by lot will come forward one by one.

The one caught with the devoted things will be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because {he transgressed the covenant} of Yahweh, and because he did a disgraceful thing in Israel." '"

I saw among the spoil a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and one bar of gold [that] weighed fifty shekels; I coveted them and took them. They [are] hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver [is] under it."

Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his cattle and donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything that [was] his, and they brought them [to] the valley of Achor.

Then {they placed} on top of him a great pile of stones [that remains] to this day. And Yahweh {turned from his burning anger}, and thus the name of that place to this day is called the valley of Achor.

You will do to Ai and its king that which you did to Jericho and its king; you may take only its spoils and livestock as booty for yourself. Set for yourself an ambush against the city [from] behind [it]."

So they stationed the forces; all the army [was] north of the city while {the rear guard was west}. But Joshua went that night to the middle of the valley.

When the king of Ai saw [this], the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle--he and all his army--to the meeting place before the Arabah. He did not know that [there was] an ambush for him behind the city.

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Stretch out the sword that is in your hand to Ai, because I will give it into your hand." And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand to the city.

Then the men of Ai looked behind them, and they saw smoke from the city rising to the sky; {they had no power to flee this way or that}, and the people fleeing the wilderness turned around to the pursuers.

And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city was rising; they returned and struck down the men of Ai.

All the people that fell on that day, both men and women, [were] twelve thousand--all the inhabitants of Ai.

For Joshua did not draw back his hand that was stretched out with the sword until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of Yahweh that Joshua commanded.

The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the time of evening, and as the sun went down Joshua commanded [them], and they brought down his dead body from the tree. Then they threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and they raised over it a great heap of stones [that remains] to this day.

And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the curses, according to all that was written in the scroll of the law.

There was not a word from all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before the assembly of all Israel, and the women, the little children, and the traveling foreigners among them.

and they acted on their part with cunning: they went and prepared provisions, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and old wineskins [that were] torn and mended.

And they said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far land because of the name of Yahweh your God; we have heard of his reputation, of all that he did in Egypt,

and of 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] in Ashtaroth.

These [are] the wineskins that we filled new, but look, they have burst; and these [are] our clothes and sandals that have worn out from the very long journey."

And it happened that at the end of three days, after they made a covenant with them, they heard that {they were their neighbors} and living among them.

This we will do to them: [we will] let them live so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath we swore to them."

And they answered Joshua and said, "Because it was told with certainty to your servants that Yahweh your God commanded Moses his servant to give to you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, so we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and so we did this thing.

And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of Yahweh, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

And it happened that when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua captured Ai and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he did to Ai and its king) and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,

There has not been a day like this before it or after, that Yahweh listened to the voice of man; for Yahweh fought for Israel.

Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and he struck it and its king with {the edge of the sword}; he utterly destroyed it and everyone that was in it. He did not leave behind a survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he did to the king of Jericho.

And they captured it on that day, and he struck it with {the edge of the sword}, and all the people that [were] in it on that day he utterly destroyed as he had done to Lachish.

and captured it, and they struck it with {the edge of the sword}, its king and all its cities, and all the people that [were] in it; he left behind no survivor, as he had done to Eglon, and he utterly destroyed it and all the people that [were] in it.

and he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with {the the edge of the sword}, and they utterly destroyed all the people that [were] in it; he left behind no survivor, just as he had done to Hebron. Thus he did to Debir and its king what he had done to Libnah and its king.

So Joshua struck all the land--the hill country, the Negev, the Shephelah, and the slopes--and all their kings; he left behind no survivor, and {all that breathed} he utterly destroyed as Yahweh the God of Israel commanded.

Then Joshua turned back at that time, and he captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, because Hazor formerly [was] the head of all these kingdoms.

He struck all the people that [were] in it with {the edge of the sword}, utterly destroying them. {There was no one left who breathed}, and he burned Hazor with fire.

Just as Yahweh commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did; he left nothing undone that Yahweh had commanded Moses.

from Mount Halak [that] rises to Seir and to Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon {at the foot of} Mount Hermon; he captured all their kings, struck them, and killed them.

There was not a city that made peace with the {Israelites} besides the Hivites and the inhabitants of Gibeon--{all were taken in battle}.

For it was Yahweh that {hardened their hearts}, to meet Israel in war in order to utterly destroy them without mercy, that they would destroy them just as Yahweh commanded Moses.

At that time Joshua came and exterminated the Anakites from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.

Joshua took all the land according to all that Yahweh had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel, according to their tribal divisions, and the land rested from war.

Their territory was from Aroer, which [was] on the edge of the wadi of Arnon, and the city that [is] in the middle of the valley, and all the plateau by Medeba;

Heshbon and its cities that [are] on the plateau; Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon,

These [are the territories] that Moses gave as an inheritance on the desert-plateau of Moab, beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.

These [are the territories] that the {Israelites} inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of the {Israelites} gave as an inheritance to them.

Then the descendants of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal; and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know the word that Yahweh said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea concerning you and me.

And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land that your foot has trodden on will be an inheritance to you and your sons forever, because you remained true to Yahweh my God.'

So then, look, Yahweh has kept me alive just as he promised these forty-five years, from the time that Yahweh spoke this word to Moses while Israel {wandered} in the wilderness. Now look, today {I am eighty-five years old}.

Today I am still strong, just as on the day that Moses sent me; as my strength [was] then, so now also [is] my strength for war {and for daily activities}.

So now give me this hill country that Yahweh spoke [of] on that day, for you heard on that day that the Anakites [were] there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps Yahweh [is] with me, and I will drive them out just as Yahweh promised."

Then the border goes up [by] the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites from [the] south (that [is], Jerusalem); and the border goes up to the top of the mountain that [lies] opposite the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim to the north;

then the border turns from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and continues from there to the cities of Mount Ephron; the border [then] turns [to] Baalah (that [is], Kiriath Jearim);

and the border goes around from Baalah to the west, to Mount Seir, and passes on to the slope of Mount Jearim from the north (that [is], Kesalon), and goes down [to] Beth Shemesh, and passes [along by] Timnah.

Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that [is], Hazor),

from Ekron to the sea, and all that {were near} Ashdod and their villages.

Dannah, Kiriath Sanna (that [is], Debir),

Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that [is], Hebron), and Zior; nine cities and their villages.