After this, Nun's son Joshua sent two men from the Acacia groves as undercover scouts. He told them, "Go and look over the land. Pay special attention to Jericho." So they went out, came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there.

The scouts left for the hill country and remained there for three days until the search party returned. The search party searched the entire road, but was unable to find them.

The Israelis did just as Joshua commanded. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River just as the LORD had spoken to Joshua according to the number of the tribes of the Israelis, and they carried them over to where they would be pitching camp, and they put them down there.

Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan River at the location where the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had been standing, and they remain there to this day.

So the ark of the LORD was taken once around the city, then they went back to camp and spent the night there.

returned to Joshua. "Not all of the people need to go up," they reported. "Only about two or three thousand men should attack Ai. Since they are so few, don't make all of the army work hard up there."

So about three thousand went up there, but they ran away from the men of Ai.

So get up and sanctify the people. Tell them, "Sanctify yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, because this is what the LORD God of Israel, says: "There are things turned over to destruction among you, Israel. You won't be able to defeat your enemies until you remove what has been turned over to destruction.

So Joshua sent some messengers, who ran to the tent. And there it was, hidden in the tent with the silver underneath.

There wasn't a single man left in Ai or Bethel who didn't run out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.

He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until dusk, and at sunset Joshua ordered his body brought down from the tree and laid at the entrance to the gate of the town. There he raised over it a large mound of stones, which stands there to this day.

There Joshua inscribed on stones a copy of the Law of Moses that Moses had presented to the Israelis.

There wasn't one word of everything Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read in front of the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, their little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.

So the five kings of the Amorites the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon gathered their armies together and advanced with all of their armies toward Gideon, camped there, and laid siege to it.

There has never been a day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD was fighting on behalf of Israel.

So Joshua gave an order, "Roll large stones up against the mouth of the cave and assign men to stand guard there,

but don't stay there yourselves. Instead, pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Don't allow them to enter their cities, because the LORD your God has delivered them into your control."

When evening had come, Joshua gave a command to remove the bodies from the gallows and bury them in the cave where they had hidden. The army sealed the mouth of the cave with large stones that remain there to this very day.

There wasn't a single city that made a peace accord with the Israelis, except the Hivites who lived in Gibeon. The Israelis captured all the rest in battle,

"To the south, there remains to be conquered all the territory held by the Canaanites, Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorites,

Their territory extended from Mahanaim to include all of Bashan, all of the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, all of the 60 towns of Jair there in Bashan,

Now then, give me that hill country about which the LORD spoke back on that day, because you yourself heard back then that the Anakim were there, with great reinforced cities. Perhaps the LORD will be with me and I will expel them, just as the LORD said."

proceeding south to the ascent of Akrabbim, then continuing to Zin, and from there up along the south of Kadesh-barnea to Hezron, and from there up to Addar and then to Karka,

Then the border proceeded up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the southern ascent of the Jebusites (that is, to Jerusalem), and from there to the top of the mountain that faces the valley of Hinnom to the west at the end of the valley of Rephaim toward the north.

From there Caleb drove the three descendants of Anak, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai the Anakim.

Then he went up from there to attack the inhabitants of Debir. (Debir was formerly known as Kiriath-sepher.)

So Joshua replied to them, "Since you're so numerous, go up to the forest and clear ground there for yourselves in the territory where the Perizzites and Rephaim are, because the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you."

After this, the entire assembly of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there, where the land lay conquered before them.

From there the boundary proceeded south in the direction of Luz to the slope of Luz (also known as Bethel), then proceeded to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon.

From there the boundary changed direction, turning southward on the western side opposite Beth-horon, terminating at Kiriath-baal (also known as Kiriath-jearim), which belongs to Judah. This formed the western boundary.

The southern boundary began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim, proceeding from there to Ephron and then to the spring at the Nephtoah Waters.

From there the boundary proceeded to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Ben-hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley, where it proceeded down the Hinnom Valley south of the slope of the Jebusites toward En-rogel.

Then it turned north toward En-shemesh and proceeded from there to Geliloth opposite the ascent of Adummim, where it turned toward the Stone of Bohan, Reuben's son,

From there the boundary proceeded to north of the slope of Beth-hoglah and terminated at the northern bay of the Salt Sea where the Jordan River ends in the south. This was the southern border.

From Sarid it proceeded back eastward, creating a sunrise boundary at Chisloth-tabor, and proceeded from there to Daberath, then to Japhia,

There the boundary turned toward Ramah, reaching to the fortress city of Tyre and turned to Hosah, where it terminated at the Mediterranean Sea.

There the boundary proceeded west to Aznoth-tabor and then to Hukkok, reaching Zebulun at the south, Asher on the west, and Judah on the east at the Jordan River.

Later, when the descendants of Dan lost their territory, they went up and attacked Leshem. After they captured it and executed its inhabitants, they took possession of it and settled there, renaming the city of Leshem to Dan in memory of their ancestor Dan.

By a command from the LORD, they allocated the town that he requested, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and settled there.

so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally and without premeditation may run there and be protected from closely related avengers.

These were appointed to be cities for all the Israelis and for the foreigner who lives among them, so that whoever kills anyone unintentionally may run there and not die at the hands of a closely related avenger until he stands for trial before the community.

So the LORD gave all of the land to Israel that he had promised to give their ancestors, and they took possession and settled there in it.

After they arrived at an area of the Jordan River that is in the land of Canaan, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh constructed an altar there by the Jordan River, and it was very large.