Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them.

This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper and be successful.

"Remember what Moses the Lord's servant commanded you. The Lord your God is giving you a place to settle and is handing this land over to you.

The king of Jericho received this report: "Note well! Israelite men have come here tonight to spy on the land."

So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: "Turn over the men who came to you -- the ones who came to your house -- for they have come to spy on the whole land!"

She said to the men, "I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. We are absolutely terrified of you, and all who live in the land are cringing before you.

So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord's name. Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. Give me a solemn pledge

The men said to her, "We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met:

When we invade the land, tie this red rope in the window through which you let us down, and gather together in your house your father, mother, brothers, and all who live in your father's house.

If you should report what we've been up to, we are not bound by this oath you made us swear."

But stay about three thousand feet behind it. Keep your distance so you can see which way you should go, for you have not traveled this way before."

The Lord told Joshua, "This very day I will begin to honor you before all Israel so they will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.

Joshua continued, "This is how you will know the living God is among you and that he will truly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.

Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan in the very place where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this very day.

He has done this so all the nations of the earth might recognize the Lord's power and so you might always obey the Lord your God."

This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt.

The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have taken away the disgrace of Egypt from you." So that place is called Gilgal even to this day.

Have all the warriors march around the city one time; do this for six days.

They marched around the city one time on the second day, then returned to the camp. They did this six days in all.

On the seventh day they were up at the crack of dawn and marched around the city as before -- only this time they marched around it seven times.

Yet Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father's family, and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho.

At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: "The man who attempts to rebuild this city of Jericho will stand condemned before the Lord. He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!"

When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?"

Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: 'Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, "You are contaminated, O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you."

Achan told Joshua, "It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way:

Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day) and the Lord's anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.

Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day).

He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day).

This bread of ours was warm when we packed it in our homes the day we started out to meet you, but now it is dry and hard.

They said to Joshua, "It was carefully reported to your subjects how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified we would lose our lives, so we did this thing.

and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in that capacity to this very day.)

So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon:

The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, "Do not abandon your subjects! Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us."

At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take them down from the trees. They threw them into the cave where they had hidden and piled large stones over the mouth of the cave. (They remain to this very day.)

The Lord told Joshua, "Don't be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to lie dead before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."

These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley to Mount Halak on up to Seir. Joshua assigned this territory to the Israelite tribes,

This is the land that remains: all the territory of the Philistines and all the Geshurites,

Now, divide up this land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh."

But the Israelites did not conquer the Geshurites and Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this very day.

That day Moses made this solemn promise: 'Surely the land on which you walked will belong to you and your descendants permanently, for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.'

Now, assign me this hill country which the Lord promised me at that time! No doubt you heard at that time that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities. But, assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer them, as the Lord promised."

So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel.

It then crossed to Azmon, extended to the Stream of Egypt, and ended at the sea. This was their southern border.

This is the land assigned to the tribe of Judah by its clans:

The men of Judah were unable to conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this very day.

From Tappuah it went westward to the Valley of Kanah and ended at the sea. This is the land assigned to the tribe of Ephraim by its clans.

The Ephraimites did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites live among the Ephraimites to this very day and do hard labor as their servants.

It then turned on the west side southward from the hill near Beth Horon on the south and extended to Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city belonging to the tribe of Judah. This is the western border.

It then crossed to the slope of Beth Hoglah to the north and ended at the northern tip of the Salt Sea at the mouth of the Jordan River. This was the southern border.

Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath -- a total of fourteen cities and their towns. This was the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin by its clans.

as well as all the towns around these cities as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah of the Negev). This was the land assigned to the tribe of Simeon by its clans.

This was the land assigned to the tribe of Zebulun by its clans, including these cities and their towns.

This was the land assigned to the tribe of Issachar by its clans, including the cities and their towns.

This was the land assigned to the tribe of Asher by its clans, including these cities and their towns.

This was the land assigned to the tribe of Naphtali by its clans, including the cities and their towns.

This was the land assigned to the tribe of Dan by its clans, including these cities and their towns.

Each of these cities had grazing areas around it; they were alike in this regard.

You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites this entire time, right up to this very day. You have completed the task given you by the Lord your God.

The Israelites received this report: "Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side."

When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them.

The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord.

We swear we have done this because we were worried that in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, 'What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel?

The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.' In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying the Lord.

So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices,

Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, "Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord's judgment."

But you must be loyal to the Lord your God, as you have been to this very day.

"The Lord drove out from before you great and mighty nations; no one has been able to resist you to this very day.

know for certain that the Lord our God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you; they will be a whip that tears your sides and thorns that blind your eyes until you disappear from this good land the Lord your God gave you.

But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you.

Joshua said to all the people, "Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness against you if you deny your God."

After all this Joshua son of Nun, the Lord's servant, died at the age of one hundred ten.