After the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh said to Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, saying,

To the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said,

But the woman took the two men and hid them. And she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they [were] from.

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.

And the men said to her, "{Our lives for yours}. If you do not report this business of ours, {we will show you loyalty and faithfulness} when Yahweh gives us the land."

Then she lowered them with a rope through the window, as her house [was] on the outer side of the wall, and she [was] residing in the wall.

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.

And she said, "According to your word it [will be]." Then she sent them away, and they went, and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

They said to Joshua, "Surely Yahweh has given all the land into our hand; also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away [in fear] because of our presence."

Joshua rose early in the morning, and they set out from Acacia Grove. And they came up to the Jordan, he and all the {Israelites}, and they spent the night there before they crossed [over].

and they commanded the people: "When you see the Levitical priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God you must set out from your place and go after it.

And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, because tomorrow Yahweh will do wonders in your midst."

And Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross [over] {ahead of the people}." And they took up the ark of the covenant and went {ahead of the people}.

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.

And Joshua said to the {Israelites}, "Come here, and hear the words of Yahweh your God."

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.

And it happened, when the people set out from their tents to cross [over] the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were {ahead of the people}.

After all the nation finished crossing the Jordan, Yahweh said to Joshua,

and command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and set them up in {the place where you will camp tonight}.'"

And Joshua said to them, "Cross [over] before the ark of Yahweh your God to the middle of the Jordan, and each one of you lift up a stone on your shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the {Israelites},

Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant [stood], and they are there to this day.

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.

Then Yahweh said to Joshua, saying,

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

And he said to the {Israelites}, "When your children ask in the future {their parents}, '{What is the meaning of these stones}?'

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

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.

And it happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, {he looked up}, and he saw a man standing {opposite him} [with] his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, "Are you with us, or with our adversaries?"

And he said, "Neither. I have come now [as] the commander of Yahweh's army." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and {he bowed down} and said to him, "What [is] my lord commanding his servant?"

The commander of Yahweh's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you [are] standing [is] holy." And Joshua did so.

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Look, I am giving Jericho into your hand, its king and the soldiers of the army.

So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh."

And he said to the people, "Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed [men] pass before the ark of Yahweh.

And at the seventh time the priests blew on the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For Yahweh has given you the city.

Then Joshua said to the two men who spied on the land, "Go [to] the prostitute's house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, just as you swore to her."

So the young men who were spies went and brought Rahab and her father and mother, her brothers, and all who were with her. And they brought all her family out and set them outside the camp of Israel.

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."

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho [to] Ai, which [is] near Beth Aven, east of Bethel, and he said to them, "Go up and spy out Ai." And the men went up and spied out Ai.

And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up and attack Ai; [only] two or three thousand men should go up because they [are] few. Do not make all the people weary [up] there."

And Joshua said, "Ah, my Lord! Why did you bring this people across the Jordan to give us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content and stayed beyond the Jordan.

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Stand up! {Why} [have] you fallen on your face?

And Joshua said to Achan, "My son, please, give glory to Yahweh the God of Israel, and give him a doxology in court. Tell me, please, what you have done; do not hide [it] from me."

And Achan answered Joshua and said, "It is true. I have sinned against Yahweh the God of Israel, and this is what I did:

And Joshua said, "Why did you bring us trouble? Yahweh will bring you trouble on this day." And all Israel stoned them [with] stones; and they burned them with fire [after] they stoned them with stones.

Then Yahweh said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed. Take {all the fighting men} with you {and go up immediately to Ai}. Look, I am giving into your hand the king of Ai, his city, and his land.

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]."

And when you capture the city you will set it on fire as Yahweh commanded. Look, I have commanded you."

So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the [place of the] ambush, and they sat between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai; but Joshua spent the night {with the people}.

And he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of 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 others from the city came out to meet them, {and they found themselves surrounded by Israel}, {some on one side, and others on the other side}. And they struck them down until no survivor or fugitive [was] left.

Then all Israel, {foreigner as well as native}, with the elders, officials, and judges stood {on either side} of the ark before the priests and the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. Half of them [stood] in front of Mount Gerizim, and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses Yahweh's servant had commanded before to bless the people of Israel.

And they went to Joshua at the camp [at] Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far land; so then {make a covenant with us}."

And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you [are] living among us; how can we {make a covenant} with you?"

They said to Joshua, "We [are] your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who [are] you, and from where do you come?"

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,

So our elders said to us and all the inhabitants of our land, 'Take in your hand provisions for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, "We [are] your servants; so then {make a covenant with us}." '

This [is] our bread; [it was] hot [when] we took it from our houses as provisions on the day we set out to come to you. But now, look, it is dry and crumbled.

And the {Israelites} set out and went to their cities on the third day (their cities [were] Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim).

But all the leaders of the congregation said, "We have sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel, and so we cannot touch them.

And the leaders said to them, "Let them live." So they became woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said to them.

And Joshua summoned them and said, "Why have you deceived us saying, 'We [are] very far from you' when you [are] living among us?

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 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for I have given them into your hand; {no one will withstand you}.

Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh, on the day Yahweh gave the Amorites over to the {Israelites}, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun in Gibeon, stand still, and moon, in the valley of Aijalon."

And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until [the] nation took vengeance [on] its enemies. Is it not written in the scroll of Jashar? The sun stood still in the middle of the heaven and was not in haste to set for about a full day.

And Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men in front of it to guard them.

But do not stay [there]; pursue after your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not allow them to go into their cities, for Yahweh your God has given them into your hand."

And Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave, and bring to me those five kings from the cave."

And when they brought these kings to Joshua, Joshua called all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of {the fighting men} who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came near and put their feet on their necks.

And Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid or dismayed! Be strong and bold, for thus Yahweh will do to all your enemies whom you [are] about to fight.

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid because of their presence, for tomorrow at this time I [will] hand them over slain to Israel; you will hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire."

Now Joshua was old [and] {advanced in years}, and Yahweh said to him, "You are old [and] {advanced in years}, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.

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.

[The] eastern border [is] the Salt Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan. [The] border on [the] northern side [runs] from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan;

And Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it, I will give to him my daughter Acsah as a wife."

When she came [to him] she urged him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, "{What do you want}?"

And she said to him, "Give to me a gift; you have given me the land of the Negev, and you must give to me a spring of water." And he gave to her the upper and lower spring.

with the cities that were set apart for the descendants of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages.

And Joshua said to them, "If you [are] many people, go up to the forest and clear [a place] there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is [too] narrow for you."

And the descendants of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all of the Canaanites living in the land of the valley [have] chariots of iron, those in Beth-shean and its villages, and those in the Jezreel Valley."

And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, "You are many people and have great power; you will not have one allotment [only];

The entire congregation of the {Israelites} assembled [at] Shiloh, and they set up there the tent of meeting, and the land was subdued before them.

And Joshua said to the {Israelites}, "{How long} [will] you be slack about going to take possession of the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

Then the border changes direction and turns to the western side southward, from the mountain that {is opposite} Beth-Horon to the south. {It ends} at Kiriath Baal (that [is], Kiriath Jearim), a town belonging to the descendants of Judah. This [is the] western side.

[The] southern side [begins] on the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim, and the border continues to the west to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah;

The Jordan forms its border on the eastern side. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, its borders that surrounds [them], according to their families.

The killer will stay in that city until he stands before the congregation for the trial, until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then {the killer will return} to his city and to his house, to the city from which he fled.'"

So {they set apart} Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that [is], Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

Yahweh gave them rest on every side, according to all that he had sworn to their ancestors, and nobody from all their enemies withstood them, for Yahweh had given all their enemies into their hand.

and he said to them, "You have observed all that Moses Yahweh's servant commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I have commanded you;

he said to them, "Return to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, copper, iron, and with very much clothing; divide the war-booty of your enemies with your kinsmen."

And the {Israelites} heard [it] said that the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar next to the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side [belonging to] the {Israelites}.

So we said, 'Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices;

Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh [is] among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Yahweh. Therefore you have rescued the {Israelites} from the hand of Yahweh."

The descendants of Reuben and Gad called the altar Witness, "Because," [they said], "it [is] a witness between us that Yahweh [is] God."

Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, heads, judges, and officials, and he said to them, "I am old and {well-advanced in years},

And Yahweh your God will push them {back before you} and drive them {out of your sight}, and you will possess their land, just as Yahweh your God promised to you.

And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: '{Long ago} your ancestors--Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor--lived beyond the river, and they served other gods.