This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

“Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you when he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’

Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them

and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.

When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.

The men said to her, “We will be free from this oath you made us swear,

unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into your house.

But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.”

and command them: Take 12 stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”

so that this will be a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

Joshua also set up 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are there to this day.

This is so that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”

This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males—all the men of war—had died in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt.

The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is called Gilgal to this day.

March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.

On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she lives in Israel to this day.

At that time Joshua imposed this curse:

The man who undertakes
the rebuilding of this city, Jericho,
is cursed before the Lord.
He will lay its foundation
at the cost of his firstborn;
he will set up its gates
at the cost of his youngest.

When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do about Your great name?”

This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from you what is set apart.

“Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are things that are set apart among you, Israel. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove what is set apart.

Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did:

and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

The military force was stationed in this way: the main camp to the north of the city and its rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley.

Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, desolate to this day.

He hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you. But take a look, it is now dry and crumbly.

This is how we will treat them: we will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.”

The Gibeonites answered him, “It was clearly communicated to your servants that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.

This is what Joshua did to them: he delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill them.

And the sun stood still
and the moon stopped
until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.

Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar?

So the sun stopped
in the middle of the sky
and delayed its setting
almost a full day.

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous, for the Lord will do this to all the enemies you fight.”

After this, Joshua struck them down and executed them. He hung their bodies on five trees and they were there until evening.

At sunset Joshua commanded that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave where they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.

When Jabin king of Hazor heard this news, he sent a message to:

Jobab king of Madon,
the kings of Shimron and Achshaph,

The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for at this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”

So Joshua took all this land—the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the foothills, the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel with its foothills—

So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the Lord had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.

This is the land that remains:

All the districts of the Philistines and the Geshurites:

Therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”

but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites and Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath live in Israel to this day.

He did not give any inheritance to the tribe of Levi. This was its inheritance, just as He had promised: the offerings made by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel.

this as their territory:

From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau as far as Medeba,

The border of the Reubenites was the Jordan and its plain. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites by their clans, with the cities and their villages.

this as their territory:

Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites to Aroer, near Rabbah;

This was the inheritance of the Gadites by their clans, with the cities and their villages.

this as their territory:

From Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all of Jair’s Villages that are in Bashan—60 cities.

“As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old.

Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised.”

Therefore, Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he remained loyal to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Hebron’s name used to be Kiriath-arba; Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. After this, the land had rest from war.

It proceeded to Azmon and to the Brook of Egypt and so the border ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This is your southern border.

Now the western border was the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

This was the boundary of the descendants of Judah around their clans.

This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Judah by their clans.

But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites live in Jerusalem among the descendants of Judah to this day.

This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans:

The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar on the east of Upper Beth-horon.

From Tappuah the border went westward along the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans, together with

But, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites live in Ephraim to this day, but they are forced laborers.

This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn. Gilead and Bashan came to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh and the father of Gilead, who was a man of war.

The descendants of Manasseh could not possess these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.

On the west side, from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south, the border curved, turning southward, and ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the descendants of Judah. This was the west side of their border.

The border continued to the north slope of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Dead Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.

The Jordan formed the border on the east side.

This was the inheritance of Benjamin’s descendants, by their clans, according to its surrounding borders.

Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath—14 cities, with their villages.

This was the inheritance for Benjamin’s descendants by their clans.

and all the villages surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah of the south).

This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon’s descendants by their clans.

This was the inheritance of Zebulun’s descendants by their clans, these cities, with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar’s descendants by their clans, the cities, with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the tribe of Asher’s descendants by their clans, these cities with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali’s descendants by their clans, the cities with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the Danite tribe by its clans, these cities with their villages.

Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

You have not deserted your brothers even once this whole time but have carried out the requirement of the command of the Lord your God.

When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.

“This is what the Lord’s entire community says: ‘What is this treachery you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, so that you are in rebellion against the Lord today?

Wasn’t the sin of Peor, which brought a plague on the Lord’s community, enough for us, so that we have not cleansed ourselves from it even to this day,

We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord, the God of Israel?

We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.

Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Him. As a result, you have delivered the Israelites from the Lord’s power.”

Instead, remain faithful to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.

“The Lord has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and no one is able to stand against you to this day.

know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

Since every good thing the Lord your God promised you has come about, so He will bring on you every bad thing until He has annihilated you from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

If you break the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and worship other gods, and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land He has given you.”

Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.

And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.”