1 The Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea lost their courage and their will to fight, when they heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River to let Israel go across.
Israel Gets Ready To Celebrate Passover
2 While Israel was camped at Gilgal, the Lord said, “Joshua, make some flint knives and circumcise the rest of the Israelite men and boys.”
3 Joshua made the knives, then circumcised those men and boys at Haaraloth Hill. 4-7 This had to be done, because none of Israel's baby boys had been circumcised during the 40 years that Israel had wandered through the desert after leaving Egypt.
And why had they wandered for 40 years? It was because right after they left Egypt, the men in the army had disobeyed the Lord. And the Lord had said, “None of you men will ever live to see the land that I promised Israel. It is a land rich with milk and honey, and someday your children will live there, but not before you die here in the desert.”
8 Everyone who had been circumcised needed time to heal, and they stayed in camp.
9 The Lord told Joshua, “It was a disgrace for my people to be slaves in Egypt, but now I have taken away that disgrace.” So the Israelites named the place Gilgal, and it still has that name.
10 Israel continued to camp at Gilgal in the desert near Jericho, and on the fourteenth day of the same month, they celebrated Passover.
11-12 The next day, God stopped sending the Israelites manna to eat each morning, and they started eating food grown in the land of Canaan. They ate roasted grain and thin bread made of the barley they had gathered from nearby fields.
Israel Captures Jericho
13 One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man standing some distance in front of him. The man was holding a sword, so Joshua walked up to him and asked, “Are you on our side or on our enemies' side?”
14 “Neither,” he answered. “I am here because I am the commander of the Lord's army.”
Joshua fell to his knees and bowed down to the ground. “I am your servant,” he said. “Tell me what to do.”
15 “Take off your sandals,” the commander answered. “This is a holy place.”
So Joshua took off his sandals.
1 All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea heard that the Lord had dried up the Jordan until the people of Israel had crossed it. They became afraid and lost their courage because of the Israelites.
The Circumcision at Gilgal
2 Then the Lord told Joshua, “Make some knives out of flint and circumcise the Israelites.” 3 So Joshua did as the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the Israelites at a place called Circumcision Hill. 4-6 When the people of Israel left Egypt, all the males were already circumcised. However, during the forty years the people spent crossing the desert, none of the baby boys had been circumcised. Also, by the end of that time all the men who were of fighting age when they left Egypt had died because they had disobeyed the Lord. Just as he had sworn, they were not allowed to see the rich and fertile land that he had promised their ancestors. 7 The sons of these men had never been circumcised, and it was this new generation that Joshua circumcised.
8 After the circumcision was completed, the whole nation stayed in the camp until the wounds had healed. 9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have removed from you the disgrace of being slaves in Egypt.” That is why the place was named Gilgal, the name it still has.
10 While the Israelites were camping at Gilgal on the plain near Jericho, they observed Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11 The next day was the first time they ate food grown in Canaan: roasted grain and bread made without yeast. 12 The manna stopped falling then, and the Israelites no longer had any. From that time on they ate food grown in Canaan.
Joshua and the Man with a Sword
13 While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw a man standing in front of him, holding a sword. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of our soldiers, or an enemy?”
14 “Neither,” the man answered. “I am here as the commander of the Lord's army.”
Joshua threw himself on the ground in worship and said, “I am your servant, sir. What do you want me to do?”
15 And the commander of the Lord's army told him, “Take your sandals off; you are standing on holy ground.” And Joshua did as he was told.