The New Generation Circumcised

1 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites ^owho were by the sea, ^pheard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts ^qmelted and ^rthere was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.

2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make ^sflint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.¹ 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: ^tall the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the people of Israel walked ^uforty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord ^vswore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, ^wa land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was ^xtheir children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the ^yreproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called ^zGilgal² to this day.

First Passover in Canaan

10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover ^aon the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And ^bthe manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the Lord’s Army

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, ^ca man was standing before him ^dwith his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua ^efell on his face to the earth and worshiped³ and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ^f“Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The Fall of Jericho

1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, ^gI have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven ^htrumpets of ⁱrams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and ^jthe priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat,⁴ and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” 6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” 7 And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let ^kthe armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”

8 And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. 9 The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the ^lrear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” 11 So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and ^mthe priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days.

15 On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. 17 And the city and all that is within it shall be ⁿdevoted to the Lord for destruction.⁵ Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she ^ohid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel ^pa thing for destruction and ^qbring trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and ^rthe wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. 21 Then they ^sdevoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

22 But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, ^tas you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and ^uher father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. 24 And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. ^vOnly the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And ^wshe has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, ^x“Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho.

27 ^ySo the Lord was with Joshua, and ^zhis fame was in all the land.

Israel Defeated at Ai

1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for ^aAchan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near ^bBeth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And ^cthey fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people ^dmelted and became as water.

6 Then Joshua ^etore his clothes and ^ffell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put ^gdust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, ^hwhy have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and ⁱcut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Sin of Achan

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have ^jtransgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the ^kdevoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 ^lTherefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They ^mturn their backs before their enemies, because they have become ⁿdevoted for destruction.⁶ I will be with you no more, unless you destroy ^othe devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ^p‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near ^qby your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 ^rAnd he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has ^stransgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done ^tan outrageous thing in Israel.’”

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the ^uZerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, ^vgive glory to the Lord God of Israel and ^wgive praise⁷ to him. And ^xtell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly ^yI have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,⁸ then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the ^zValley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you ^abring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel ^bstoned him with stones. ^cThey burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him ^da great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then ^ethe Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.⁹

The Lord Our God Is Holy

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^xI have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest ^yAnanias commanded those who stood by him ^zto strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^awhitewashed ^bwall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^ccontrary to the law you ^corder me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^dGod’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, ^e“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^f‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^gSadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^hI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ⁱwith respect to the ^jhope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees ^ksay that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^lthe scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, ^m“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ⁿif a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^othe barracks.

11 ^pThe following night ^qthe Lord stood by him and said, ^r“Take courage, for ^sas you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^ttestify also in Rome.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, ^uthe Jews made a plot and ^vbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^wthe barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^xthe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, ^y“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^zhave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.¹ 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to ^aFelix ^bthe governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:

26 “Claudius Lysias, to ^chis Excellency the governor Felix, ^dgreetings. 27 ^eThis man was seized by the Jews and ^fwas about to be killed by them ^fwhen I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ^ghaving learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And ^hdesiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused ⁱabout questions of their law, but ^jcharged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 ^kAnd when it was disclosed to me ^lthat there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ^mordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to ⁿthe barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what ^oprovince he was from. And when he learned ^pthat he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing ^qwhen your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s ^rpraetorium.