Joshua 4 - 5 - Legacy Standard Bible

Joshua 4 - 5

Memorial Stones from the Jordan

Now it happened when all the nation had completed crossing the Jordan, that Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Carry for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’” 4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them, “Cross again before the ark of Yahweh your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you carry a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 6 in order that this would be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.” 8 Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded and carried twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and laid them down there. 9 But Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. 10 Now the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that Yahweh had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed. 11 And it happened when all the people had completed crossing, that the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed before the people. 12 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13 about 40,000 equipped for war crossed for battle before Yahweh to the desert plains of Jericho. 14 On that day, Yahweh magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they feared him, just as they had feared Moses all the days of his life. 15 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 So it happened when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went over all its banks as before. 19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 Then he said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall make your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry land.’ 23 For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed, 24 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of Yahweh is strong, so that you may fear Yahweh your God forever.”

The Men of Israel Circumcised

Now it happened when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel. 2 At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.” 3 So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 Now this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way when they came out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the sons of Israel had walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, were completely destroyed because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh, to whom Yahweh had sworn that He would not let them see the land which Yahweh had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And their sons whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised because they had not circumcised them along the way. 8 Now it happened that when they had completed circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. 10 Then the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal and celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. 11 And on the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the yield of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted grain. 12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the produce of the land of Canaan during that year.

Commander of Yahweh’s Host

13 Now it happened when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No! Rather I indeed come now as commander of the host of Yahweh.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his slave?” 15 The commander of the host of Yahweh said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.