4:1 It happened, when all the nation had completely passed over the Jordan, that Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
4:2 “Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
4:3 and command them, saying, ‘Take from out of the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where you will lodge tonight.’”
4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
4:5 Joshua said to them, “Pass over before the ark of Yahweh your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you pick up a stone and put it on your shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;
4:6 that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’
4:7 then you shall tell them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.’”
4:8 The children of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
4:9 Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
4:10 For the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Yahweh commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and passed over.
4:11 It happened, when all the people had completely passed over, that the ark of Yahweh passed over, with the priests, in the presence of the people.
4:12 The children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them.
4:13 About forty thousand men, ready and armed for war passed over before Yahweh to battle, to the plains of Jericho.
4:14 On that day, Yahweh magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
4:15 Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
4:16 “Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
4:17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan!”
4:18 It happened, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh had come up out of 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.
4:19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.
4:20 Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal.
4:21 He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’
4:22 Then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
4:23 For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until you had passed over, as Yahweh your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had passed over;
4:24 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Yahweh, that it is mighty; that you may fear Yahweh your God forever.’”
5:1 It happened, when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard how that Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we had passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
5:2 At that time, Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.”
5:3 Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
5:4 This is the reason Joshua circumcised: all the people who came out of Egypt, who were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
5:5 For all the people who came out were circumcised; but all the people who were born in the wilderness by the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.
5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, even the men of war who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they didn’t listen to the voice of Yahweh. Yahweh swore to them that he wouldn’t let them see the land which Yahweh swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
5:7 Their children, whom he raised up in their place, were circumcised by Joshua; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them on the way.
5:8 It happened, when they were done circumcising all the nation, that they stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed.
5:9 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal, to this day.
5:10 The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho.
5:11 They ate unleavened cakes and parched grain of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover, in the same day.
5:12 The manna ceased on the next day, after they had eaten of the produce of the land. The children of Israel didn’t have manna any more; but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
5:13 It happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him, and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”
5:14 He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of Yahweh’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
5:15 The prince of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take your shoes off of your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.