1Da de amoritiske konger, der herskede vest for Jordanfloden, og de kana’anæiske konger langs Middelhavets kyst hørte, at Herren havde stoppet vandet i Jordanfloden, så israelitterne kunne gå over, blev de lammet af frygt og turde ikke kæmpe imod Israels folk.
Omskærelsen og påskefesten i Gilgal
2Herren sagde nu til Josva: „Lav nogle flinteknive og sørg for, at israelitterne bliver omskåret som før i tiden.” 3Josva gjorde, som Herren havde sagt, og de mandlige israelitter blev omskåret ved et sted, som blev kaldt Givat-ha-Aralot.5,3 Det betyder: „forhudshøjen”. 4-5Alle de omskårne, våbenføre mænd, som i sin tid havde forladt Egypten, var døde undervejs, og de, som var blevet født under ørkenvandringen, var aldrig blevet omskåret. 6Israelitterne havde jo opholdt sig i ørkenen i 40 år, indtil alle de våbenføre mænd var døde. Herren havde nemlig sagt, at på grund af deres ulydighed måtte de ikke få lov at se det land, han havde lovet deres forfædre—et land, som flyder med mælk og honning. 7Det var deres sønner, der nu blev omskåret.
8Efter omskærelsen hvilede mændene i lejren, indtil deres sår var lægt.
9Herren sagde til Josva: „I dag har jeg fjernet skammen fra jeres slavetid i Egypten. Jeg har rullet den bort.” Derfor kaldte man stedet Gilgal,5,9 Det betyder: „rulle bort”. og det kaldes det den dag i dag. 10Mens de lå i lejren ved Gilgal på Jerikosletten, fejrede de påske om aftenen den fjortende dag i årets første måned. 11Dagen efter spiste de af landets afgrøde: ristet korn og brød bagt uden surdej. 12Fra den dag kom der ikke mere manna, men de spiste af Kana’ans afgrøder.
Jerikos fald
13En dag, mens Josva opholdt sig i nærheden af Jeriko, så han pludselig, at der stod en mand med draget sværd foran ham. Josva gik hen til ham og spurgte: „Hører du til hos os eller vores fjender?”
14„Ingen af delene,” svarede manden. „Jeg er øverstkommanderende for Herrens hær!”
Da faldt Josva på knæ og bøjede ansigtet mod jorden. „Til tjeneste, Herre!” udbrød han. „Hvad ønsker du, jeg skal gøre?”
15Den øverstkommanderende over Herrens hær svarede: „Tag dine sko af, for du står på et helligt sted.” Og Josva gjorde, som han sagde.
1All the Amorite and Canaanite kings heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River. They heard how he had dried it up for the Israelites until they had gone across it. The Amorite kings lived west of the Jordan. The kings of Canaan lived along the Mediterranean Sea. When all those kings heard what the Lord had done, they were terrified. They weren’t brave enough to face the Israelites anymore.
Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal
2At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make knives out of flint. Use them to circumcise the men of Israel.” 3So Joshua made knives out of flint. Then he used them to circumcise the men of Israel at Gibeath Haaraloth.
4Here is why Joshua circumcised them. All the men who came out of Egypt had died. They died while they were wandering through the Sinai Desert. They were the men old enough to serve in the army. 5All the men who came out had been circumcised. But all the men born in the desert during the journey from Egypt hadn’t been circumcised. 6The Israelites had moved around in the desert for 40 years. By the end of that time all the men old enough to serve in the army when they left Egypt had died. That’s because they hadn’t obeyed the Lord. He had made a promise to them. He had told them they wouldn’t see the land. It’s the land he had promised to their people to give us. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. 7Because they hadn’t obeyed him, he raised up their sons to take their place. They were the ones Joshua circumcised. They hadn’t been circumcised yet. That’s because no one had circumcised them during the journey. 8So Joshua circumcised all those men. The whole nation remained in the camp until the men were healed.
9Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Today I have taken away from you the shame of being slaves in Egypt.” That’s why the place where the men were circumcised has been called Gilgal to this very day.
10The Israelites celebrated the Passover Feast. They observed it on the evening of the 14th day of the month. They did it while they were camped at Gilgal on the plains around Jericho. 11The day after the Passover, they ate some of the food grown in the land. On that same day they ate grain that had been cooked. They also ate bread made without yeast. 12The manna stopped coming down the day after they ate the food grown in the land. The Israelites didn’t have manna anymore. Instead, that year they ate food grown in Canaan.
Israel Captures Jericho
13When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword. He was ready for battle. Joshua went up to him. He asked, “Are you on our side? Or are you on the side of our enemies?”
14“I am not on either side,” he replied. “I have come as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua fell with his face to the ground. He asked the man, “What message does my Lord have for me?”
15The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” So Joshua took them off.
