Joshua 5

1 All the kings of the people-groups to the west of the Jordan River and all the kings of the groups who were descendants of Canaan and who lived close to the [Mediterranean] Sea heard about how Yahweh had dried up the water of the Jordan [River] until all we Israeli people had crossed over. So they became very dismayed. They no longer were courageous enough to fight us.

When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings of the Mediterranean coast heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the River Jordan so that the Israelites could cross over, their courage melted and they no longer had any fighting spirit to face the Israelites.

2 While [they were camped at Gilgal], Yahweh said to Joshua, “[The Israeli males who lived in Egypt were circumcised before they left there. Now] make knives from flint stones and circumcise all the Israeli males [who have been born since then].”

At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the new generation of Israelites.”

3 So Joshua [made knives and] circumcised the Israeli males at a place that is now called ‘Circumcision Hill’.

Joshua had flint knives made and all male Israelites were circumcised at the place that became known as “the hill of foreskins.”

4 [The reason they did that is that all the men who left Egypt], those who were old enough to be soldiers, died in the desert after they left Egypt.

This is the reason why Joshua had them all circumcised: all those who left Egypt—the men of fighting age—had died on the journey through the wilderness after the Exodus.

5 They had been circumcised in Egypt, but the baby boys who had been born while their parents were camping in the desert after they left Egypt had not been circumcised.

They had all been circumcised when they left Egypt, but those born on the journey since then had not.

6 Our Israeli ancestors traveled around in the desert for 40 years, and all the men who were old enough to be soldiers had died. [The women had also died]. They had not obeyed Yahweh, so Yahweh said that they would not arrive at the land that he had promised to our ancestors that he would give to us, a land that was very fertile [MTY].

For forty years the Israelites traveled through the wilderness until all the men of fighting age when they left Egypt had died, because they had not done what the Lord had told them to do. So the Lord had vowed that he would not let them see the land he had promised their forefathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

7 The sons of those who had disobeyed Yahweh were the ones whom Joshua circumcised at Gilgal. They were circumcised because they had not been circumcised [while they were traveling in the desert].

The Lord replaced them with their children, and these were the ones that Joshua circumcised. They were uncircumcised since they hadn't been circumcised on the way.

8 After all the Israeli males had been circumcised, they remained in the camp and rested until their wounds were healed.

Once they had all been circumcised, they stayed in the camp until they recovered.

9 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “[Because your forefathers were slaves in Egypt], the Egyptians felt a revulsion toward you. But today I have removed the revulsion the Egyptians have had toward you.” Because of that, the people called the place ‘Gilgal’, [which sounds like the Hebrew word ‘removed’, ] and it still has that name.

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have removed from all of you the disgrace of Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.

10 In the evening of the fourteenth day of that month, while the Israeli people were camped at Gilgal, on the plain near Jericho [city], they celebrated the Passover [Festival].

The Israelites camped at Gilgal and celebrated Passover there on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.

11 The next day, they found some barley grain in the fields in that area. So they took that and roasted it and ate it with bread that was made without yeast.

From the very next day they began to eat produce from the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.

12 The next day, [God] stopped [sending] manna for the Israeli people to eat. After that, they ate food that was grown in Canaan.

On the same day when they began eating produce from the land there was no more manna. No longer did the Israelites have manna; after that they ate the produce of the land of Canaan.

13 One day when Joshua came near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you [going to fight] for us or against us?”

One day when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or against us?” “Neither,” said the man. “I am the commander of the Lord's army. Now I'm here!”

14 The man replied, “I am not [planning to fight with you] or [against you]. Instead, I am the commander of Yahweh’s army [in heaven], and I have come [down from there to assure you that Yahweh will help you].” Then Joshua bowed down with his face on the ground (to show his respect for/to worship) the man, and said to him, “Tell me what [you want me to do].”

Joshua fell down with his face to the ground in awe. Then he said, “What orders does my lord have for his servant?”

15 The commander of Yahweh’s army replied, “Take off your sandals! [I am Yahweh, and] the ground on which you are standing is holy because I am here.” So Joshua took off his sandals.

The commander of the Lord's army told Joshua, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you're standing is holy ground.” Joshua did so.