Long Creek Church of Christ

JOSHUA

JOS 1:1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying,
JOS 1:2 "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
JOS 1:3 "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
JOS 1:4 "From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun, will be your territory.
JOS 1:5 "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
JOS 1:6 "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
JOS 1:7 "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
JOS 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
JOS 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
JOS 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
JOS 1:11 "Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.'"
JOS 1:12 And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,
JOS 1:13 "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.'
JOS 1:14 "Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them,
JOS 1:15 until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise."
JOS 1:16 And they answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
JOS 1:17 "Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.
JOS 1:18 "Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous."

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Chapter 2

JOS 2:1 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.
JOS 2:2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land."
JOS 2:3 And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land."
JOS 2:4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
JOS 2:5 "And it came about when it was time to shut the gate, at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them."
JOS 2:6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
JOS 2:7 So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.
JOS 2:8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
JOS 2:9 and said to the men, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.
JOS 2:10 "For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
JOS 2:11 "And when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
JOS 2:12 "Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth,
JOS 2:13 and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death."
JOS 2:14 So the men said to her, "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you."
JOS 2:15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.
JOS 2:16 And she said to them, "Go to the hill country, lest the pursuers happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days, until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way."
JOS 2:17 And the men said to her, "We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear,
JOS 2:18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household.
JOS 2:19 "And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand is laid on him.
JOS 2:20 "But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear."
JOS 2:21 And she said, "According to your words, so be it." So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
JOS 2:22 And they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had sought them all along the road, but had not found them.
JOS 2:23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them.
JOS 2:24 And they said to Joshua, "Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands, and all the inhabitants of the land, moreover, have melted away before us."

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Chapter 3

JOS 3:1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed.
JOS 3:2 And it came about at the end of three days that the officers went through the midst of the camp;
JOS 3:3 and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
JOS 3:4 "However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."
JOS 3:5 Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
JOS 3:6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
JOS 3:7 Now the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.
JOS 3:8 "You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"
JOS 3:9 Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, "Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God."
JOS 3:10 And Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite.
JOS 3:11 "Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.
JOS 3:12 "Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
JOS 3:13 "And it shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above shall stand in one heap."
JOS 3:14 So it came about when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people,
JOS 3:15 and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),
JOS 3:16 that the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.
JOS 3:17 And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

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Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

JOS 4:1 Now it came about when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
JOS 4:2 "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,
JOS 4:3 and command them, saying,' Take up 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.' "
JOS 4:4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;
JOS 4:5 and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel.
JOS 4:6 "Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?'
JOS 4:7 then you shall say to them,' Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; 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."
JOS 4:8 And thus the sons of Israel did, as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord 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 put them down there.
JOS 4:9 Then 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.
JOS 4:10 For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed;
JOS 4:11 and it came about when all the people had finished crossing, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed before the people.
JOS 4:12 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;
JOS 4:13 about 40,000, equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.
JOS 4:14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.
JOS 4:15 Now the Lord said to Joshua,
JOS 4:16 "Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan."
JOS 4:17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan."
JOS 4:18 And it came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord 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.
JOS 4:19 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.
JOS 4:20 And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.
JOS 4:21 And he said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?'
JOS 4:22 then you shall inform your children, saying,' Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.'
JOS 4:23 "For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed;
JOS 4:24 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever."

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Chapter 5

JOS 5:1 Now it came about 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 the Lord 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.
JOS 5:2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time."
JOS 5:3 So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
JOS 5:4 And 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, after they came out of Egypt.
JOS 5:5 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.
JOS 5:6 For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord, to whom the Lord had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
JOS 5:7 And their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way.
JOS 5:8 Now it came about when they had finished circumcising all the nation, that they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.
JOS 5:9 Then the Lord 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.
JOS 5:10 While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho.
JOS 5:11 And on the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.
JOS 5:12 And 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 yield of the land of Canaan during that year.
JOS 5:13 Now it came about 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?"
JOS 5:14 And he said, "No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?"
JOS 5:15 And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

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Chapter 6

JOS 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in.
JOS 6:2 And the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.
JOS 6:3 "And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days.
JOS 6:4 "Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
JOS 6:5 "And it shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."
JOS 6:6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord."
JOS 6:7 Then he said to the people, "Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of the Lord."
JOS 6:8 And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them.
JOS 6:9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets.
JOS 6:10 But Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout!"
JOS 6:11 So he had the ark of the Lord taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.
JOS 6:12 Now Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
JOS 6:13 And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets.
JOS 6:14 Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.
JOS 6:15 Then it came about on the seventh day that they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times.
JOS 6:16 And it came about at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.
JOS 6:17 "And the city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.
JOS 6:18 "But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, lest you covet them and take some of the things under the ban, so you would make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it.
JOS 6:19 "But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord."
JOS 6:20 So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and it came about, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.
JOS 6:21 And they utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
JOS 6:22 And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the harlot's house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her."
JOS 6:23 So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel.
JOS 6:24 And they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.
JOS 6:25 However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
JOS 6:26 Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, "Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his first-born he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates."
JOS 6:27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

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Chapter 7

JOS 7:1 But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.
JOS 7:2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." So the men went up and spied out Ai.
JOS 7:3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few."
JOS 7:4 So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai.
JOS 7:5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
JOS 7:6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
JOS 7:7 And Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord God, why didst Thou ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!
JOS 7:8 "O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies?
JOS 7:9 "For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what wilt Thou do for Thy great name?"
JOS 7:10 So the Lord said to Joshua, "Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?
JOS 7:11 "Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things.
JOS 7:12 "Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.
JOS 7:13 "Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the Lord, the God of Israel, has said," There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst."
JOS 7:14 'In the morning then you shall come near by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the Lord takes by lot shall come near by families, and the family which the Lord takes shall come near by households, and the household which the Lord takes shall come near man by man.
JOS 7:15 'And it shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.' "
JOS 7:16 So Joshua arose early in the morning and brought Israel near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
JOS 7:17 And he brought the family of Judah near, and he took the family of the Zerahites; and he brought the family of the Zerahites near man by man, and Zabdi was taken.
JOS 7:18 And he brought his household near man by man; and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was taken.
JOS 7:19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I implore you, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me."
JOS 7:20 So Achan answered Joshua and said, "Truly, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did:
JOS 7:21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it."
JOS 7:22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was concealed in his tent with the silver underneath it.
JOS 7:23 And they took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and they poured them out before the Lord.
JOS 7:24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor.
JOS 7:25 And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day." And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
JOS 7:26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day.

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Chapter 8

JOS 8:1 Now the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
JOS 8:2 "And you shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it."
JOS 8:3 So Joshua rose with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose 30,000 men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night.
JOS 8:4 And he commanded them, saying, "See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
JOS 8:5 "Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And it will come about when they come out to meet us as at the first, that we will flee before them.
JOS 8:6 "And they will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are fleeing before us as at the first.' So we will flee before them.
JOS 8:7 "And you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
JOS 8:8 "Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it according to the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you."
JOS 8:9 So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people.
JOS 8:10 Now Joshua rose early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai.
JOS 8:11 Then all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near and arrived in front of the city, and camped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai.
JOS 8:12 And he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
JOS 8:13 So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley.
JOS 8:14 And it came about when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose up early and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.
JOS 8:15 And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
JOS 8:16 And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
JOS 8:17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.
JOS 8:18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
JOS 8:19 And the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it; and they quickly set the city on fire.
JOS 8:20 When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers.
JOS 8:21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and slew the men of Ai.
JOS 8:22 And the others came out from the city to encounter them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they slew them until no one was left of those who survived or escaped.
JOS 8:23 But they took alive the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua.
JOS 8:24 Now it came about when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them were fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.
JOS 8:25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000 - - all the people of Ai.
JOS 8:26 For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
JOS 8:27 Israel took only the cattle and the spoil of that city as plunder for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua.
JOS 8:28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation until this day.
JOS 8:29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; and at sunset Joshua gave command and they took his body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and raised over it a great heap of stones that stands to this day.
JOS 8:30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,
JOS 8:31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
JOS 8:32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel.
JOS 8:33 And all Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had given command at first to bless the people of Israel.
JOS 8:34 Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
JOS 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them.

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Chapter 9

JOS 9:1 Now it came about when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of it,
JOS 9:2 that they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel.
JOS 9:3 When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,
JOS 9:4 they also acted craftily and set out as envoys, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended,
JOS 9:5 and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled.
JOS 9:6 And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us."
JOS 9:7 And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you are living within our land; how then shall we make a covenant with you?"
JOS 9:8 But they said to Joshua, "We are your servants." Then Joshua said to them, "Who are you, and where do you come from?"
JOS 9:9 And they said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the Lord your God; for we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt,
JOS 9:10 and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth.
JOS 9:11 "So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them and say to them," We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us."'
JOS 9:12 "This our bread was warm when we took it for our provisions out of our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled.
JOS 9:13 "And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and these our clothes and our sandals are worn out because of the very long journey."
JOS 9:14 So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord.
JOS 9:15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
JOS 9:16 And it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living within their land.
JOS 9:17 Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim.
JOS 9:18 And the sons of Israel did not strike them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.
JOS 9:19 But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, "We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.
JOS 9:20 "This we will do to them, even let them live, lest wrath be upon us for the oath which we swore to them."
JOS 9:21 And the leaders said to them, "Let them live." So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.
JOS 9:22 Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, "Why have you deceived us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you are living within our land?
JOS 9:23 "Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall never cease being slaves, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God."
JOS 9:24 So they answered Joshua and said, "Because it was certainly told your servants that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you; therefore we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
JOS 9:25 "And now behold, we are in your hands; do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us."
JOS 9:26 Thus he did to them, and delivered them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them.
JOS 9:27 But Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place which He would choose.

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Chapter 10

JOS 10:1 Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were within their land,
JOS 10:2 that he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.
JOS 10:3 Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,
JOS 10:4 "Come up to me and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel."
JOS 10:5 So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.
JOS 10:6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, "Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us."
JOS 10:7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him and all the valiant warriors.
JOS 10:8 And the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you."
JOS 10:9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal.
JOS 10:10 And the Lord confounded them before Israel, and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
JOS 10:11 And it came about as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, that the Lord threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
JOS 10:12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon."
JOS 10:13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
JOS 10:14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.
JOS 10:15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp to Gilgal.
JOS 10:16 Now these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah.
JOS 10:17 And it was told Joshua, saying, "The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah."
JOS 10:18 And Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them,
JOS 10:19 but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand."
JOS 10:20 And it came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished slaying them with a very great slaughter, until they were destroyed, and the survivors who remained of them had entered the fortified cities,
JOS 10:21 that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.
JOS 10:22 Then Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave."
JOS 10:23 And they did so, and brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
JOS 10:24 And it came about when they brought these kings out to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came near and put their feet on their necks.
JOS 10:25 Joshua then said to them, "Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies with whom you fight."
JOS 10:26 So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening.
JOS 10:27 And it came about at sunset that Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.
JOS 10:28 Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Thus he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
JOS 10:29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.
JOS 10:30 And the Lord gave it also with its king into the hands of Israel, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. Thus he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
JOS 10:31 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it.
JOS 10:32 And the Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
JOS 10:33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.
JOS 10:34 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it.
JOS 10:35 And they captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he utterly destroyed that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
JOS 10:36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it.
JOS 10:37 And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.
JOS 10:38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and they fought against it.
JOS 10:39 And he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.
JOS 10:40 Thus Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.
JOS 10:41 And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon.
JOS 10:42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
JOS 10:43 So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

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Chapter 11

JOS 11:1 Then it came about, when Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph,
JOS 11:2 and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country, and in the Arabah - - south of Chinneroth and in the lowland and on the heights of Dor on the west - -
JOS 11:3 to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
JOS 11:4 And they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
JOS 11:5 So all of these kings having agreed to meet, came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
JOS 11:6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire."
JOS 11:7 So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and attacked them.
JOS 11:8 And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, so that they defeated them, and pursued them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and the valley of Mizpeh to the east; and they struck them until no survivor was left to them.
JOS 11:9 And Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him; he hamstrung their horses, and burned their chariots with fire.
JOS 11:10 Then Joshua turned back at that time, and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the head of all these kingdoms.
JOS 11:11 And they struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire.
JOS 11:12 And Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them; just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.
JOS 11:13 However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alon