Study Desk

and Joshua said to them, "Cross over again to the ark of the LORD your God into the midst 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,

"For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, just as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed;

so that all the peoples of the earth may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that the hand of the LORD is mighty and extraordinarily powerful, so that you will fear the LORD your God [and obey and worship Him with profound awe and reverence] forever."

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 that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted [in despair], and there was no [fighting] spirit in them any longer because of the Israelites [and what God had done for them].

Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why have You brought this people across the Jordan at all, only to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to live beyond the Jordan!

"Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: "There are things under the ban among you, O Israel. You cannot stand [victorious] before your enemies until you remove the things under the ban from among you."

Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him [in recognition of His righteous judgments]; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me."

So Achan answered Joshua and said, "In truth, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done:

"Then you will emerge from the ambush and take possession of the city, for the LORD your God will hand it over to you.

Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,

They said to him, "Your servants have come from a country that is very far away because of the fame of the LORD your God; for we have heard the news about Him and all [the remarkable things] that He did in Egypt,

But 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 [to spare them]. And all the congregation murmured [expressing great dissatisfaction] against the leaders.

But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, "We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, so now we cannot touch them.

"This [is what] we will do to them: we will let them live, so that the wrath [of God] does not come upon us for [violating] the oath which we have sworn to them."

"Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall always be slaves, both cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the house of my God."

They replied to Joshua and said, "Because your servants were told in no uncertain terms that the LORD your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the land's inhabitants before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and so we did this [deceptive] thing.

but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand."

So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, the Negev (South country) and the lowland and the slopes [that descend to the Dead Sea] 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.

Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

It was only to the tribe of Levi that Moses gave no [territory as an] inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He told him.