Study Desk

So Joshua went through the religious act on their children, whom the Lord raised up in their place. For they had not gone through this religious act along the way.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away from you the shame of Egypt." So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

The bread from heaven stopped on the day after they had eaten some of the food of the land. So the people of Israel no longer had bread from heaven. But they ate food of the land of Canaan during that year.

The Captain of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your shoes off your feet. For the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

So Joshua the son of Nun called the religious leaders and said to them, "Take up the special box of the agreement. And let seven religious leaders carry seven rams' horns in front of the special box of the agreement."

So he had the special box of the agreement taken around the city once. Then they returned to the tents and stayed there through the night.

So the people called out and the religious leaders blew the horns. When the people heard the sound of the horns, they called out even louder. And the wall fell to the ground. All the people went straight in and took the city.

So the young men who had spied out the land went in, and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all she had. They brought out all of her family and took them outside the tents of Israel.

So the Lord was with Joshua. He was well known and respected in all the land.

But the people of Israel sinned with the things that were to be destroyed. Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the family of Judah, took some of the things that were to be destroyed. So the Lord was very angry with the people of Israel.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel. He said to them, "Go and spy out the land in secret." So the men went and spied out Ai.

So about 3,000 men of Israel went, but they ran away from the men of Ai.

The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and ran after them from the gate as far as Shebarim. And they killed more on the way down. So the hearts of the people became weak. They became like water.

So Joshua got up early in the morning and brought Israel near by family groups. The family group of Judah was taken.

So Joshua sent men to the tent. There they found it, with the silver under it.

So Joshua and all the men of war got ready to go up to Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 strong soldiers, and sent them out during the night.

They will come out after us until we have taken them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are running from us as they did before.' So we will run from them.

So they put the men in their places. There was the army on the north side of the city, and the secret army on the west side of the city. But Joshua stayed that night in the center of the valley.

The king of Ai saw this. So the men of the city were quick to get up early and go out to meet Israel in battle at the chosen place near the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an army hiding behind the city.

So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel. They left the city open and ran after Israel.