Joshua 5
The full text of Joshua 5 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again."
3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.
4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt.
5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not.
6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way.
8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.
9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.
10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.
11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.
12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
13 Now 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 for our enemies?"
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my lord have for his servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
Translation notes (7)
- Joshua 5:2a 'Again' (Hebrew: shenit) does not mean the men were circumcised twice; it marks the renewal of the religious practice for a whole generation born in the wilderness who had never been circumcised (verses 4-7).
- Joshua 5:6a 'A land flowing with milk and honey' is the recurring promise-language for the land's God-given abundance, first spoken to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:8, 17). The shift from 'their ancestors' to 'give us' marks the narrator speaking in the voice of the new generation who did receive it.
- Joshua 5:9a 'Gilgal' sounds like the Hebrew word galloti, meaning 'I have rolled away'; the name commemorates the LORD's word. 'The reproach of Egypt' is the shame of slavery and of the uncircumcised wilderness years, which is now removed as the people enter the land.
- Joshua 5:12a The manna had sustained Israel for forty years (Exodus 16:35); its ceasing the moment they eat the land's own produce marks the end of the wilderness era and the beginning of life in the promised land.
- Joshua 5:13a The mysterious armed figure is identified in verse 14 as 'the commander of the LORD's army.' Joshua's question assumes two human sides; the answer ('Neither') presents the battle as the LORD's, not Israel's.
- Joshua 5:14a Some ancient manuscripts read 'To you' instead of 'Neither'; the standard Hebrew text reading 'Neither' (Hebrew: lo) is followed here. The figure declines both human sides: he commands the LORD's army, and the battle is the LORD's.
- Joshua 5:15a 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy' is almost word for word what the LORD said to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5)—this deliberately marks Joshua's commissioning as a counterpart to Moses'.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Hebrew and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Joshua, are free to read on this site.
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