It then went up the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites on the south (that is, Jerusalem), ¹  going up to the top of the hill opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of the Rephaites to the north.

At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: ¹  “The man who attempts to rebuild ²  this city of Jericho ³  will stand condemned before the Lord. ⁴  He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!” ⁵ 

But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, ¹  it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment ²  until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you.

Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster. ¹ 

He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. ¹  At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. ²  They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day). ³ 

Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, ¹  “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. ²  Now ³  you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.” ⁴ 

We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing ¹  to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors ²  made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’ ³ 

Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off. ¹  For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them, ²  a land rich in ³  milk and honey.

The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. ¹  So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. ² 

He has done this so ¹  all the nations ²  of the earth might recognize the Lord’s power ³  and so you might always obey ⁴  the Lord your God.”

She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. ¹  We are absolutely terrified of you, ²  and all who live in the land are cringing before ³  you. ⁴ 

for the Lord determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses. ¹ 

Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. ¹ 

from Ekron westward, all those in the vicinity of Ashdod and their towns;

and told them: “You have carried out all the instructions of Moses the Lord’s servant, and you have obeyed all I have told you. ¹ 

But Israel did not burn any of the cities located on mounds, ¹  except for Hazor; ²  it was the only one Joshua burned.

But the men ¹  of Manasseh were unable to conquer these cities; the Canaanites managed ²  to remain in those areas.

At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle. ¹  The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees.

So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. ¹  Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. ²  Give me a solemn pledge ³ 

Now today you dare to turn back ¹  from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against ²  the entire community of Israel.