God had always promised the Israelites that one day he would rescue them from their slavery in Egypt and give them a new land in which to live.At last the time came,and Moses led his people out of Egypt.But life was still hard for the Israelites.They wandered for forty years in the desert before drawing near to their new home.Sadly,Moses,who was a very old man by then,died before he could enter the Promised Land.God chose Joshua to be the Israelites' new leader.
上帝总是许诺以色列人,有一天他会把他们从埃及的奴隶制度中解救出来,并给他们一块用以生活的新土地。这一时刻终于来到了，摩西带领着他的人民离开了埃及。但是以色列人的生活仍然很艰难。在进入新生活以前，他们在沙漠里徘徊了四十年。令人悲伤的是，摩西那个时候已经是个非常老的老人了，他在进入希望之乡以前就死掉了。上帝选择约书亚做为以色列人的新领导。
‘You shall have all of this land,which is called Canaan,’God told Joshua.‘I shall be with you,just as I was with Moses,so there is no need to be afraid as long as you obey my laws.’
“你们将会拥有迦南的所有土地，”上帝告诉约书亚，“我会和你在一起，就像我和摩西在一起一样，只要你遵守我的法律就不需要担心。”
Joshua was grateful for God's help.He knew that the Israelites would have to fight many battles before they could live happily in their new homeland.
The first problem was the city of Jericho,which lay just inside Canaan's border.This was one of the strongest cities in the world.It had high walls and strong gates.Joshua decided to send two spies into the city to see if there was an easy way for the Israelites to capture it.
The spies crept silently into the city.But the King of Jericho soon heard about the two strangers and gave orders for their arrest.
约书亚很感激上帝的帮助。他知道以色列人在能够幸福地生活在他们新的家园里之前，必须经历很多战斗。
首要的问题是耶利哥的城市就位于迦南的国界内。这是世界上最强大的城市之一。它有高高的围墙和坚固的大门。约书亚决定派两个间谍去城里看看，是否有一种能让以色列人夺取它的好方法。
间谍们悄悄地爬进城里。可迦南的国王很快就听说了这两个陌生人，并下令逮捕他们。
Luckily the two spies met a woman called Rahab,who was friendly to the Israelites.She took the two men into her house,which was built into the city wall,hurried them up to the flat roof and hid them under a pile of flax.
幸运的是这两个间谍遇见了一位对以色列人很友好的妇女喇合。她把这两个人带到了建在城墙边的她的家里，催促他们上了屋顶平台，把他们藏到了一堆亚麻下面。
She was just in time.The two strangers had been spotted creeping into Rahab's house,and a few minutes later the King's soldiers knocked on her door.Rahab went downstairs and told the guards that the men had already left the city.The soldiers believed her,and hurried away.Rahab returned to the roof.
她做得非常及时。这两个陌生人已经被发现潜入了喇合的房子里，几分钟后国王的士兵就来敲她的门。喇合下楼来告诉士兵们，那两人已经离开城里了。士兵们相信了她，匆匆地离开了。喇合又回到了屋顶上。
‘Why are you helping us?’asked the spies,as they crawled out from their hiding place.
‘I know God wants you to have this land,’explained Rahab,‘and I believe he will give you victory.Just promise that,when you capture Jericho,my family and I will be kept safe.’
The spies promised.
When it was dark,Rahab lowered a rope from her window.Before he climbed down,one of the spies gave Rahab a red cord.
‘Put this in your window,’he said.‘When our soldiers see it, they will know they must protect this house.’
“你为什么要帮助我们呢？”间谍们从他们藏身的地方爬出来问。
“我知道上帝要让你们拥有这块土地，”喇合解释道，“我相信他会让你们获得胜利的。请答应我在你们夺取耶利哥时保证我的家人和我的安全。”
间谍们答应了。
当天黑下来以后，喇合从她的窗口放下一根绳子。其中一个间谍在爬下去之前给了喇合一根红色的绳子。
“把这个放在你的窗户上，”他说，“当我们的士兵看到它，他们就会知道必须要保护这间屋子了。”
When the spies arrived back at the Israelite camp,they told Joshua everything they had seen.
‘We will attack the city,’Joshua announced.‘But first we must cross the river Jordan.’
The river Jordan was very wide,and the Israelites had no boats.But Joshua obeyed God's instructions.He told the priests who carried the gold box called the Ark,which held God's laws,to step into the water first.
间谍们回到以色列营地后，把他们所看到的每一件事都告诉了约书亚。
“我们要攻打这个城市，”约书亚宣布，“但首先我们必须穿过约旦河。”
约旦河非常宽，而以色列人又没有船。但是约书亚服从上帝的指示，他让抬着放有上帝律法的金盒子—约柜的祭司们，最先进入水里。
As they did so,the river stopped flowing,leaving a dry path across to the other bank.The priests waited on the path while the rest of the Israelites crossed.Then the priests stepped ashore,too,and the river began to flow once more.
当他们这样做了以后，河水停止了流动，留下了一条通往对岸的干燥的小路。祭司们等在路上，直到剩下的以色列人都过去了，他们才朝岸上走去。河水再次开始流动。
‘We have reached the Promised Land at last!’cried the Israelites.And they thanked God for bringing them safely to the end of their long journey.
‘Pick twelve large stones from the river and put them in a pile,’Joshua ordered.‘The stones will represent the twelve tribes of Israel and they will remind us of how God brought us into this new land.’
“我们终于到达希望之乡了！”以色列人喊道。他们感谢上帝使他们安全地结束了漫长的旅行。
“从河里捡十二块大石头并把它们摆成一堆，”约书亚命令道，“石头象征以色列的十二个支派，它们将提醒我们，上帝是如何带我们来到这片新土地的。”
The Israelites then began to move towards the city of Jericho.They looked at the high walls and the strong gates,but they did not attack the city straightaway because God had given Joshua some very strange instructions.
而后以色列人开始向耶利哥城前进。他们看到了高高的城墙和坚固的大门。可是他们并没有从正面攻击城市，因为上帝给了约书亚一些非常奇特的指示。
Joshua called the puzzled Israelites around him to tell them God's plan.
‘God has promised us that we will capture the city,’he announced.‘But it will take seven days.You must all do exactly as I tell you.Every day for six days we will all walk once around the city walls.Seven priests will lead us, blowing their trumpets.Behind them will come the other priests,carrying the Ark.The rest of us will follow,in silence.’
约书亚叫迷惑不解的以色列人围住他，并告诉他们上帝的计划。
“上帝已经许诺我们夺取这个城市，”他宣布，“但这将花费七天时间。你们所有的人都必须正确地照我告诉你们的去做：在六天里，我们每天都要围着城墙走一遍。七个祭司将吹着他们的喇叭带领我们。他们后面跟着其他的祭司，抬着约柜。我们剩下的人要安静地跟随。”
So each day for six days the Israelites marched once around the city,just as God had ordered.The people of Jericho stood on the high walls,watching in amazement.
于是，就像上帝所命令的那样，在六天中的每一天，以色列人都要绕城走一遍。耶利哥的人们站在高高的城墙上，惊愕地看着。
The only sounds they could hear were the loud trumpet blasts blown by the Israelite priests and the‘tramp,tramp’made by thousands of marching feet.
他们能听到的只有以色列的祭司们所吹的阵阵喇叭声和成千上万人前进时脚步所发出的“踏、踏”声。
On the seventh day the Israelites walked around the walls of Jericho seven times.Then they stopped and faced the city.Suddenly the trumpets blew loudly,and all the Israelites began to shout.The noise was deafening.
When the echoes died away,everyone could hear a faint rumbling sound which grew louder and louder.The Israelites watched in amazement as the
mighty walls of the great city of Jericho began to shake,and huge cracks appeared between the stones.
到了第七天，以色列人已经围着耶利哥城走了七次。然后他们停下来，面向着城墙。突然，喇叭声大作，所有的以色列人也开始大喊。声音震耳欲聋。
当回声渐渐平息后，每个人都能听到一阵微弱的隆隆声变得越来越大。以色列人吃惊地看到伟大的耶利哥城那坚固的城墙开始摇晃，石头之间出现了巨大的裂缝。
Then,with an earth-shaking,roaring crash,the walls of Jericho crumbled and fell to the ground.
而后，随着一阵地震和咆哮般的巨响，耶利哥的城墙崩溃了，坍落到地上。
‘Now’, shouted Joshua,before the dust had settled.‘Attack!’
The Israelites rushed forward,cheering.They scrambled over the broken walls and,within a very short time,captured the city.Some of the Israelite soldiers rushed off to find Rahab.
“现在，”在尘埃落定之前，约书亚喊道，“进攻！”
以色列人欢呼着冲过去。他们攀过破碎的城墙，用很短的时间就夺取了城市。以色列的一些士兵急忙寻找喇合。
Rahab had remembered to tie the red cord to her window,and the Israelite soldiers soon spotted it amongst the ruins.They pulled Rahab and her family safe and sound from the rubble.
‘Rahab is safe because she trusted in God,’said Joshua.
‘And we captured Jericho because we trusted in God as well.God will help us all to live happily in the Promised Land if we trust and believe in him.’
Everyone cheered.Although there would be more battles to fight,the Israelites knew that God would always be with them.
喇合记住了把那个红绳子系在她的窗户上，以色列士兵很快在废墟中发现了它。他们拉着喇合与她的家人，把他们从碎石中带到安全可靠的地方。
“喇合是安全的，因为她相信上帝。”约书亚说，“我们夺取了耶利哥，因为我们也相信上帝。如果我们都相信上帝，他就会帮助我们所有人在希望之乡愉快地生活。”
每个人都欢呼着。虽然还要有更多的仗要打，以色列人知道上帝总是会和他们在一起的。
| 
