So the men of Jericho went out to search for the spies, and the city gates were shut behind them. They searched for them as far as where the path crosses the Jordan.
“Follow me closely,” he said, “and pursue them, for Yahweh has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands!” So they followed his lead and secured the fords of the Jordan opposite the land of Moab and did not let anyone cross.
In order to keep the Ephraimites from escaping, the men of Gilead captured the places where they could cross the Jordan. When any Ephraimite tried to escape and asked permission to cross the river, the men of Gilead would ask, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”