Joshua 6
1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
Now Jericho was closely shut up and besieged, and none went out of it, and none came in.
2 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor.
And the Lord said to Joshua, Behold, I deliver Jericho into your power, and its king in it, [and its] mighty men.
3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
And do you set the men of war round about it.
4 Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns.
And it shall be [that] when you shall sound with the trumpet, all the people shall shout together.
5 And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”
And when they have shouted, the walls of the city shall fall of themselves; and all the people shall enter, each one rushing direct into the city.
6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”
And Joshua the [son] of Naue went in to the priests, and spoke to them, saying,
7 And he told the people, “Advance and march around the city, with the armed troops going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”
And let seven priests having seven sacred trumpets proceed thus before the Lord, and let them sound loudly; and let the ark of the covenant of the Lord follow.
8 After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
Charge the people to go round, and encompass the city; and let your men of war pass on armed before the Lord.
9 While the horns continued to sound, the armed troops marched ahead of the priests who blew the horns, and the rear guard followed the ark.
And let the men of war proceed before, and the priests bringing up the rear behind the ark of the covenant of the Lord [proceed] sounding the trumpets.
10 But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!”
And Joshua commanded the people, saying, Cry not out, nor let any one hear your voice, until he himself declare to you the time to cry out, and then you shall cry out.
11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. And the people returned to the camp and spent the night there.
And the ark of the covenant of God having gone round immediately returned into the camp, and lodged there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD.
And on the second day Joshua rose up in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
13 And the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns kept marching ahead of the ark of the LORD and blowing the horns. The armed troops went in front of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the horns kept sounding.
And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets went on before the Lord; and afterwards the men of war went on, and the remainder of the multitude went after the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
And all the rest of the multitude compassed the city six times from within a short distance, and went back again into the camp; this they did six days.
15 Then on the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. That was the only day they circled the city seven times.
And on the seventh day they rose up early, and compassed the city on that day seven times.
16 After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!
And it came to pass at the seventh circuit the priests blew the trumpets; and Joshua said to the children of Israel, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city.
17 Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent.
And the city shall be devoted, it and all things that are in it, to the Lord of Hosts: only do you save Raab the harlot, and all things in her house.
18 But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it.
But keep yourselves strictly from the accursed thing, lest you set your mind upon and take of the accursed thing, and you make the camp of the children of Israel and accursed thing, and destroy us.
19 For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.”
And all the silver, or gold, or brass, or iron, shall be holy to the Lord; it shall be carried into the treasury of the Lord.
20 So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it.
And the priests sounded with the trumpets: and when the people heard the trumpets, all the people shouted at once with a loud and strong shout; and all the wall fell round about, and all the people went up into the city:
21 At the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
and Joshua devoted it to destruction, and all things that were in the city, man and woman, young man and old, and calf and ass, with the edge of the sword.
22 Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”
And Joshua said to the two young men who had acted a spies, Go into the house of the woman, and bring her out thence, and all that she has.
23 So the young spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel.
And the two young men who had spied out the city entered into the house of the woman, and brought out Raab the harlot, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and her kindred, and all that she had; and they set her without the camp of Israel.
24 Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.
And the city was burnt with fire with all things that were in it; only of the silver, and gold, and brass, and iron, they gave to be brought into the treasury of the Lord.
25 And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day.
And Joshua saved alive Raab the harlot, and all the house of her father, and caused her to dwell in Israel until this day, because she hid the spies which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
26 At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”
And Joshua adjured [them] on that day before the Lord, saying, Cursed [be] the man who shall build that city: he shall lay the foundation of it in his firstborn, and he shall set up the gates of it in his youngest son. And so did Hozan of Baethel; he laid the foundation in Abiron his firstborn, and set up the gates of it in his youngest surviving son.
27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
And the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was in all the land.
