Joshua 6
1 (Now Jericho was all shut up because of the children of Israel: there was no going out or coming in.)
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into your hands Jericho with its king and all its men of war.
And the LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor.
3 Now let all your fighting-men make a circle round the town, going all round it once. Do this for six days.
March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
4 And let seven priests go before the ark with seven loud-sounding horns in their hands: on the seventh day you are to go round the town seven times, the priests blowing their horns.
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.
5 And at the sound of a long note on the horns, let all the people give a loud cry; and the wall of the town will come down flat, and all the people are to go straight forward.
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.”
6 Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent for the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the agreement, and let seven priests take seven horns in their hands and go before the ark of the Lord.
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.”
7 And he said to the people, Go forward, circling the town, and let the armed men go before the ark of the Lord.
And he told the people, “Advance and march around the city, with the armed troops going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”
8 So after Joshua had said this to the people, the seven priests with their seven horns went forward before the Lord, blowing on their horns: and the ark of the Lord's agreement went after them.
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.
9 And the armed men went before the priests who were blowing the horns, and the mass of the people went after the ark, blowing their horns.
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.
10 And to the people Joshua gave an order, saying, You will give no cry, and make no sound, and let no word go out of your mouth till the day when I say, Give a loud cry; then give a loud cry.
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!”
11 So he made the ark of the Lord go all round the town once: then they went back to the tents for the night.
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.
12 And early in the morning Joshua got up, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD.
13 And the seven priests with their seven horns went on before the ark of the Lord, blowing their horns: the armed men went before them, and the mass of the people went after the ark of the Lord, blowing their horns.
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.
14 The second day they went all round the town once, and then went back to their tents: and so they did for six days.
So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 Then on the seventh day they got up early, at the dawn of the day, and went round the town in the same way, but that day they went round it seven times.
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.
16 And the seventh time, at the sound of the priests' horns, Joshua said to the people, Now give a loud cry; for the Lord has given you the town.
After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!
17 And the town will be put to the curse, and everything in it will be given to the Lord: only Rahab, the loose woman, and all who are in the house with her, will be kept safe, because she kept secret the men we sent.
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.
18 And as for you, keep yourselves from the cursed thing, for fear that you may get a desire for it and take some of it for yourselves, and so be the cause of a curse and great trouble on the tents of Israel.
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.
19 But all the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron are holy to the Lord: they are to come into the store-house of the Lord.
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.”
20 So the people gave a loud cry, and the horns were sounded; and on hearing the horns the people gave a loud cry, and the wall came down flat, so that the people went up into the town, every man going straight before him, and they took the town.
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.
21 And they put everything in the town to the curse; men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and ass, they put to death without mercy.
At the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
22 Then Joshua said to the two men who had been sent to make a search through the land, Go into the house of the loose woman, and get her out, and all who are with her, as you gave her your oath.
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.”
23 So the searchers went in and got out Rahab and her father and mother and her brothers and all she had, and they got out all her family; and they took them outside the tents of Israel.
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.
24 Then, after burning up the town and everything in it, they put the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron into the store-house of the Lord's house.
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.
25 But Joshua kept Rahab, the loose woman, and her father's family and all she had, from death, and so she got a living-place among the children of Israel to this day; because she kept safe the men whom Joshua had sent to make a search through the land.
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.
26 Then Joshua gave the people orders with an oath, saying, Let that man be cursed before the Lord who puts his hand to the building up of this town: with the loss of his first son will he put the first stone of it in place, and with the loss of his youngest son he will put up its doors.
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.”
27 So the Lord was with Joshua; and news of him went through all the land.
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
