Joshua 6
1 Now Jericho was closed as well as fortified, out of fear of the sons of Israel, and no one dared to depart or to enter.
(Now Jericho was all shut up because of the children of Israel: there was no going out or coming in.)
2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and all the strong men.
And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into your hands Jericho with its king and all its men of war.
3 Have all the warriors circle the city once each day; you shall do so for six days.
Now let all your fighting-men make a circle round the town, going all round it once. Do this for six days.
4 Then, on the seventh day, the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used on the jubilee, and they shall precede the ark of the covenant. And you shall circle the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets.
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.
5 And when the voice of the trumpet sounds longer and with interruptions, and it increases in your ears, then all the people shall cry out together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the foundation, and they shall enter it, each from a place opposite where they are standing.”
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.
6 Then Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests, and he said to them, “Take the ark of the covenant, and let seven other priests take the seven trumpets of the jubilee, and advance before the ark of the Lord.”
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.
7 He also said to the people, “Go, and circle the city, armed, preceding the ark of the Lord.”
And he said to the people, Go forward, circling the town, and let the armed men go before the ark of the Lord.
8 And when Joshua had finished his words, and the seven priests sounded the seven trumpets before the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
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.
9 and all the armed soldiers went ahead, the remainder of the common people followed the ark, and the sound of the trumpets grew louder everywhere.
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.
10 But Joshua had instructed the people, saying, “You shall not cry out, nor shall your voice be heard, and no word at all shall proceed from your mouth, until the day arrives on which I will say to you, ‘Cry out, and shout.’”
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.
11 Thus, the ark of the Lord circled the city once each day, and returning to the camp, it remained there.
So he made the ark of the Lord go all round the town once: then they went back to the tents for the night.
12 And so, with Joshua, arising in the night, the priests took the ark of the Lord,
And early in the morning Joshua got up, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
13 and seven of them took the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and they preceded the ark of the Lord, walking and sounding the trumpets. And the armed men went before them, and the remainder of the common people followed the ark, and they were blaring the trumpets.
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.
14 And they circled the city on the second day, once, and they returned to the camp. They did so for six days.
The second day they went all round the town once, and then went back to their tents: and so they did for six days.
15 Then, on the seventh day, rising at first light, they circled the city, just as had been ordered, seven times.
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.
16 And at the seventh circling, when the priests sounded the trumpets, Joshua said to all of Israel: “Shout! For the Lord has delivered the city to you.
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.
17 And let this city be anathema, with all the things that are within it, before the Lord. May only Rahab the harlot live, with all who are with her in the house. For she hid the messengers whom we sent.
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.
18 But you must be careful that you do not touch any of those things, as you have been instructed, for then you would be guilty of transgression, and all the camp of Israel would be under sin and would be troubled.
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.
19 But whatever gold and silver there will be, and vessels of brass or of iron, let these be consecrated to the Lord and be stored in his treasuries.”
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.
20 Therefore, with all the people shouting, and the trumpets blaring, after the voice and the sound increased in the ears of the multitude, the walls promptly fell to ruin. And each one climbed up at the place which was opposite where he was. And they seized the city.
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.
21 And they put to death all who were in it, from man even to woman, from infant even to elder. Likewise, the oxen and sheep and donkeys, they struck down with the edge of the sword.
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.
22 But Joshua said to the two men who had been sent to explore, “Enter the house of the harlot woman, and bring her out, and all the things that are hers, just as you assured her by oath.”
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.
23 And the youths entered, and they led out Rahab, and her parents, also her brothers, and all her goods and kindred, and they caused them to dwell outside the camp.
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.
24 Then they set fire to the city and all the things that were within it, except the gold and silver, and the vessels of brass or of iron, which they consecrated into the treasury of the Lord.
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.
25 Yet truly, Joshua caused Rahab the harlot, and her father’s household, and all she had, to survive. And they lived in the midst of Israel, even to the present day. For she hid the messengers, whom he had sent to explore Jericho. At that time, Joshua made an invocation, saying:
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.
26 “Cursed before the Lord is the man who will raise up and rebuild the city of Jericho! With his firstborn, may he lay its foundation, and with the last of his children, may he set up its gates.”
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.
27 And so the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was made known throughout all the land.
So the Lord was with Joshua; and news of him went through all the land.
