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 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 given Jericho into your hand, with its king and all the strong men.
And the Lord said to Joshua, Behold, I deliver Jericho into thy power, and its king in it, [and its] mighty men.
3 Have all the warriors circle the city once each day; you shall do so for six days.
And do thou set the men of war round about it.
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 it shall be [that] when ye shall sound with the trumpet, all the people shall shout together.
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 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 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.”
And Joshua the [son] of Naue went in to the priests, and spoke to them, saying,
7 He also said to the people, “Go, and circle the city, armed, preceding 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 And when Joshua had finished his words, and the seven priests sounded the seven trumpets before the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
Charge the people to go round, and encompass the city; and let your men of war pass on armed before the Lord.
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 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 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 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 ye shall cry out.
11 Thus, the ark of the Lord circled the city once each day, and returning to the camp, it remained there.
And the ark of the covenant of God having gone round immediately returned into the camp, and lodged there.
12 And so, with Joshua, arising in the night, 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 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 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 And they circled the city on the second day, once, and they returned to the camp. They did so 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, rising at first light, they circled the city, just as had been ordered, seven times.
And on the seventh day they rose up early, and compassed the city on that day 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 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 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 city shall be devoted, it and all things that are in it, to the Lord of Hosts: only do ye save Raab the harlot, and all things in her house.
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.
But keep yourselves strictly from the accursed thing, lest ye set your mind upon and take of the accursed thing, and ye make the camp of the children of Israel and accursed thing, and destroy us.
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.”
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 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.
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 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 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 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.”
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 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.
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 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.
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 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:
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 “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.”
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 first-born, 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 first-born, and set up the gates of it in his youngest surviving son.
27 And so the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was made known throughout all the land.
And the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was in all the land.
