Joshua 6
1 Jericho's gates were shut and barred because of the Israelites. Nobody was allowed in or out.
(Now Jericho was all shut up because of the children of Israel: there was no going out or coming in.)
2 But the Lord told Joshua, “I'm handing over the city of Jericho to you, along with its king and its army of warriors.
And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into your hands Jericho with its king and all its men of war.
3 March around the city with your armed men once a day 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 Seven priests are to go ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram's horn. On the seventh day, march seven times around the city, with the priests blowing their rams' horns.
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 When you hear a long blast on the rams' horns, everyone shall give a really loud shout. The city walls will collapse, and every man can go right in.”
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 So Joshua, son of Nun, sent for the priests, and told them, “Pick up the Ark of Agreement, and have seven priests carry seven rams' horns and go ahead of 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 Then he told the people, “Move out! March around the city with the armed men up front ahead of 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 When Joshua finished speaking to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven rams' horns in the presence of the Lord started out, blowing the horns, with the Ark following behind.
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 Some of the armed men marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while some followed the Ark, the horns being blown continually.
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 However, Joshua ordered them, “Don't shout, don't even talk. Don't say anything until I tell you all to shout—then 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 So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. Then they returned to the camp and spent the night 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 Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests picked up the Ark of the Lord.
And early in the morning Joshua got up, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
13 The seven priests with the seven rams' horns went ahead of the Ark of the Lord, blowing the horns. The armed men went before them and behind the Ark of the Lord, the horns being blown continually.
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 So on the second day they marched around the city, circling it once, and returned to the camp. They did this for a total of 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 On the seventh day they got up at dawn and marched around the city in the usual way, except that this day they circled the city 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 The seventh time around when the priests blew the horns, Joshua told the people, “Shout! For today the Lord has given 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 The city and everything in it is to be set apart for the Lord and destroyed. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies 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 stay away from everything set apart for the Lord, for if you were to take anything you too would be liable to be destroyed, and you would also bring disaster on the camp of Israel.
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 All the silver and the gold, and everything made of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord and they must be placed in the Lord's treasury.”
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 So as soon as they heard the sound of the horns, the people gave a loud shout, and the city walls collapsed. The men went in right away and captured 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 They destroyed everything in the city: men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys, all were killed by 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 Joshua had told the two men who had gone to explore the land, “Go to the house of Rahab the prostitute and bring her out together with all her family, as you promised.”
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 So the spies went and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, and all who were with her. They brought out the whole family and took them to a place near the Israelite 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 the Israelites burned down the city and everything in it, except for the silver and the gold, and everything made of bronze and iron, which they placed in the treasury of the Lord's house.
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 Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her family because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.
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 At that time Joshua declared a curse, saying: “Cursed before the Lord is anyone who attempts to rebuild this city of Jericho. He lays its foundation at the cost of his firstborn son; he sets up its gates at the cost of his youngest son.”
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 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
So the Lord was with Joshua; and news of him went through all the land.
