Joshua 6
1 Meanwhile, the guards of Jericho shut the gates of the city tightly, because [they were afraid] of the Israeli [army]. No one was allowed to go into the city or go out of it.
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in.
2 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Listen [to what I say]! I am going to enable your army [SYN] to capture/conquer [MTY] Jericho and its king and its soldiers.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor.
3 So your army must march around the city for six days, once each day.
All of your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days.
4 Tell seven priests to march around with them. Each priest must carry a trumpet. Four other priests must carry the sacred chest, and they must walk behind the priests who are carrying the trumpets. On the seventh day, the army must march around the city seven times, and the priests must be blowing the trumpets while they march.
Seven priests shall bear seven shofars of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the shofars.
5 [After they have all marched around the city seven times], the priests must blow their trumpets [once], very loudly. When the Israeli people/soldiers hear that, they must shout loudly. Then the wall of the city will collapse, and all the Israeli people/soldiers will go straight into the city.”
It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the shofar, all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the city wall will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight in front of him.”
6 So Joshua summoned the priests and said to them, “Tell four priests to carry the chest [that contains] the Ten Commandments that Yahweh [gave to us]. [Tell] seven [other] priests to carry trumpets and walk in front of them.”
Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven shofars of rams’ horns before the LORD’s ark.”
7 And Joshua told the soldiers, “Start marching! March around the city, with several soldiers with weapons marching in front. Behind them will march the seven priests with trumpets, and behind them will march the four priests carrying Yahweh’s [sacred] chest.”
They said to the people, “Advance! March around the city, and let the armed men pass on before the LORD’s ark.”
8 After Joshua told that to the army, the seven priests, each carrying a sacred trumpet, started marching, blowing their trumpets. The four priests who were carrying Yahweh’s sacred chest followed them.
It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven shofars of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the shofars, and the ark of the LORD’s covenant followed them.
9 The group of soldiers carrying weapons marched in front of the priests who were blowing their trumpets, and the rest of the soldiers followed [the four men carrying] the chest. While [they were all marching], [the seven priests] were blowing their trumpets.
The armed men went before the priests who blew the shofars, and the ark went after them. The shofars sounded as they went.
10 But [the rest of] the people [were silent, because] Joshua had commanded them, “Do not make a war cry. Do not yell or say anything until the day when I tell you to shout. On that day, you must shout [loudly]!”
Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.”
11 So the men carrying Yahweh’s sacred chest and all the others did what Joshua told them to do. They marched around the city once. Then they all returned to their camp and stayed there that night.
So he caused the LORD’s ark to go around the city, circling it once. Then they came into the camp, and stayed in the camp.
12 The next morning, Joshua and the priests got up early, and the four priests carried Yahweh’s sacred chest [again].
Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the LORD’s ark.
13 The seven priests who were carrying trumpets went in front of [the men carrying] the chest. The seven priests were blowing their trumpets as they marched. The group of soldiers carrying weapons went in front of all the others, and the rest of the army followed all the others. All the time, the seven priests were blowing their trumpets.
The seven priests bearing the seven shofars of rams’ horns in front of the LORD’s ark went on continually, and blew the shofars. The armed men went in front of them. The rear guard came after the LORD’s ark. The shofars sounded as they went.
14 So on that second day they again marched around the city once and then returned to their camp. They did the same thing for six days.
The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at dawn, and they all marched around the city the same way that they had done before, but this time they marched around the city seven times.
On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times. On this day only they marched around the city seven times.
16 As they were marching around the seventh time, when the priests were about to blow the long/loud blast on their trumpets, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout, because Yahweh will enable you to capture the city!
At the seventh time, when the priests blew the shofars, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!
17 Yahweh has declared that you must destroy [IDM] the city and everything in it [to show that it belongs to him]. You must spare only Rahab the prostitute and the others who are in her house, because she hid the spies whom we sent there.
The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is in it, to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
18 And because Yahweh has declared that everything must be destroyed [IDM], you must not take [EUP] any of the things in the city. If you take anything, you will cause Yahweh to destroy our own camp and cause terrible things to happen to us.
But as for you, only keep yourselves from what is devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing; so you would make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it.
19 But all the silver and gold and articles made from iron and bronze that you find, you must set apart for Yahweh. You must put those things in his treasury.”
But all the silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD. They shall come into the LORD’s treasury.”
20 So they did what Joshua told them to do. When the priests blew a long blast on their trumpets, the people/army shouted loudly, and the wall of the city collapsed! Then the Israeli soldiers rushed in and captured the city.
So the people shouted and the priests blew the shofars. When the people heard the sound of the shofar, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him, and they took the city.
21 They killed [IDM] every living thing in the city—men and women, young people and old people, even cattle and sheep and donkeys.
They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
22 Then Joshua said to the two men (who had spied on/whom he had sent to learn all they could about) the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house. Bring her out, along with all her family, just as you promised to her.”
Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman and all that she has out from there, as you swore to her.”
23 So those two spies/men went into Rahab’s house and brought her out. They also brought out her father and mother and her brothers, and all the rest of her family. Joshua’s men spared Rahab the prostitute. They also did not kill all her relatives, because she had hidden and protected the spies/men whom Joshua had sent to Jericho. The two men brought them all out and put them in a place outside the camp of the Israelis. Rahab still lives among us Israeli people. Then the soldiers gathered the articles made from silver, gold, bronze, and iron that they found and they put them all into Yahweh’s treasury. But they burned everything else that was in the city.
The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all of her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.
They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.
But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lives in the middle of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
26 At that time, Joshua warned the people, “Yahweh will curse/punish anyone who tries to rebuild this city, Jericho. When that person lays/builds its foundation, his oldest son will die. And when he finishes building the city wall and sets up its gates, his youngest son will die.”
Joshua commanded them with an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed is the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he will set up its gates.”
27 Because of what happened that day, it was clear that Yahweh was with/helped Joshua, and Joshua became famous throughout the land.
So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.
