Joshua 6
Legacy Standard Bible
The Destruction of Jericho
6 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out, and no one came in. 2 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with (A)its king and the valiant warriors. 3 And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. 4 Also seven priests shall carry seven (B)trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And it will be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down [a]beneath itself, and the people will go up every man [b]straight ahead.”
6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Carry the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh.” 7 Then [c]he said to the people, “Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of Yahweh.” 8 And so it happened that, when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh passed on forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came after them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and (C)the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” 11 So he had the ark of Yahweh [d]taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.
12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests carried the ark of Yahweh. 13 (D)And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and (E)the rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, and they continued to blow the trumpets. 14 Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.
15 Then it happened that on the seventh day they rose early at the [e]breaking of dawn and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. 16 Now it happened that on the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, “(F)Shout! For Yahweh has given you the city. 17 And the city shall be (G)devoted to destruction, it and all that is in it belongs to Yahweh; only Rahab the harlot [f]and all who are with her in the house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest as you are devoting them to destruction, you also (H)take some of the things devoted to destruction and make the camp of Israel devoted to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 (I)But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to Yahweh; they shall go into the treasury of Yahweh.” 20 So the people shouted, and [g]the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the (J)wall fell down [h]beneath itself, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight [i]ahead, and they took the city. 21 (K)And they devoted to destruction everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
22 Now to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “(L)Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” 23 So the young men who were spies went in and (M)brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24 (N)But they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the [j]house of Yahweh. 25 However, (O)Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua preserved alive; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for (P)she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
26 Then Joshua made them swear an oath at that time, saying, “(Q)Cursed before Yahweh is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.” 27 So (R)Yahweh was with Joshua, and the (S)report about him was in all the land.
Footnotes
- Joshua 6:5 Or in its place
- Joshua 6:5 Lit before himself
- Joshua 6:7 Or they
- Joshua 6:11 Lit to go around
- Joshua 6:15 Lit rising
- Joshua 6:17 Lit she and all
- Joshua 6:20 Or they
- Joshua 6:20 Lit in its place
- Joshua 6:20 Lit before himself
- Joshua 6:24 The tabernacle
Joshua 6
Living Bible
6 The gates of Jericho were kept tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelis; no one was allowed to go in or out.
2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “Jericho and its king and all its mighty warriors are already defeated, for I have given them to you! 3-4 Your entire army is to walk around the city once a day for six days, followed by seven priests walking ahead of the Ark, each carrying a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to walk around the city seven times, with the priests blowing their trumpets. 5 Then, when they give one long, loud blast, all the people are to give a mighty shout, and the walls of the city will fall down; then move in upon the city from every direction.”
6-9 So Joshua summoned the priests and gave them their instructions: the armed men would lead the procession, followed by seven priests blowing continually on their trumpets. Behind them would come the priests carrying the Ark, followed by a rear guard.
10 “Let there be complete silence except for the trumpets,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout; then shout!”
11 The Ark was carried around the city once that day, after which everyone returned to the camp again and spent the night there. 12-14 At dawn the next morning they went around again and returned again to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.
15 At dawn of the seventh day they started out again, but this time they went around the city not once, but seven times. 16 The seventh time, as the priests blew a long, loud trumpet blast, Joshua yelled to the people, “Shout! The Lord has given us the city!”
17 (He had told them previously, “Kill everyone except Rahab the prostitute and anyone in her house, for she protected our spies. 18 Don’t take any loot, for everything is to be destroyed. If it isn’t, disaster will fall upon the entire nation of Israel. 19 But all the silver and gold and the utensils of bronze and iron will be dedicated to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”)
20 So when the people heard the trumpet blast, they shouted as loud as they could. And suddenly the walls of Jericho crumbled and fell before them, and the people of Israel poured into the city from every side and captured it! 21 They destroyed everything in it—men and women, young and old; oxen; sheep; donkeys—everything.
22 Meanwhile Joshua had said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go and rescue the prostitute and everyone with her.”
23 The young men found her and rescued her, along with her father, mother, brothers, and other relatives who were with her. Arrangements were made for them to live outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then the Israelis burned the city and everything in it except that the silver and gold and the bronze and iron utensils were kept for the Lord’s treasury. 25 Thus Joshua saved Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, and they still live among the Israelites because she hid the spies sent to Jericho by Joshua.
26 Then Joshua declared a terrible curse upon anyone who might rebuild Jericho, warning that when the foundation was laid, the builder’s oldest son would die, and when the gates were set up, his youngest son would die.[a]
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his name became famous everywhere.
Footnotes
- Joshua 6:26 See 1 Kings 16:34 for the fulfillment of this curse.
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