The Fall of Jericho

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man(A) standing in front of him with a drawn sword(B) in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown(C) to the ground(D) in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[a] have for his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”(E) And Joshua did so.

Now the gates of Jericho(F) were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered(G) Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns(H) in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.(I) When you hear them sound a long blast(J) on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout;(K) then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.”(L) And he ordered the army, “Advance(M)! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark(N) of the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 5:14 Or lord

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