Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

Joshua 6
New English Translation

6 Now Jericho was shut tightly[a] because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter.[b] 2 The Lord told Joshua, “See, I am about to defeat Jericho for you,[c] along with its king and its warriors. 3 Have all the warriors march around the city one time;[d] do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns[e] in front of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 5 When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn,[f] have the whole army give a loud battle cry.[g] Then the city wall will collapse,[h] and the warriors should charge straight ahead.”[i]

6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and instructed them, “Pick up the ark of the covenant, and seven priests must carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 And he told[j] the army,[k] “Move ahead[l] and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

8 When Joshua gave the army its orders,[m] the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved ahead and blew the horns as the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed behind. 9 Armed troops marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark blowing rams’ horns. 10 Now Joshua had instructed the army,[n] “Do not give a battle cry[o] or raise your voices; say nothing[p] until the day I tell you, ‘Give the battle cry.’[q] Then give the battle cry!”[r] 11 So Joshua made sure they marched the ark of the Lord around the city one time.[s] Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there.[t]

12 Bright and early the next morning Joshua had the priests pick up the ark of the Lord.[u] 13 The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams’ horns. 14 They marched around the city one time on the second day, then returned to the camp. They did this six days in all.

15 On the seventh day they were up at the crack of dawn[v] and marched around the city as before—only this time they marched around it seven times.[w] 16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua told the army,[x] “Give the battle cry,[y] for the Lord is handing the city over to you![z] 17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord;[aa] only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies[ab] we sent. 18 But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for God. If you take any of it, then you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster.[ac] 19 All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord.[ad] They must go into the Lord’s treasury.”

20 The rams’ horns sounded,[ae] and when the army[af] heard the signal,[ag] they gave a loud battle cry.[ah] The wall collapsed,[ai] and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.[aj] 21 They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city,[ak] including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys. 22 Joshua told the two men who had spied on the land, “Enter the prostitute’s house[al] and bring out the woman and all who belong to her as you promised her.”[am] 23 So the young spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and took them to a place outside[an] the Israelite camp. 24 But they burned[ao] the city and all that was in it, except for the silver, gold, and bronze and iron items they put in the treasury of the Lord’s house.[ap] 25 Yet Joshua spared[aq] Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family,[ar] and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel[as] to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. 26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration:[at] “The man who attempts to rebuild[au] this city of Jericho[av] will stand condemned before the Lord.[aw] He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!”[ax] 27 The Lord was with Joshua and he became famous throughout the land.[ay]

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 6:1 tn Heb “was shutting and shut up.” HALOT 743 s.v. I סגר paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”
  2. Joshua 6:1 tn Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”
  3. Joshua 6:2 tn Heb “I have given into your hand Jericho.” The Hebrew verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, “I have given”) is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action. The Hebrew pronominal suffix “your” is singular, being addressed to Joshua as the leader and representative of the nation. To convey to the modern reader what is about to happen and who is doing it, the translation “I am about to defeat Jericho for you” has been used.
  4. Joshua 6:3 tn Heb “and go around the city, all [you] men of war, encircling the city one time.” The Hebrew verb וְסַבֹּתֶם (vesabbotem, “and go around”) is plural, being addressed to the whole army.
  5. Joshua 6:4 tn Heb “rams’ horns, trumpets.”
  6. Joshua 6:5 tn Heb “and it will be at the sounding of the horn, the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn.” The text of Josh 6:5 seems to be unduly repetitive, so for the sake of English style and readability, it is best to streamline the text here. The reading in the Hebrew looks like a conflation of variant readings, with the second (“when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn”) being an interpolation that assimilates the text to verse 20 (“when the army heard the sound of the horn”). Note that the words “when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn” do not appear in the LXX of verse 5.
  7. Joshua 6:5 tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”
  8. Joshua 6:5 tn Heb “fall in its place.”
  9. Joshua 6:5 tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”
  10. Joshua 6:7 tn An alternative reading is “and they said.” In this case the subject is indefinite and the verb should be translated as passive, “[the army] was told.”
  11. Joshua 6:7 tn Heb “the people.”
  12. Joshua 6:7 tn Heb “pass by.”
  13. Joshua 6:8 tn Heb “when Joshua spoke to the people.”
  14. Joshua 6:10 tn Heb “the people.”
  15. Joshua 6:10 tn Or “the shout.”
  16. Joshua 6:10 tn Heb “do not let a word come out of your mouths.”
  17. Joshua 6:10 tn Or “the shout.”
  18. Joshua 6:10 tn Or “the shout.”
  19. Joshua 6:11 tn Heb “and he made the ark of the Lord go around the city, encircling one time.”
  20. Joshua 6:11 tn Heb “and they entered the camp and spent the night in the camp.”
  21. Joshua 6:12 tn Heb “Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests picked up the ark of the Lord.”
  22. Joshua 6:15 tn Heb “On the seventh day they rose early, when the dawn ascended.”
  23. Joshua 6:15 tn Heb “and they went around the city according to this manner seven times, only on that day they went around the city seven times.”
  24. Joshua 6:16 tn Heb “the people.”
  25. Joshua 6:16 tn Or “the shout.”
  26. Joshua 6:16 tn Heb “for the Lord has given to you the city.” The verbal form is a perfect, probably indicating certitude here.
  27. Joshua 6:17 tn Or “dedicated to the Lord.”sn To make the city set apart for the Lord would involve annihilating all the people and animals and placing its riches in the Lord’s treasury (vv. 19, 21, 24).
  28. Joshua 6:17 tn Heb “messengers.”
  29. Joshua 6:18 tn Heb “Only you keep [away] from what is set apart [to God] so that you might not, as you are setting [it] apart, take some of what is set apart [to God] and turn the camp of Israel into what is set apart [to destruction by God] and bring trouble on it.”
  30. Joshua 6:19 tn Heb “it is holy to the Lord.”
  31. Joshua 6:20 tc Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the LXX.
  32. Joshua 6:20 tn Heb “the people.”
  33. Joshua 6:20 tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”
  34. Joshua 6:20 tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”
  35. Joshua 6:20 tn Heb “fell in its place.”
  36. Joshua 6:20 tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”
  37. Joshua 6:21 tn Heb “all which was in the city.”
  38. Joshua 6:22 tn Heb “the house of the woman, the prostitute.”
  39. Joshua 6:22 tn Heb “and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her as you swore on oath to her.”
  40. Joshua 6:23 tn Or “placed them outside.”
  41. Joshua 6:24 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
  42. Joshua 6:24 tn Heb “the treasury of the house of the Lord.” Technically the Lord did not have a “house” yet, so perhaps this refers to the tabernacle using later terminology.
  43. Joshua 6:25 tn Heb “kept alive.”
  44. Joshua 6:25 tn Heb the house of her father.”
  45. Joshua 6:25 tn Or “among the Israelites”; Heb “in the midst of Israel.”
  46. Joshua 6:26 tn Normally the Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) has a causative sense (“make [someone] take an oath”; see Josh 2:17, 20), but here (see also Josh 23:7) no object is stated or implied. If Joshua is calling divine judgment down upon the one who attempts to rebuild Jericho, then “make a solemn appeal [to God as judge]” or “pronounce a curse” would be an appropriate translation. However, the tone seems stronger. Joshua appears to be announcing the certain punishment of the violator. 1 Kgs 16:34, which records the fulfillment of Joshua’s prediction, supports this. Casting Joshua in a prophetic role, it refers to Joshua’s statement as the “word of the Lord” spoken through Joshua.
  47. Joshua 6:26 tn Heb “rises up and builds.”
  48. Joshua 6:26 tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.
  49. Joshua 6:26 tn The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (ʾarur lifne yehvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the Lord”) also occurs in 1 Sam 26:19.
  50. Joshua 6:26 tn Heb “With his firstborn he will lay its foundations and with his youngest he will erect its gates.” The Hebrew verb יַצִּיב (yatsiv, “he will erect”) is imperfect, not jussive, suggesting Joshua’s statement is a prediction, not an imprecation.
  51. Joshua 6:27 tn Heb “and the report about him was in all the land.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (ʾerets, “land”) may also be translated “earth.”
Close LSB

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

  1. Joshua 6:5 Or in its place
  2. Joshua 6:5 Lit before himself
  3. Joshua 6:7 Or they
  4. Joshua 6:11 Lit to go around
  5. Joshua 6:15 Lit rising
  6. Joshua 6:17 Lit she and all
  7. Joshua 6:20 Or they
  8. Joshua 6:20 Lit in its place
  9. Joshua 6:20 Lit before himself
  10. Joshua 6:24 The tabernacle
Next
Joshua 5
Joshua 7
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.