Joshua 6
New King James Version
The Destruction of Jericho
6 Now (A)Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! (B)I have given Jericho into your hand, its (C)king, and the mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear seven (D)trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city (E)seven times, and (F)the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
6 Then 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 trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” 7 And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord.”
8 So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, (G)and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” 11 So he had (H)the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and [a]lodged in the camp.
12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, (I)and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! 17 Now the city shall be (J)doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only (K)Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because (L)she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And you, (M)by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, (N)and trouble it. 19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are [b]consecrated to the Lord; they [c]shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that (O)the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they (P)utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
22 But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, (Q)as you swore to her.” 23 And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, (R)her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. 24 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So (S)she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
26 Then Joshua [d]charged them at that time, saying, (T)“Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
Footnotes
- Joshua 6:11 spent the night
- Joshua 6:19 set apart
- Joshua 6:19 shall go
- Joshua 6:26 warned
Josué 6
La Bible du Semeur
La chute de Jéricho
6 La ville de Jéricho avait soigneusement fermé toutes ses portes et s’était barricadée derrière, par peur des Israélites. Plus personne n’entrait ni ne sortait par ses portes. 2 L’Eternel dit alors à Josué : Regarde, je te livre Jéricho, son roi et tous ses guerriers. 3 Pendant six jours, toi et tous tes soldats vous ferez chaque jour le tour de la ville, une fois par jour. 4 Sept prêtres portant chacun un cor fait d’une corne de bélier précéderont le coffre de l’alliance. Le septième jour, vous ferez sept fois le tour de la ville, et les prêtres sonneront du cor. 5 Quand le peuple les entendra produire, avec leur cor, un son prolongé, tout le monde poussera un grand cri, et les remparts de la ville s’écrouleront sur place. Alors le peuple donnera l’assaut, chacun droit devant soi.
6 Josué, fils de Noun, convoqua les prêtres et leur dit : Chargez le coffre de l’alliance sur vos épaules et que sept d’entre vous prennent sept cors faits de cornes de béliers et marchent devant le coffre de l’Eternel.
7 Puis il dit au peuple : En avant : faites le tour de la ville, et que les hommes armés précèdent le coffre de l’Eternel.
8 Le peuple fit comme Josué l’avait ordonné : sept prêtres portant sept cors faits de cornes de béliers passèrent devant l’Eternel et se mirent à sonner de leur instrument tandis que le coffre de l’alliance suivait. 9 Les hommes armés les précédaient ; une arrière-garde suivait aussi le coffre ; ils marchaient au son du cor. 10 Josué avait donné cette consigne au peuple : « Pas de cri ! Restez muets ! Ne dites pas une parole jusqu’au jour où je vous ordonnerai de pousser des cris ! »
11 Le coffre de l’Eternel fit une fois le tour de la ville, puis tous rentrèrent au camp pour la nuit.
12 Le lendemain, Josué se leva de bon matin et les prêtres chargèrent le coffre de l’Eternel sur leurs épaules. 13 Sept prêtres, portant sept cors faits de cornes de béliers, se remirent en route devant le coffre de l’Eternel, en sonnant de leur instrument. L’avant-garde les précédait et l’arrière-garde suivait le coffre de l’Eternel ; ils marchaient au son des cors. 14 Ils refirent une fois le tour de la ville ce jour-là, avant de regagner le camp. Ils firent ainsi pendant six jours.
15 Le septième jour, ils se levèrent dès l’aurore et firent sept fois le tour de la ville de la même manière. C’est le seul jour où ils en firent sept fois le tour. 16 La septième fois, lorsque les prêtres sonnèrent du cor, Josué ordonna au peuple : Poussez des cris, car l’Eternel vous livre la ville ! 17 La ville avec tout ce qu’elle contient sera vouée à l’Eternel ; seule Rahab, la prostituée, sera laissée en vie avec tous ceux qui se trouveront dans sa maison, car elle a caché les hommes que nous avions envoyés. 18 Mais attention ! Prenez bien garde à ce qui doit être voué à l’Eternel. Ne prenez rien de cela, sinon vous placeriez le camp d’Israël sous une sentence de destruction et vous lui attireriez le malheur. 19 Tout l’argent et l’or, tous les objets de bronze et de fer seront consacrés à l’Eternel et on les mettra dans son trésor.
20 On sonna donc du cor. Dès que le peuple l’entendit, il poussa un formidable cri, et le rempart s’écroula sur place. Aussitôt, les Israélites s’élancèrent à l’assaut de la ville, chacun droit devant soi, et ils s’en emparèrent. 21 Ils exterminèrent par l’épée pour les vouer à l’Eternel hommes et femmes, enfants et vieillards, taureaux, moutons et ânes : tout ce qui vivait dans la ville.
La famille de Rahab est épargnée
22 Josué dit aux deux hommes qu’il avait envoyés pour explorer le pays : Allez à la maison de Rahab, la prostituée, et faites-la sortir de là avec les siens, comme vous le lui avez juré.
23 Les deux hommes y allèrent et firent sortir Rahab, son père, sa mère, ses frères, ses biens et toute sa parenté, et ils les installèrent en dehors du camp d’Israël. 24 Puis ils brûlèrent la ville avec tout ce qui s’y trouvait, excepté l’argent, l’or et les objets de bronze et de fer que l’on déposa dans le trésor du sanctuaire de l’Eternel. 25 Josué laissa la vie sauve à Rahab, la prostituée, ainsi qu’aux membres de sa famille, et il épargna tous ses biens parce qu’elle avait caché les hommes que Josué avait envoyés en reconnaissance à Jéricho. Elle a habité parmi les Israélites jusqu’à aujourd’hui.
26 A la même époque, Josué prononça ce serment solennel :
Maudit soit devant l’Eternel ╵celui qui tentera ╵de rebâtir cette cité,
de reconstruire Jéricho.
C’est au prix de son fils aîné ╵qu’il posera ses fondations,
et au prix de son fils cadet ╵qu’il fixera ses portes[a].
27 L’Eternel fut avec Josué, et sa renommée se répandit dans tout le pays.
Joshua 6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Conquest of Jericho
6 Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its fighting men over to you.(A) 3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the trumpets.(B) 5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the people will advance, each man straight ahead.”
6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 He said to the people, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed troops go ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
8 After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven trumpets before the Lord moved forward and blew the trumpets; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard went behind the ark.(C) 10 But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there.[a]
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord, 13 and the seven priests carrying seven trumpets marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times. 16 After the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live,(D) because she hid the men[b] we sent. 18 But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you[c] take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster on it. 19 For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets sounded. When they heard the blast of the trumpet, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed.(E) The people advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. 21 They completely destroyed(F) everything in the city with the sword—every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.
Rahab and Her Family Spared
22 Joshua said to the two men who had scouted the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of there, and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”(G) 23 So the young men who had scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel.
24 They burned up the city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she lives in Israel(H) to this day.(I)
26 At that time Joshua imposed this curse:
The man who undertakes
the rebuilding of this city, Jericho,
is cursed before the Lord.
He will lay its foundation
at the cost of his firstborn;
he will set up its gates
at the cost of his youngest.(J)
27 And the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
Footnotes
- Joshua 6:11 Lit at the camp
- Joshua 6:17 Lit messengers
- Joshua 6:18 LXX reads you covet and; Jos 7:21
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
La Bible Du Semeur (The Bible of the Sower) Copyright © 1992, 1999 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.