Joshua 6

¹(Now Jericho was all shut up because of the children of Israel: there was no going out or coming in.)

²And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into your hands Jericho with its king and all its men of war.

³Now let all your fighting-men make a circle round the town, going all round it once. Do this for six days.

⁴And let seven priests go before the ark with seven loud-sounding horns in their hands: on the seventh day you are to go round the town seven times, the priests blowing their horns.

⁵And at the sound of a long note on the horns, let all the people give a loud cry; and the wall of the town will come down flat, and all the people are to go straight forward.

⁶Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent for the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the agreement, and let seven priests take seven horns in their hands and go before the ark of the Lord.

⁷And he said to the people, Go forward, circling the town, and let the armed men go before the ark of the Lord.

⁸So after Joshua had said this to the people, the seven priests with their seven horns went forward before the Lord, blowing on their horns: and the ark of the Lord's agreement went after them.

⁹And the armed men went before the priests who were blowing the horns, and the mass of the people went after the ark, blowing their horns.

¹⁰And to the people Joshua gave an order, saying, You will give no cry, and make no sound, and let no word go out of your mouth till the day when I say, Give a loud cry; then give a loud cry.

¹¹So he made the ark of the Lord go all round the town once: then they went back to the tents for the night.

¹²And early in the morning Joshua got up, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

¹³And the seven priests with their seven horns went on before the ark of the Lord, blowing their horns: the armed men went before them, and the mass of the people went after the ark of the Lord, blowing their horns.

¹⁴The second day they went all round the town once, and then went back to their tents: and so they did for six days.

¹⁵Then on the seventh day they got up early, at the dawn of the day, and went round the town in the same way, but that day they went round it seven times.

¹⁶And the seventh time, at the sound of the priests' horns, Joshua said to the people, Now give a loud cry; for the Lord has given you the town.

¹⁷And the town will be put to the curse, and everything in it will be given to the Lord: only Rahab, the loose woman, and all who are in the house with her, will be kept safe, because she kept secret the men we sent.

¹⁸And as for you, keep yourselves from the cursed thing, for fear that you may get a desire for it and take some of it for yourselves, and so be the cause of a curse and great trouble on the tents of Israel.

¹⁹But all the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron are holy to the Lord: they are to come into the store-house of the Lord.

²⁰So the people gave a loud cry, and the horns were sounded; and on hearing the horns the people gave a loud cry, and the wall came down flat, so that the people went up into the town, every man going straight before him, and they took the town.

²¹And they put everything in the town to the curse; men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and ass, they put to death without mercy.

²²Then Joshua said to the two men who had been sent to make a search through the land, Go into the house of the loose woman, and get her out, and all who are with her, as you gave her your oath.

²³So the searchers went in and got out Rahab and her father and mother and her brothers and all she had, and they got out all her family; and they took them outside the tents of Israel.

²⁴Then, after burning up the town and everything in it, they put the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron into the store-house of the Lord's house.

²⁵But Joshua kept Rahab, the loose woman, and her father's family and all she had, from death, and so she got a living-place among the children of Israel to this day; because she kept safe the men whom Joshua had sent to make a search through the land.

²⁶Then Joshua gave the people orders with an oath, saying, Let that man be cursed before the Lord who puts his hand to the building up of this town: with the loss of his first son will he put the first stone of it in place, and with the loss of his youngest son he will put up its doors.

²⁷So the Lord was with Joshua; and news of him went through all the land.

Joshua 6

¹Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in.

²The Lord said to Joshua, "Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor.

³All your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days.

⁴Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

⁵It shall 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 shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him."

⁶Joshua 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."

⁷They said to the people, "Advance! March around the city, and let the armed men pass on before the Lord's ark."

⁸It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, 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.

⁹The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the ark went after them. The trumpets sounded as they went.

¹⁰Joshua 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."

¹¹So he caused the ark of the Lord to go around the city, going about it once. Then they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

¹²Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

¹³The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets: and the armed men went before them. The rear guard came after the ark of the Lord. The trumpets sounded as they went.

¹⁴The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days.

¹⁵It happened on the seventh day, that they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times. Only on this day they marched around the city seven times.

¹⁶It happened at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!

¹⁷The 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.

¹⁸But as for you, only keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing; so would you make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it.

¹⁹But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy to the Lord. They shall come into the Lord's treasury."

²⁰So the people shouted, and the priests blew the trumpets. It happened, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that 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 before him, and they took the city.

²¹They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

²²Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house, and bring out from there the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her."

²³The 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 her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.

²⁴They burnt the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron into the treasury of the Lord's house.

²⁵But Rahab the prostitute, her father's household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶Joshua commanded them with an oath at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the Lord, who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up its gates."

²⁷So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.