Old Testament · Joshua

Joshua 6

The Walls of Jericho

1And Jericho was shut up and barred because of the children of Israel; none went out and none came in.

2And the LORD said to Joshua: See, I have given into your hand Jericho, and its king, the mighty men of valor. 3And you shall go around the city, all the men^a of war, circling the city once. Thus you shall do six days. 4And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; and on the seventh day you shall go around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5And it shall be, when the ram's horn sounds long, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down beneath it, and the people shall go up, each man straight before him.

6And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them: Take up the ark of the covenant^b, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.

7And he said to the people: Pass on and go around the city, and let the armed one pass on before the ark of the LORD.

8And it came to pass, as Joshua spoke to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD passed on and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went after them. 9And the armed one went before the priests blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard went after the ark, going on and blowing the trumpets.

10And Joshua commanded^c the people, saying: You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, nor shall a word go out of your mouth, until the day I say to you: Shout. Then you shall shout. 11And he caused the ark of the LORD to go around the city, circling once; and they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.

12And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew the trumpets; and the armed one went before them, and the rear guard went after the ark of the LORD, going on and blowing the trumpets. 14And they went around the city on the second day once, and returned to the camp; thus they did six days.

15And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early at the dawning of the day, and went around the city according to this judgment^d seven times; only on that day they went around the city seven times. 16And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! 17And the city shall be devoted, it and all that is in it, to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18And you, only keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest you devote yourselves and take of the devoted thing, and make the camp of Israel a devoted thing and trouble it. 19And all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.

20And the people shouted, and they blew the trumpets. And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down beneath it, and the people went up into the city, each man straight before him, and they captured the city. 21And they devoted to destruction all that was in the city, from man to woman^e, from young to old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

22And to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said: Go into the house of the woman, the harlot, and bring out from there the woman and all who are hers, as you swore to her. 23And the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all who were hers; all her families they brought out, and they set them outside the camp of Israel.

24And they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it; only the silver and the gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. 25And Rahab the harlot, and the house of her father, and all who were hers, Joshua kept alive; and she has dwelt in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26And Joshua made them swear at that time, saying: Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city, Jericho; with his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.

27And the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.