Joshua 6

The Conquest of Jericho

1Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. 2But the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with 1its king and the valiant warriors. 3And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. 4Also seven priests shall carry seven 2trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark; then 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 will fall down 3flat, and the people shall go up, everyone 4straight ahead.”

6So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7Then 5he said to the people, “Go forward and march around the city, and the armed men shall go on ahead of the ark of the Lord.” 8And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 9And the armed men went ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and 6the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 10But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed from your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” 11So he had the ark of the Lord 7taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12Now Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13Then 8the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went ahead of them, and 9the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 14So the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did the same for six days.

15Then on the seventh day they got up early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day did they march around the city seven times. 16And at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “10Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17But the city shall be 11designated for 12destruction, it and everything that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the prostitute 13and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things designated for destruction, so that you do not covet them and 14take some of the designated things, and turn the camp of Israel into something designated for destruction and bring disaster on it. 1915But all the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20So the people shouted, and 16the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the 17wall fell down 18flat, so that the people went up into the city, everyone straight 19ahead, and they took the city. 2120They 21utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

22And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “22Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, just as you have sworn to her.” 23So the young men who were spies went in and 23brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24Then 24they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the 25house of the Lord. 25However, 26Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua 27spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because 28she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “29Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he will set up its gates.” 27So 30the Lord was with Joshua, and his 31fame was in all the land.