Joshua 6:1-27
6 And Jericho was locked and blocked for fear of the sons of Israel, nobody going out or coming in.
2 * And Jehovah said to Joshuaʽ “See, I have given into your hands Jericho and its king, the stalwart men.
3 And you shall go round the city, all the fighting men, making the round of the city once; thus you shall do six days.
4 And seven priests shall carry the seven bugle-horns before the ark. And on the seventh day you shall go round the city seven times, the priests blowing the horns;
5 * and at the winding of the bugle-horn, when you hear the horn-blast, all the people shall give a loud cheer, and the wall of the city will fall flat and the people shall go up each man straight in.”
6 And Joshuaʽ the son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven bugle-horns before Jehovah’s ark”;
7 and he said to the people “Pass on and go round the city, and let the armed contingent from the east pass ahead of Jehovah’s ark,
8 and let seven priests carrying the seven bugle-horns before Jehovah pass on and blow the horns, the ark of Jehovah’s covenant going behind them
9 * and the armed contingent from the east going before the priests that blow the horns and the rearguard going behind the ark blowing horns as they go.”
10 And to the people Joshuaʽ gave the order “Do not cheer nor make your voices heard nor let a word come out of your mouths till the day that I say to you ‘Cheer’ and you cheer.”
11 And Jehovah’s ark went round the city, making one round; and they came to the camp and spent the night in camp.
12 And the first thing Joshuaʽ did in the morning, the priests took up Jehovah’s ark,
13 * with seven priests carrying the seven bugle-horns before Jehovah, going along blowing the horns as they went, and the armed contingent from the east going before them and the rearguard going behind Jehovah’s ark blowing horns as they went,
14 and they went round the city once on the second day and back to the camp. So they did six days.
15 And on the seventh day the first thing in the morning, at dawn, they went round the city this same way seven times (it was only on that day that they went round the city seven times),
16 and at the seventh time the priests blew the horns and Joshuaʽ said to the people “Cheer, because Jehovah has given you the city;
17 and the city shall be deodand to Jehovah for destruction, it and all that is in it—only the prostitute Rahab is to live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers we sent.
18 Only for your part beware of the deodand, that you do not covet and take any of the deodand and render the Israelite camp deodand and breed trouble for it.
19 And all silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are sacred to Jehovah; they shall come into Jehovah’s treasury.”
20 * And the people cheered, and they blew the horns, and when the people heard the horn-blast the people gave a loud cheer, and the wall fell flat and the people went up to the city every man straight in, and took the city,
21 and massacred all in the city, man and woman, boy and graybeard and cow and sheep and donkey, without quarter.
22 And to the two men who had reconnoitered the country Joshuaʽ said “Go into the prostitute woman’s house and bring out from there the woman and all that belong to her, as you swore to her.”
23 * And the young men who had reconnoitered went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all that belonged to her, and brought out all her clan, and left them outside the Israelite camp.
24 And the city they burned up, and all in it; only the silver and gold and the bronze and iron articles they put in the treasury of Jehovah’s house,
25 and the prostitute Rahab and her family and all that belonged to her Joshuaʽ kept alive and they have lived among the Israelites to this day because she had hid the messengers Joshuaʽ sent to reconnoiter Jericho.
26 And Joshuaʽ imposed an oath at that time, “Cursed be the man before Jehovah who stands up and fortifies the city, Jericho: with his firstborn he shall lay its foundation and with his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”
27 And Jehovah was with Joshuaʽ, and his fame was all through the country.
Footnotes
^ 6:2-3 Conj. king. Take the stalwart men and go round
^ 6:5 Lit. fall in its place
^ 6:9 Or blowing their horns
^ 6:13 Var. before Jehovah’s ark
^ 6:20 Lit. fell in its place
^ 6:23 Var. brothers and all her clan, and brought out all that belonged to her
