Joshua 6:1–12:24

Jericho Is Destroyed

¹Jericho was bolted and barred shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one could enter or leave. 

²The Lord said to Joshua, “I am about to hand Jericho, its king, and its warriors over to you. ³All the soldiers will march around the city once a day for six days. ⁴Seven priests will carry rams’ horns ahead of the ark. But on the seventh day you must march around the city seven times while the priests blow their horns. ⁵When you hear a long blast on the horn, all the troops must shout very loudly. The wall around the city will collapse. Then the troops must charge straight ahead into the city.” 

⁶Joshua, son of Nun, summoned the priests. He said to them, “Pick up the ark of the promise, and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns ahead of the Lord’s ark.” 

⁷He told the troops, “March around the city. Let the armed men march ahead of the Lord’s ark.” 

⁸After Joshua had given orders to the troops, the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns ahead of the Lord marched off as they blew their horns. The ark of the Lord’s promise followed them. ⁹The armed men went ahead of the priests, who blew their horns. The rear guard followed the ark while the priests continued to blow their horns. 

¹⁰Joshua ordered the troops, “Don’t shout, make any noise, or let one word come out of your mouth until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹So the Lord’s ark went around the city once. Then they went back to the camp and stayed there for the night. 

¹²Joshua got up early in the morning. The priests carried the Lord’s ark. ¹³The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns were ahead of it. The priests blew their horns as they went. The armed men were ahead of them, and the rear guard followed the Lord’s ark while the horns blew continually. ¹⁴They went around the city once on the second day and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 

¹⁵On the seventh day they got up at dawn. They marched around the city seven times the same way they had done it before. That was the only day they marched around it seven times. ¹⁶When they went around the seventh time, the priests blew their rams’ horns. 

Joshua said to the troops, “Shout, because the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷The city has been claimed by the Lord. Everything in it belongs to the Lord. Only the prostitute Rahab and all who are in the house with her will live because she hid the messengers we sent. ¹⁸But stay away from what has been claimed by the Lord for destruction, or you, too, will be destroyed by the Lord. If you take anything that is claimed by the Lord, you will bring destruction and disaster on the camp of Israel. ¹⁹All the silver and gold and everything made of bronze and iron are holy and belong to the Lord. They must go into the Lord’s treasury.” 

²⁰So the troops shouted very loudly when they heard the blast of the rams’ horns, and the wall collapsed. The troops charged straight ahead and captured the city. ²¹They claimed everything in it for the Lord. With their swords they killed men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys. 

²²But Joshua said to the two spies, “Go to the prostitute’s house. Bring the woman out, along with everything she has, as you swore you would do for her.” 

²³The spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, everything she had, and even all of her relatives. They gave them a place outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴Then Israel burned the city and everything in it. But they put the silver and gold and everything made of bronze and iron into the Lord’s treasury. ²⁵Joshua spared the prostitute Rahab, her father’s family, and everything she had. She still lives in Israel today because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to look at Jericho. 

²⁶At that time Joshua pronounced this curse: 

“The Lord will curse 

whoever comes to rebuild the city of Jericho. 

It will cost him his firstborn son 

to lay the foundation. 

It will cost him his youngest son 

to set up the city doors.” 

²⁷So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land. 

7TH CHAPTER

Achan’s Sin and Its Consequences

¹The people of Israel proved to be disloyal about the things claimed by the Lord. Achan, son of Carmi, grandson of Zabdi, great-grandson of Zerah, and a member of the tribe of Judah, took something that had been claimed by the Lord. So the Lord became angry with the people of Israel. 

²Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. Ai is near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He said to them, “Go, look at that country.” So the men went and looked at Ai. 

³They came back to Joshua and told him, “You don’t need to send all the troops. Only about two or three thousand men are needed to destroy Ai. Don’t tire the troops out by sending all of them. There are only a few troops in Ai.” 

⁴So about three thousand men were sent. However, they fled from the men of Ai. ⁵The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the city gate to the slope of the stone quarries. Israel’s troops lost heart and were scared stiff. 

⁶Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes in grief. They put dust on their heads and bowed down to the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. They stayed there until evening. ⁷Joshua said, “Almighty Lord, why did you bring these people across the Jordan River? Was it to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us? I wish we had been content to live on the other side of the Jordan! ⁸Lord, what else can I say after Israel ran away from its enemy? ⁹When the Canaanites and everyone who lives in the land hears about it, they will surround us and remove every memory of us from the earth. What will you do then so that your great name ⸤will be remembered⸥?” 

¹⁰The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! What are you doing bowing on the ground? ¹¹Israel has sinned. They have ignored the requirements^athat I have placed on them. They have taken what I claimed for myself and put it among their own goods. They have not only stolen, but they have also lied. 

¹²“The people of Israel will not be able to defend themselves against their enemies. They will run away from their enemies because the people of Israel are now claimed for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy what I have claimed for myself. 

¹³“Get up! Tell the people, ‘Get ready for tomorrow by performing the ceremonies to make yourselves holy. This is what the Lord God of Israel says: You have what I claimed for myself, Israel. You will not be able to defend yourselves against your enemies until you get rid of what I have claimed. ¹⁴In the morning come forward by tribes ⸤to the tent of meeting⸥. The tribe the Lord selects will come forward by families. Then the family the Lord selects will come forward by households, and the household the Lord selects will come forward man by man. ¹⁵The man who is selected, along with everything he has, must be burned because he has ⸤stolen⸥ what the Lord has claimed. He has ignored the Lord’s requirements and done a godless thing in Israel.’ ” 

¹⁶Joshua got up early in the morning. He had Israel come forward by tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected. ¹⁷Then he had the families of Judah come forward, and the family of Zerah was selected. Then he had the family of Zerah come forward man by man, and Zabdi was selected. ¹⁸Then he had Zabdi’s household come forward man by man, and Achan was selected. Achan from the tribe of Judah was the son of Carmi, grandson of Zabdi, and great-grandson of Zerah. 

¹⁹Joshua said to Achan, “Son, give honor and praise to the Lord God of Israel! Tell me what you have done. Don’t hide anything from me.” 

²⁰Then Achan answered Joshua, “It’s true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel. This is what I did: ²¹I saw a fine robe from Babylonia, five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing about one pound among the loot. I wanted them, so I took them. You will find them buried inside my tent with the silver beneath them.” 

²²Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent. The loot was buried inside with the silver beneath it. ²³They took the loot from the tent and brought it to Joshua and all the people of Israel. Then they laid it out in the presence of the Lord. 

²⁴Joshua and all Israel took Achan (son of Zerah), the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, and his tent—everything he had—and brought them to the valley of Achor ^[Disaster^[. 

²⁵Then Joshua said, “Why did you bring this disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” And all Israel stoned Achan and his family to death. Then they burned the bodies and piled stones over them. ²⁶They made such a large pile of stones over Achan that it is still there today. Then the Lord withdrew his burning anger. For this reason that place is still called the valley of Achor today. 

8TH CHAPTER

Israel’s Victory at Ai

¹The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be terrified or afraid. Take all the troops with you, and march against Ai. I am about to hand the king of Ai, his people, city, and land over to you. ²You will do the same thing to Ai and its king that you did to Jericho and its king. However, you may take its loot and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.” 

³So Joshua and all the soldiers started to march against Ai. Joshua picked 30,000 of his best soldiers and sent them out at night ⁴with these orders: “Set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far away from the city. Everyone must be ready. ⁵I’ll approach the city with the rest of the troops. When they come out to attack us as they did the first time, we will run away from them. ⁶They’ll come out after us, and we will lure them away from the city. They’ll say, ‘They’re running away from us just like the first time.’ As we run away from them, ⁷you come out of hiding and capture the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. ⁸When you have captured the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord says. These are your…