Chapter 6

The Conquest of Jericho

1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in.

2 The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with aits king and the valiant warriors.

3 “You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days.

4 “Also seven priests shall carry seven atrumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

5 “It 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 1flat, and the people will go up every man 2straight ahead.”

6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.”

7 Then 1he said to the people, “Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of the Lord.”

8 And 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.

9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and athe rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets.

10 But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!”

11 So he had the ark of the Lord 1taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

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

13 aThe seven priests carrying 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 and bthe rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets.

14 Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.

15 Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times.

16 At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “aShout! For the Lord has given you the city.

17 “The city shall be aunder the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot 1and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

18 “But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not 1covet them and atake some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it.

19 “aBut 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.”

20 So the people shouted, and 1priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the awall fell down 2flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight 3ahead, and they took the city.

21 aThey 1utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “aGo into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.”

23 So the young men who were spies went in and abrought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel.

24 aThey burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the 1house of the Lord.

25 However, aRahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua 1spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for bshe hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “aCursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”

27 So athe Lord was with Joshua, and his bfame was in all the land.