Joshua 6–12

6The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the people of Israel. No one went out. No one came in.

²Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed its king and its fighting men over to you.

³“March around the city once with all of your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. ⁴Have seven priests get trumpets that are made out of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Have the priests blow the trumpets as you march.

⁵“You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, have all of the men give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will go up to the city. Every man will go straight in.”

⁶So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them, “Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷He gave an order to the men. He said, “Move out! March around the city. Some of the fighting men must march in front of the ark of the Lord.”

⁸When Joshua had spoken to the men, the seven priests went forward. They were carrying the seven trumpets as they marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They were blowing the trumpets. The ark of the Lord’s covenant was carried behind the priests. ⁹Some of the fighting men marched ahead of the priests who were blowing the trumpets. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. That whole time the priests were blowing the trumpets.

¹⁰But Joshua had given an order to the fighting men. He had said, “Don’t give a war cry. Don’t raise your voices. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

¹¹So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They spent the night there.

¹²Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests went and got the ark of the Lord. ¹³The seven priests who were carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets.

¹⁴On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They did all of those things for six days.

¹⁵On the seventh day, they got up at sunrise. They marched around the city, just as they had done before. But on that day they went around it seven times.

¹⁶On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets.

Then Joshua gave a command to the men. He said, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷The city and everything that is in it must be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. But the prostitute Rahab and all those who are with her in her house must be spared. That’s because she hid the spies we sent.

¹⁸“But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed. ¹⁹All of the silver and gold is holy. It is set apart to the Lord. So are all of the articles that are made out of bronze and iron. All of those things must be added to the treasures that are kept in the Lord’s house.”

²⁰The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the fighting men heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down. Every man charged straight in. So they took the city. ²¹They set it apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. They destroyed every living thing in it with their swords. They killed men and women. They wiped out young people and old people. They destroyed cattle, sheep and donkeys.

²²Then Joshua spoke to the two men who had gone in to check out the land. He said, “Go into the prostitute’s house. Bring her out. Also bring out everyone who is with her. That’s what you promised her you would do when you took an oath.”

²³So the young men who had checked out the land went into Rahab’s house. They brought her out along with her parents and brothers. They brought out everyone else who was there with her. They put them in a place that was outside the camp of Israel.

²⁴Then they burned the whole city and everything that was in it. But they added the silver and gold to the treasures that were kept in the Lord’s house. They also put there the articles that were made out of bronze and iron.

²⁵But Joshua spared the prostitute Rahab. He spared her family. He also spared everyone else who was in the house with her. He did it because she hid the spies he had sent to Jericho. Rahab lives among the people of Israel to this very day.

²⁶At that time Joshua took an oath and called down a curse. He said, “May the man who tries to rebuild this city of Jericho be under the Lord’s curse.

“If he lays its foundations,

it will cost the life of his oldest son.

If he sets up its gates,

it will cost the life of his youngest son.”

²⁷So the Lord was with Joshua. And Joshua became famous everywhere in the land.

Achan Sins Against the Lord

7But the people of Israel weren’t faithful to the Lord. They didn’t do what they were told to do with the things that had been set apart to him in a special way to be destroyed.

Achan had taken some of those things. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. Achan was the son of Carmi. Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. They were from the tribe of Judah.

²Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. Ai is near Beth Aven east of Bethel. Joshua told the men, “Go up and check out the area around Ai.” So the men went up and checked it out.

³Then they returned to Joshua. They said, “The whole army doesn’t have to go up and attack Ai. Send only two or three thousand men. They can take the city. Don’t make the whole army go up there. Ai only has a few men.”

⁴So only about 3,000 men went up. But the men of Ai drove them away. ⁵They chased the men of Israel from the city gate all the way to Shebarim. They killed about 36 of them on the way down.

So the hearts of the people of Israel melted away in fear.

⁶Joshua and the elders of Israel became sad. Joshua tore his clothes. He fell in front of the ark of the Lord with his face to the ground. He remained there until evening. The elders did the same thing. They also sprinkled dust on their heads.

⁷Joshua said, “Lord and King, why did you ever bring these people across the Jordan River? Did you want to hand us over to the Amorites? Did you want them to destroy us? I wish we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!

⁸“Lord, our enemies have driven us away. What can I say? ⁹The people of Canaan will hear about it. So will everyone else in the country. They will surround us. They’ll wipe our name from the face of the earth. Then what will you do when people don’t honor your great name anymore?”

¹⁰The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! What are you doing down there on your face?

¹¹“Israel has sinned. I made a covenant with them. I commanded them to keep it. But they have broken it. They have taken some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. They have stolen. They have lied. They have taken the things they stole and have put them with their own things.

¹²“That is why the men of Israel can’t stand up against their enemies. They turn their backs and run. It is because I have decided to let them be destroyed. You must destroy the things you took that had been set apart to me. If you do not, I will not be with you anymore.

¹³“Go. Set the people apart. Tell them, ‘Make yourselves pure. Get ready for tomorrow. Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, wants you to do. He says, “People of Israel, you have kept some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. You can’t stand up against your enemies until you get rid of those things.”

¹⁴“ ‘In the morning, come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses will come forward group by group. The group the Lord chooses will come forward family by family. And the men in the family the Lord chooses will come forward one by one.

¹⁵“ ‘Anyone who is caught with the things that had been set apart to the Lord will be destroyed by fire. Everything that belongs to that person will also be destroyed. He has broken the Lord’s covenant. He has done a very terrible thing in Israel!’ ”

¹⁶Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes. The tribe of Judah was picked. ¹⁷The groups of Judah came forward. Joshua picked the group of Zerah. He had the group of Zerah come forward by families. The family of Zimri was picked. ¹⁸He had their men come forward one by one. Achan was picked. Achan was the son of Carmi. Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. Zerah was from the tribe of Judah.

¹⁹Joshua spoke to Achan. He said, “My son, the Lord is the God of Israel. So give him glory by telling the truth! Give him praise by admitting you have sinned! Tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”

²⁰Achan replied, “It’s true! I’ve sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. Here is what I’ve done. ²¹I saw a beautiful robe from Babylonia among the things we had taken. I saw five pounds of silver. And I saw a gold bar that weighed 20 ounces. I wanted them, so I took them. I hid them in the ground inside my tent. The silver is on the bottom.”

²²So Joshua sent some messengers. They ran to Achan’s tent. And there was everything, hidden in his tent! The silver was on the bottom. ²³They brought the things out of the tent. They took them to Joshua and all of the people of Israel. And they spread them out in the sight of the Lord.

²⁴Then Joshua and all of the people grabbed hold of Achan, the son of Zerah. They took the silver, the robe and the gold bar. They took Achan’s sons and daughters. They took his cattle, donkeys and sheep. They also took his tent and everything he had. They took all of it to the Valley of Achor.

²⁵Joshua said…