< Joshua 6 >

1 Now Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of the children of Israel, and no man durst go out or come in.
Now Jericho was closely shut up and besieged, and none went out of it, and none came in.
2 And the Lord said to Josue: Behold I have given into thy hands Jericho, and the king thereof, and all the valiant men.
And the Lord said to Joshua, Behold, I deliver Jericho into your power, and its king in it, [and its] mighty men.
3 Go round about the city, all ye fighting men, once a day: so shall ye do for six days.
And do you set the men of war round about it.
4 And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go before the ark of the covenant: and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets.
And it shall be [that] when you shall sound with the trumpet, all the people shall shout together.
5 And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand.
And when they have shouted, the walls of the city shall fall of themselves; and all the people shall enter, each one rushing direct into the city.
6 Then Josue the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them: Take the ark of the covenant: and let seven other priests take the seven trumpets of the jubilee, and march before the ark of the Lord.
And Joshua the [son] of Naue went in to the priests, and spoke to them, saying,
7 And he said to the people: Go, and compass the city, armed, marching before the ark of the Lord.
And let seven priests having seven sacred trumpets proceed thus before the Lord, and let them sound loudly; and let the ark of the covenant of the Lord follow.
8 And when Josue had ended his words, and the seven priests blew the seven trumpets before the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
Charge the people to go round, and encompass the city; and let your men of war pass on armed before the Lord.
9 And all the armed men went before, the rest of the common people followed the ark, and the sound of the trumpets was heard on all sides.
And let the men of war proceed before, and the priests bringing up the rear behind the ark of the covenant of the Lord [proceed] sounding the trumpets.
10 But Josue had commanded the people, saying: You shall not shout, nor shall your voice be heard, nor any word go out of your mouth: until the day come wherein I shall say to you: Cry, and shout.
And Joshua commanded the people, saying, Cry not out, nor let any one hear your voice, until he himself declare to you the time to cry out, and then you shall cry out.
11 So the ark of the Lord went about the city once a day, and returning into the camp, abode there.
And the ark of the covenant of God having gone round immediately returned into the camp, and lodged there.
12 And Josue rising before day, the priests took the ark of the Lord,
And on the second day Joshua rose up in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
13 And seven of them seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee: and they went before the ark of the Lord walking and sounding the trumpets: and the armed men went before them, and the rest of the common people followed the ark, and they blew the trumpets.
And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets went on before the Lord; and afterwards the men of war went on, and the remainder of the multitude went after the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
14 And they went round about the city the second day once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days.
And all the rest of the multitude compassed the city six times from within a short distance, and went back again into the camp; this they did six days.
15 But the seventh day, rising up early, they went about the city, as it was ordered, seven times.
And on the seventh day they rose up early, and compassed the city on that day seven times.
16 And when in the seventh going about the priests sounded with the trumpets, Josue said to all Israel: Shout: for the Lord hath delivered the city to you:
And it came to pass at the seventh circuit the priests blew the trumpets; and Joshua said to the children of Israel, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city.
17 And let this city be an anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord. Let only Rahab the harlot live, with all that are with her in the house: for she hid the messengers whom we sent.
And the city shall be devoted, it and all things that are in it, to the Lord of Hosts: only do you save Raab the harlot, and all things in her house.
18 But beware ye lest you touch ought of those things that are forbidden, and you be guilty of transgression, and all the camp of Israel be under sin, and be troubled.
But keep yourselves strictly from the accursed thing, lest you set your mind upon and take of the accursed thing, and you make the camp of the children of Israel and accursed thing, and destroy us.
19 But whatsoever gold or silver there shall be, or vessels of brass and iron, let it be consecrated to the Lord, laid up in his treasures.
And all the silver, or gold, or brass, or iron, shall be holy to the Lord; it shall be carried into the treasury of the Lord.
20 So all the people making a shout, and the trumpets sounding, when the voice and the sound thundered in the ears of the multitude, the walls forthwith fell down: and every man went up by the place that was over against him: and they took the city,
And the priests sounded with the trumpets: and when the people heard the trumpets, all the people shouted at once with a loud and strong shout; and all the wall fell round about, and all the people went up into the city:
21 And killed all that were in it, man and woman, young and old. The oxen also and the sheep, and the asses, they slew with the edge of the sword.
and Joshua devoted it to destruction, and all things that were in the city, man and woman, young man and old, and calf and ass, with the edge of the sword.
22 But Josue said to the two men that had been sent for spies: Go into the harlot’s house, and bring her out, and all things that are hers, as you assured her by oath.
And Joshua said to the two young men who had acted a spies, Go into the house of the woman, and bring her out thence, and all that she has.
23 And the young men went in and brought out Rahab, and her parents, her brethren also and all her goods and her kindred, and made them to stay without the camp.
And the two young men who had spied out the city entered into the house of the woman, and brought out Raab the harlot, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and her kindred, and all that she had; and they set her without the camp of Israel.
24 But they burned the city, and all things that were therein; except the gold and silver, and vessels of brass and iron, which they consecrated into the treasury of the Lord.
And the city was burnt with fire with all things that were in it; only of the silver, and gold, and brass, and iron, they gave to be brought into the treasury of the Lord.
25 But Josue saved Rahab the harlot and her father’s house, and all she had, and they dwelt in the midst of Israel until this present day: because she hid the messengers whom he had sent to spy out Jericho. At that time, Josue made an imprecation, saying:
And Joshua saved alive Raab the harlot, and all the house of her father, and caused her to dwell in Israel until this day, because she hid the spies which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
26 Cursed be the man before the Lord, that shall raise up and build the city of Jericho. In his firstborn may he lay the foundation thereof, and in the last of his children set up its gates.
And Joshua adjured [them] on that day before the Lord, saying, Cursed [be] the man who shall build that city: he shall lay the foundation of it in his firstborn, and he shall set up the gates of it in his youngest son. And so did Hozan of Baethel; he laid the foundation in Abiron his firstborn, and set up the gates of it in his youngest surviving son.
27 And the Lord was with Josue, and his name was noised throughout all the land.
And the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was in all the land.

< Joshua 6 >