Joshua 6

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

2And Yahweh said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, along with its king and the mighty men of valor.”

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

4And seven priests shall carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

5And when the ram's horn is drawn out, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall raise a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall beneath itself, and the people shall go up, each man straight before him.

6So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Carry the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets before the ark of Yahweh.”

7And they said to the people, “Pass on and go around the city, and let the armed men pass before the ark of Yahweh.”

8And it happened, when Joshua spoke to the people, that the seven priests carrying the seven ram's-horn trumpets before Yahweh passed on and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh went behind them.

9And the armed men were going before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was going behind the ark, while they kept blowing the trumpets.

10And Joshua commanded the people, saying, “Do not shout, and do not let your voice be heard, and do not let a word go out from your mouth until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.”

11So the ark of Yahweh went around the city, circling it once. Then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests carried the ark of Yahweh.

13And the seven priests, carrying seven ram’s-horn trumpets before the ark of Yahweh, were walking on and blowing the trumpets, and the armed men were going before them, and the rear guard was going behind the ark of Yahweh, while they went on blowing the trumpets.

14On the second day they went around the city once and returned to the camp. Thus they did for six days.

15And it happened on the seventh day that they rose early, at the going up of the dawn, and marched around the city in this manner seven times. Only on that day did they march around the city seven times.

16And it happened at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for Yahweh has given you the city.”

17And the city and all that is in it shall be devoted to destruction for Yahweh. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

18But as for you, keep yourselves from what is devoted to destruction, lest you yourselves become devoted to destruction and take some of what is devoted to destruction, and make the camp of Israel devoted to destruction, and bring trouble on it.

19But all the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, are holy to Yahweh; they shall go into the treasury of Yahweh.

20So the people shouted, and they blew the trumpets. And when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down beneath it, and the people went up into the city, each man straight before him, and they captured the city.

21And they devoted to destruction everything that was in the city, from man to woman, from young to old, and even ox and sheep and donkey, by the edge of the sword.

22And to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out from there the woman and all that belongs to her, just as you swore to her.”

23So the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out all her families and placed them outside the camp of Israel.

24And they burned the city with fire, and everything that was in it. Only the silver and the gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yahweh.

25But Joshua kept Rahab the prostitute alive, along with her father's household and all that belonged to her, and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26At that time Joshua made them swear, saying, “Cursed before Yahweh is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”

27And Yahweh was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.