Joshua 6

Because {the people of Jericho were afraid} of the army of Israel, {the guards of Jericho} tightly shut the city gates. No one was allowed to enter {the city} or leave {it}.

Then God said to Joshua, “Pay attention {to what I am about to tell you}! I am going to enable your army to conquer the city of Jericho and its king and its soldiers. \*

You and your army must march around the city once a day for six days.

Tell seven priests to march around {with you and the army}. Each of the priests must carry a ram’s horn that they can blow as they march ahead of the sacred chest of God. On the seventh day, you and the army and the seven priests must march around the city seven times, and the priests must be blowing the horns while they march. \*

{After they have all marched around the city seven times, then} the priests must blow their horns very loudly. When you and the Israelite soldiers hear that, you must all shout very loudly. Then the city wall will collapse onto itself, and all the Israelite soldiers will go straight into the city.” \*

So Joshua summoned the priests and said to them, “Tell {four} priests to carry God’s sacred chest, and tell seven {other} priests to carry horns and walk ahead of the sacred chest of God.”

And he told the Israelite soldiers and priests, “Start marching. March around the city with some soldiers with weapons marching in front. Behind them will march the seven priests with horns, and behind them will march the {four} priests carrying God’s sacred chest.” \*

After Joshua told them that, the seven priests, each one carrying a horn, began marching ahead of God’s sacred chest while blowing their horns. {The four priests who} were carrying God’s sacred chest followed them.

The group of soldiers carrying their weapons marched in front of the priests who were blowing on their horns. The rest of the soldiers followed the sacred chest. While {they were all marching, the priests} kept blowing their horns. \*

But {all the Israelites, except the priests who were blowing their horns, were silent, because} Joshua had commanded them to say nothing. He had told them, “Do not make a war cry. Do not yell or say even one word until the seventh day {when we have walked around the city and} I tell you to shout. On that day, you must shout!”

So the men carrying God’s sacred chest and all the others did what Joshua told them to do. They marched around the city one time. Then they all returned to their camp and stayed there that night. \*

The next morning, Joshua and the soldiers and priests got up early and the {four} priests again carried God’s sacred chest.

The seven priests who were carrying horns went in front of {the four priests who were carrying} God’s sacred chest. The seven priests were continually walking ahead of the sacred chest and making loud blasts with their horns as they marched. The armed soldiers walked in front of them and the rest of the soldiers followed the sacred chest of God. All this time, the seven priests kept blowing their horns.

So on the second day, they {again} marched around the city one time and {then} returned to their camp. They did the same thing for six days. \*

On the seventh day, they got up as soon as the sun rose, and they all marched around the city as they had done the previous six days. But this time they marched around the city seven times.

As they were marching around the city the seventh time, when the priests were blowing the long blasts on their horns, Joshua commanded the Israelite soldiers, “Shout, because God is about to enable you to capture this city! \*

God has declared that you must destroy the city and everything in it {to show that} it belongs to him. You must only spare Rahab the prostitute and all the people who are in her house with her, because she hid the spies we sent {to Jericho}.

But be very careful of this: God has declared that we must destroy the people, animals, and things in the city. So you certainly must not take any of the things in the city. If you take anything, you will cause God to destroy our people and cause terrible things to happen to us.

All the silver and gold and all the iron and bronze articles{that you find}, you must set apart for God. You must put those things in his treasury.” \*

So they obeyed Joshua. When the Israelite army heard the priests begin blowing a long blast on their horns, then they shouted loudly, and the wall of the city collapsed! Then the Israelite army went up into the city. Each soldier went straight into the city from wherever he was standing when the wall fell. In that way, the Israelite army captured the city.

They killed every living thing in Jericho. They killed all the men, women, boys, and girls. They also killed all the cattle and sheep and donkeys. \*

Then Joshua said to the two men who had spied on the land, “Go to the house of that prostitute woman {who helped you}. Bring her out, along with all her family, just as you promised her you would do.” \*

So, the young men who had spied on the land went and brought Rahab out of her house. They brought out her father, mother, brothers, and all her relatives {who were with her}. They brought them to a place outside the camp of Israel’s army.

Then the Israelite soldiers burned the city, along with everything in it. But {they saved} the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron and put them into the treasury of things for the tent of meeting. \*

But Joshua allowed Rahab the prostitute to live, along with her father’s household and everyone who was with her. He did that because she hid the spies that Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. She has lived among the people of Israel until this time. \*

After Joshua and his soldiers had destroyed the city of Jericho, he made each of the Israelites swear that they would not rebuild the city. He said, “God will curse anyone who rebuilds this city, Jericho. When that person lays its foundation, God will cause his oldest son to die. When {he finishes building the city wall and} sets up its gates, God will cause his youngest son to die.” {All the people agreed that this should be the punishment for anyone who rebuilt the city.}

God helped Joshua, and as a result, he became famous throughout the whole land of Canaan. \*