The Destruction of Jericho

1Now Jericho was tightly shut 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, with its king and the valiant warriors. 3And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. 4Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets 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. 5And it will 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 [†]beneath itself, and the people will go up every man [†]straight ahead.”

6So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Carry the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh.” 7Then [†]he said to the people, “Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of Yahweh.” 8And so it happened that, when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh passed on forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came after them. 9And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 10But 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!” 11So he had the ark of Yahweh [†]taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests carried the ark of Yahweh. 13And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, and they continued to blow the trumpets. 14Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.

15Then it happened that on the seventh day they rose early at the [†]breaking of dawn and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. 16Now it happened that on the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For Yahweh has given you the city. 17And the city shall be devoted to destruction, it and all that is in it belongs to Yahweh; only Rahab the harlot [†]and all who are with her in the house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest as you are devoting them to destruction, you also take some of the things devoted to destruction and make the camp of Israel devoted to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to Yahweh; they shall go into the treasury of Yahweh.” 20So the people shouted, and [†]the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down [†]beneath itself, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight [†]ahead, and they took the city. 21And they devoted to destruction everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

22Now to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” 23So the young men who were spies went in and brought 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. 24But they 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 [†]house of Yahweh. 25However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua preserved alive; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26Then Joshua made them swear an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before Yahweh 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.” 27So Yahweh was with Joshua, and the report about him was in all the land.