Joshua

The Conquest of Jericho

The inhabitants of Jericho had closed the city and fastened their bolts so that the Israelites could not enter. No one came in or went out.

The Lord told Joshua: “I will give you the city, its king, and all its men of war.

For this, you shall go around the city once every day for six days.

Seven priests shall go before the Ark, bearing the seven trumpets used in the time of the Jubilee. On the seventh day, they shall march around the city seven times,

and when they blow the horn, all the people shall come up to attack, shouting their battle cry. At that moment, the city’s walls will fall, and everyone shall enter straight ahead of him.”

Joshua, son of Nun, called the priests and said: “You shall carry the Ark of the Covenant; seven priests shall go ahead with the trumpets they use for the Jubilee.”

Then Joshua told the people: “You shall march around the city, and the vanguard of the army shall go before the ark of the Lord.”

When Joshua finished speaking, the priests began to blow the seven trumpets they used to blow on the Feast of the Jubilee, and they went ahead of the Ark of the Lord.

The front of the people went ahead of the priests, and the rest of the people followed behind the Ark.

The trumpets blared nonstop. Joshua had issued this command:“Do not shout or say anything, nor let even a single word be heard until I tell you: Shout and cry out!”

That day, he had the Ark of the Lord carried around the city once, and then everyone returned to the camp, where they spent the night.

On the following day, Joshua rose early in the morning,

and the priests took the Ark. Those who blew the seven trumpets again went before the Ark. The vanguard went ahead of them, and the rest followed the Ark while the trumpets blew.

So they did the next day, and for six days, they marched around the city once each day before returning to the camp.

On the seventh day, the Israelites woke early at dawn and marched around Jericho as they had on the previous days. However, on that day, they did so seven times.

At the seventh time, as the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua commanded the people: “Shout your battle cry, for the Lord has given you the city!”

The city and everything in it shall be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab, the prostitute, and everyone in her house will survive because she hid the spies we sent.

But for your part, be careful not to touch anything, big or small, since everything is to be dedicated to the Lord; do not take anything for yourself, or else the curse will come upon the Israelites’ camp and cause trouble.

All the gold, silver, copper, and iron must be consecrated to the Lord and will go into the Lord’s treasury.

The people shouted, and the trumpets blew. At that exact moment, the city walls fell. Then, everyone headed directly into the city to the designated spot.

They seized Jericho. And with a sword in hand, they killed all the men and women, both young and old, as well as the oxen, sheep, and donkeys, and they considered these as anathema or sacrificed them to God.

Two men had been sent to explore Jericho (and, upon entering the city, they were hidden by a prostitute). Then Joshua said to them: “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring her out with all her family, as you had sworn to her.”

These young men then brought out the woman named Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers and sisters, and all her relatives to safety outside the camp of Israel.

Afterward, they burned the city and everything in it. They saved only the silver, gold, and the vessels made of bronze and iron, which they placed with the precious items in the Sanctuary of the Lord.

Joshua rescued the prostitute and all her family, and she lived in Israel because she had hidden the spies sent by Joshua.

Joshua asked the people to pronounce this curse: “May the Lord curse the man who rebuilds Jericho. May its foundation be laid on the body of his eldest son, and may its gates fall on his youngest son.”

So the Lord was with Joshua, making him renowned throughout the land.