1Jerikos byporte blev holdt lukket både dag og nat på grund af befolkningens frygt for israelitterne. Ingen kunne gå ud eller ind. 2Men Herren sagde til Josva: „Jeg vil give dig sejr over Jerikos konge og alle hans krigere, så du kan indtage byen. 3I seks dage skal alle jeres våbenføre mænd marchere rundt om byen én gang dagligt. 4Syv præster skal gå foran arken og blæse i deres vædderhorn. På den syvende dag skal I gå rundt om byen syv gange, mens præsterne blæser i hornene. 5Derefter skal præsterne give signal ved at blæse meget længe og kraftigt i hornene. Når I hører det signal, skal I alle udstøde et højt kampråb. Så vil murene styrte sammen, og I kan gå lige ind!”
6Josva sammenkaldte nu præsterne og sagde til dem: „I skal bære arken, og syv af jer skal gå foran den, hver med et vædderhorn.” 7Dernæst sagde han til alle Israels mænd: „I skal gå rundt om byen, og de tungest bevæbnede skal gå forrest, foran præsterne og arken.”
8På Josvas befaling begyndte hæren at gå rundt om byen med pagtens ark og præsterne i midten. 9De svært bevæbnede mænd gik forrest, derefter de syv præster, som blæste i vædderhorn, derefter de præster, der bar arken, og til sidst resten af mændene.
10„I skal være helt stille!” havde Josva sagt. „Der må ikke høres en lyd med undtagelse af hornene. Men når jeg siger til, skal I råbe af jeres lungers fulde kraft!”
11Den dag blev arken båret rundt om byen én gang, hvorefter mændene vendte tilbage til lejren for at overnatte.
12-14Næste dag gik de igen en omgang rundt om byen, mens præsterne blæste i deres vædderhorn. Så vendte de tilbage til lejren. Sådan gjorde de i seks dage.
15Den syvende dag begyndte de ved daggry og gik syv gange rundt om byen. 16Da de var færdige med den syvende omgang, gav præsterne et langt stød i hornene, og Josva råbte: „Råb! Herren har givet jer byen!”
17Josva havde tidligere sagt til sine krigere: „Alle indbyggerne skal slås ihjel, med undtagelse af den prostituerede Rahab og familiemedlemmerne i hendes hus, fordi hun hjalp spionerne. 18Alt andet skal ødelægges! I må overhovedet intet krigsbytte tage til jer selv, for hvis I gør det, skal I selv dø, og det bliver hele folkets undergang. 19Hvad der findes af sølv og guld skal indvies til Herren og bringes til hans skatkammer. Det samme gælder alle ting lavet af bronze eller jern.”
20Da mændene nu hørte den langtrukne lyd fra vædderhornene, råbte de af deres lungers fulde kraft. Bymuren brød sammen, og de styrtede alle ind i byen. 21De huggede alt ned, som de kom frem, både mennesker og dyr—mænd og kvinder, unge og ældre, okser, får og æsler—alting! 22Imens sagde Josva til de to spioner: „Skynd jer at redde Rahab og hendes familie, sådan som I har lovet.” 23Spionerne gjorde, som de fik besked på, og bragte Rahab og hendes far og mor, hendes søskende og øvrige familie i sikkerhed i nærheden af lejren uden for byen. 24Derefter blev byen og alt, hvad der var i den, brændt af, med undtagelse af sølvet, guldet og redskaberne af bronze og jern, som blev anbragt i Herrens skatkammer. 25Josva skånede den prostituerede Rahab og dem, der var hos hende i huset, fordi hun havde skjult de mænd, han havde sendt af sted for at spionere i Jeriko. Rahab og hendes familie bor den dag i dag blandt israelitterne.
26Ved den lejlighed udtalte Josva i hele folkets påhør følgende forbandelse:
Herren vil forbande enhver,
som prøver at genopbygge Jeriko.
Det vil koste hans ældste søns liv at lægge byens grundvold,
og hans yngste søns liv at sætte portene i.
27Herren var med Josva, så han blev berømt og respekteret over hele landet.
1Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
6So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
8When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.
12Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 17The city and all that is in it are to be devoted6:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 18 and 21. to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
20When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
22Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
26At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:
“At the cost of his firstborn son
he will lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
he will set up its gates.”
27So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
