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.
耶利哥城塌陷
1因為害怕以色列人，耶利哥城門緊閉，無人出入。 2耶和華對約書亞說：「看啊，我已經把耶利哥及其王和英勇的戰士都交在你手中了。 3所有軍隊要每天繞城一圈，連續六天， 4讓七個祭司拿著七個羊角號走在約櫃前面。到了第七天，你們要繞城七圈，祭司要吹響號角。 5當你們聽到號角長鳴時，所有人都要高聲吶喊，城牆就會坍塌，眾人便可以直衝上去。」 6嫩的兒子約書亞便召來祭司，對他們說：「你們抬起約櫃，派七位祭司拿著七個羊角號走在耶和華的約櫃前面。」 7他又對民眾說：「你們要前去繞著城牆走，軍隊要走在耶和華的約櫃前面。」
8約書亞吩咐完畢，七個祭司便在耶和華面前拿著羊角號邊走邊吹，耶和華的約櫃就跟在他們後面， 9軍隊走在吹號的祭司前面，殿後軍隊跟在約櫃後面。祭司一路上吹著號角。 10約書亞吩咐民眾：「我哪天叫你們吶喊，你們再吶喊。在此之前，不許作聲，一句話也不許說。」 11這樣，約書亞讓人抬著耶和華的約櫃繞城一圈，然後眾人各自回營過夜。
12第二天，約書亞一早起來，祭司又抬起耶和華的約櫃。 13七個祭司拿著七個羊角號走在耶和華的約櫃前面，一邊走一邊吹號。軍隊走在祭司前面，殿後軍隊跟在耶和華的約櫃後面，伴隨著持續不斷的號角聲。 14這一天他們又繞城一圈，然後各自回營。六天都是這樣。
15第七天黎明時分，他們起來照樣繞城，只是這一天他們繞城七次。 16繞到第七次，祭司吹響了號角，約書亞吩咐民眾說：「吶喊吧！因為耶和華已經將這城交給你們了。 17要把這座城和城裡所有的東西毀滅，作為獻給耶和華之物。只有妓女喇合和她家中所有的人可以活命，因為她曾把我們派去的探子隱藏起來。 18你們要小心，不可私拿任何應當毀滅的東西，免得你們自取滅亡，並使以色列全營遭受滅頂之災。 19所有金銀和銅鐵器皿都是耶和華的聖物，要放進耶和華的庫房。」 20於是，民眾吶喊，號角響起，當民眾伴隨著號角聲高聲吶喊時，城牆坍塌了。民眾便一擁而上，佔領了耶利哥城， 21用刀殺了城裡所有的男女老少、牛羊和驢。
22約書亞對那兩個探子說：「你們到那個妓女家裡，照著你們向她起過的誓，把她和她的家人都帶出來。」 23於是，那兩個年輕探子便進去，把喇合和她的父母、兄弟及所有的親人都帶出來，安置在以色列人的營外。 24以色列人燒毀全城和城內的一切，只把金銀和銅鐵器皿放在耶和華的庫房裡。 25約書亞因為妓女喇合把兩個派到耶利哥的探子隱藏起來，就饒了她和她一家人的性命。他們至今仍住在以色列人當中。
26之後，約書亞起誓說：
「重建耶利哥城的人必定在耶和華面前受咒詛，
他立地基的時候必死長子，
建城門的時候必喪幼子。」
27耶和華與約書亞同在，他的聲名傳遍整個地方。
