Joshua 6:13-20

6:13 The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams’ horns. 6:14 They marched around the city one time on the second day, then returned to the camp. They did this six days in all.

6:15 On the seventh day they were up at the crack of dawn 1  and marched around the city as before – only this time they marched around it seven times. 2  6:16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the rams’ horns and Joshua told the army, 3  “Give the battle cry, 4  for the Lord is handing the city over to you! 5  6:17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord, 6  except for Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the spies 7  we sent. 6:18 But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for the Lord. If you take any of it, you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster. 8  6:19 All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord. 9  They must go into the Lord’s treasury.”

6:20 The rams’ horns sounded 10  and when the army 11  heard the signal, 12  they gave a loud battle cry. 13  The wall collapsed 14  and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 15 

1 tn Heb “On the seventh day they rose early, when the dawn ascended.”

2 tn Heb “and they went around the city according to this manner seven times, only on that day they went around the city seven times.”

3 tn Heb “the people.”

4 tn Or “the shout.”

5 tn Heb “for the Lord has given to you the city.” The verbal form is a perfect, probably indicating certitude here.

6 tn Or “dedicated to the Lord.”

sn To make the city set apart for the Lord would involve annihilating all the people and animals and placing its riches in the Lord’s treasury (vv. 19, 21, 24).

7 tn Heb “messengers.”

8 tn Heb “Only you keep [away] from what is set apart [to the Lord] so that you might not, as you are setting [it] apart, take some of what is set apart [to the Lord] and make the camp of Israel set apart [to destruction by the Lord] and bring trouble on it.”

9 tn Heb “it is holy to the Lord.”

10 tc Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the LXX.

11 tn Heb “the people.”

12 tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”

13 tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”

14 tn Heb “fell in its place.”

15 tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”