Passage

Joshua 6.3-15

Book: Joshua · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2. And Jehovah said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor."

"3. And ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, going about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5. And it shall be, that, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him. 6. And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of Jehovah. 7. And they said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let the armed men pass on before the ark of Jehovah. 8. And it was so, that, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before Jehovah passed on, and blew the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah followed them. 9. And the armed men went before the priests that blew the trumpets, and the rearward went after the ark, the priests blowing the trumpets as they went. 10. And Joshua commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. 11. So he caused the ark of Jehovah to compass the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 12. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Jehovah. 13. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of Jehovah went on continually, and blew the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; and the rearward came after the ark of Jehovah, the priests blowing the trumpets as they went. 14. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early at the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times."

"16. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for Jehovah hath given you the city. 17. And the city shall be devoted, even it and all that is therein, to Jehovah: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent." (Joshua 6:1-17, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in. 2. Yahweh said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor."

"3. All of your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days. 4. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5. It shall 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 city wall shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight in front of him.” 6. Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh’s ark.” 7. They said to the people, “Advance! March around the city, and let the armed men pass on before Yahweh’s ark.” 8. It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of Yahweh’s covenant followed them. 9. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the ark went after them. The trumpets sounded as they went. 10. Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” 11. So he caused Yahweh’s ark to go around the city, going about it once. Then they came into the camp, and stayed in the camp. 12. Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up Yahweh’s ark. 13. The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of Yahweh’s ark went on continually, and blew the trumpets. The armed men went in front of them. The rear guard came after Yahweh’s ark. The trumpets sounded as they went. 14. The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days. 15. On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times. Only on this day they marched around the city seven times."

"16. At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for Yahweh has given you the city! 17. The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is in it, to Yahweh. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent." (Joshua 6:1-17, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. ^{was: Heb. did shut up, and was shut up} 2. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour."

"3. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. 5. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. ^{flat: Heb. under it} 6. And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD. 7. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD. 8. And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. ^{rereward: Heb. gathering host} 10. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. ^{any noise: Heb. your voice to be heard} 11. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 12. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. 14. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times."

"16. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. 17. And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. ^{accursed: or, devoted}" (Joshua 6:1-17, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. (And Jericho shutteth itself up, and is shut up, because of the presence of the sons of Israel, none going out, and none coming in;) 2. And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'See, I have given into thy hand Jericho and its king, mighty ones of valour,"

"3. and ye have compassed the city, all the men of battle, going round the city once; thus thou dost six days; 4. and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark, and on the seventh day ye compass the city seven times, and the priests blow with the trumpets, 5. and it hath been, in the prolongation of the horn of the jubilee, in your hearing the voice of the trumpet, all the people shout, a great shout, and the wall of the city hath fallen under it, and the people have gone up, each over-against him.' 6. And Joshua son of Nun calleth unto the priests, and saith unto them, 'Bear ye the ark of the covenant, and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark of Jehovah;' 7. and He said unto the people, 'Pass over, and compass the city, and he who is armed doth pass over before the ark of Jehovah.' 8. And it cometh to pass, when Joshua speaketh unto the people, that the seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before Jehovah have passed over and blown with the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is going after them; 9. and he who is armed is going before the priests blowing the trumpets, and he who is gathering up is going after the ark, going on and blowing with the trumpets; 10. and the people hath Joshua commanded, saying, 'Ye do not shout, nor cause your voice to be heard, nor doth there go out from your mouth a word, till the day of my saying unto you, Shout ye, then ye have shouted.' 11. And the ark of Jehovah doth compass the city, going round once, and they come into the camp, and lodge in the camp. 12. And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and the priests bear the ark of Jehovah, 13. and seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark of Jehovah are walking, going on, and they have blown with the trumpets, and he who is armed is going before them, and he who is gathering up is going behind the ark of Jehovah, going on and blowing with the trumpets. 14. And they compass the city on the second day once, and turn back to the camp; thus they have done six days. 15. And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they rise early, at the ascending of the dawn, and compass the city, according to this manner, seven times; (only, on that day they have compassed the city seven times);"

"16. and it cometh to pass, at the seventh time, the priests have blown with the trumpets, and Joshua saith unto the people, 'Shout ye, for Jehovah hath given to you the city; 17. and the city hath been devoted, it and all that [is] in it, to Jehovah; only Rahab the harlot doth live, she and all who [are] with her in the house, for she hid the messengers whom we sent;" (Joshua 6:1-17, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

Canaanite Conquest Objection Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.