Joshua 6:4-16

Context
6:4 Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns¹ in front of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 6:5 When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn,² have the whole army give a loud battle cry.³ Then the city wall will collapse⁴ and the warriors should charge straight ahead.”⁵

6:6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and instructed them, “Pick up the ark of the covenant, and seven priests must carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 6:7 And he told⁶ the army,⁷ “Move ahead⁸ and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

6:8 When Joshua gave the army its orders,⁹ the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved ahead and blew the horns as the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed behind. 6:9 Armed troops marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark blowing rams’ horns. 6:10 Now Joshua had instructed the army,¹⁰ “Do not give a battle cry¹¹ or raise your voices; say nothing¹² until the day I tell you, ‘Give the battle cry.’¹³ Then give the battle cry!”¹⁴ 6:11 So Joshua made sure they marched the ark of the Lord around the city one time.¹⁵ Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there.¹⁶

6:12 Bright and early the next morning Joshua had the priests pick up the ark of the Lord.¹⁷ 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 dawn¹⁸ and marched around the city as before – only this time they marched around it seven times.¹⁹ 6:16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the rams’ horns and Joshua told the army,²⁰ “Give the battle cry,²¹ for the Lord is handing the city over to you!²²

[6:4] ¹tn Heb “rams’ horns, trumpets.”

[6:5] ²tn Heb “and it will be at the sounding of the horn, the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn.” The text of Josh 6:5 seems to be unduly repetitive, so for the sake of English style and readability, it is best to streamline the text here. The reading in the Hebrew looks like a conflation of variant readings, with the second (“when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn”) being an interpolation that assimilates the text to verse 20 (“when the army heard the sound of the horn”). Note that the words “when you hear the sound of the ram's horn” do not appear in the LXX of verse 5.

[6:5] ³tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”

[6:5] ⁴tn Heb “fall in its place.”

[6:5] ⁵tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”

[6:7] ⁶tn An alternative reading is “and they said.” In this case the subject is indefinite and the verb should be translated as passive, “[the army] was told.”

[6:7] ⁷tn Heb “the people.”

[6:7] ⁸tn Heb “pass by.”

[6:8] ⁹tn Heb “when Joshua spoke to the people.”

[6:10] ¹⁰tn Heb “the people.”

[6:10] ¹¹tn Or “the shout.”

[6:10] ¹²tn Heb “do not let a word come out of your mouths.”

[6:10] ¹³tn Or “the shout.”

[6:10] ¹⁴tn Or “the shout.”

[6:11] ¹⁵tn Heb “and he made the ark of the Lord go around the city, encircling one time.”

[6:11] ¹⁶tn Heb “and they entered the camp and spent the night in the camp.”

[6:12] ¹⁷tn Heb “Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests picked up the ark of the Lord.”

[6:15] ¹⁸tn Heb “On the seventh day they rose early, when the dawn ascended.”

[6:15] ¹⁹tn Heb “and they went around the city according to this manner seven times, only on that day they went around the city seven times.”

[6:16] ²⁰tn Heb “the people.”

[6:16] ²¹tn Or “the shout.”

[6:16] ²²tn Heb “for the Lord has given to you the city.” The verbal form is a perfect, probably indicating certitude here.