And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets made of rams’ horns went on before the LORD and blew the trumpets; then the ark of the covenant of the LORD went behind them. The armed men went in front of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued to blow the trumpets. But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout [the battle cry] nor let your voice be heard nor let a word come out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout!” So Joshua had the ark of the LORD taken around the city [on the first day], circling it once; then they came back into the camp and spent the night in the camp.
Then Joshua got up early in the morning [on the second day], and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets made of rams’ horns ahead of the ark of the LORD went on continually, blowing the trumpets; and the armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued to blow the trumpets. On the second day they marched around the city once, and returned to the camp; they did this for six days.
Then on the seventh day they got up early at daybreak and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city. The city and everything that is in it shall be under the ban [that is, designated to be destroyed as a form of tribute] to the LORD; only Rahab the prostitute and all [the people] who are with her in her house shall [be allowed to] live, because she hid and protected the messengers (scouts) whom we sent. But as for you, keep yourselves [away] from the things under the ban [which are to be destroyed], so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban [for personal gain], and put the camp of Israel under the ban (doomed to destruction), and bring disaster upon it. All the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy (consecrated) to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.” So the people shouted [the battle cry], and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout and the wall [of Jericho] fell down, so that the sons of Israel went up into the city, every man straight ahead [climbing over the rubble], and they overthrew the city. Then they utterly destroyed everything that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
But Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all that she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” So the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and everything that she had; they also brought out all her relatives and allowed them to stay outside the camp of Israel [at Gilgal during the time required for ceremonial cleansing]. [Num 31:19] Then they completely burned the city and everything that was in it. They put only the silver and the gold, and the articles of bronze and of iron, into the treasury of the house (tabernacle) of the LORD. So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and everything that she had; and she has lived among Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers (scouts) whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
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