Daily Bread

The Fall of Jericho

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man^(A) standing in front of him with a drawn sword^(B) in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴ “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown^(C) to the ground^(D) in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord^[a] have for his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”^(E) And Joshua did so.

6 Now the gates of Jericho^(F) were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered^(G) Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns^(H) in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.^{(I) 5} When you hear them sound a long blast^(J) on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout;^(K) then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”