Joshua 6:5

Amplified Bible

"When they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall cry out with a great shout (battle cry); and the wall of the city will fall down in its place, and the people shall go up, each man [going] straight ahead [climbing over the rubble]."

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him."

Update Bible Version
And 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 wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.

English Revised Version
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.

New Century Version
They will make one long blast on the trumpets. When you hear that sound, have all the people give a loud shout. Then the walls of the city will fall so the people can go straight into the city."

New English Translation
When you hear the signal from the ram's horn, have the whole army give a loud battle cry. Then the city wall will collapse and the warriors should charge straight ahead."

Webster's Bible Translation
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 every man straight before him.

World English Bible
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 wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne the vois of the trumpe schal sowne lengere, and more bi whiles, and schal sowne in youre eeris, al the puple schal crie togidere with gretteste cry; and the wallis of the citee schulen falle alle doun, and alle men schulen entre bi the place, ayens which thei stonden.

Young's Literal Translation
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.'

Berean Standard Bible
And when there is a long blast of the ram's horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse, and the people will go up, each man straight ahead."

Contemporary English Version
Then the priests will blast on their trumpets, and everyone else will shout. The wall will fall down, and your soldiers can go straight in from every side.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
And at the sound of a long note on the horns, let all the people give a loud cry; and the wall of the town will come down flat, and all the people are to go straight forward.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when they make a long blast with the rammes horne, and ye heare the sounde of the horne, all the people shall shout with a great shout: And then shall the wall of the citie fall downe, and the people shall assende vp, euery man strayght before hym.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then they are to blow a long blast on the shofar. On hearing the sound of the shofar, all the people are to shout as loudly as they can; and the wall of the city will fall down flat. Then the people are to go up into the city, each one straight from where he stands."

Darby Translation
And it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the blast-horn, that all the people on hearing the sound of the trumpet shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall flat, and the people shall go up, each one straight before him.

Easy-to-Read Version
They will make one loud noise from the trumpets. When you hear that noise, tell all the people to begin shouting. When you do this, the walls of the city will fall down and your people will be able to go straight into the city."

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall be, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the horn, 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.'

King James Version (1611)
And it shall come to passe that when they make a long blast with the rammes-horne, and when ye heare the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout: and the wall of the citie shall fall downe flat, and the people shall ascend vp euery man straight before him.

New Life Bible
When you hear the long sound of the ram's horn, all the people should call out with a loud noise. The wall of the city will fall to the ground. And then all the people will all go in the city."

New Revised Standard
When they make a long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it shall come to pass, when the ram's horn soundeth, when ye hear the sound of the horn, that all the people shall shout with a great shout, - and then shall the wall of the city fall down under it, and the people shall go up, every man straight before him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when they make a long blast with the rams horne, and ye heare the sound of the trumpet, al the people shal shoute with a great shoute: then shall the wall of the citie fall downe flat, and the people shall ascend vp, euery man streight before him.

George Lamsa Translation
And it shall come to pass that when they blow the trumpets and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then 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.

Good News Translation
Then they are to sound one long note. As soon as you hear it, all the people are to give a loud shout, and the city walls will collapse. Then the whole army will go straight into the city."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand.

Revised Standard Version
And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him."

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And when they have shouted, the walls of the city shall fall of themselves; and all the people shall enter, each one rushing direct into the city.

Christian Standard Bible®
When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”

Hebrew Names Version
It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the shofar, 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.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
And when they blow long on the horn of the ram, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people will shout with a great war cry, and the wall of the city will fall flat, and the people will charge, each one straight ahead."

Literal Translation
And it shall be, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the ram's horn, all the people shall shout with a great shout. And the wall of the city shall fall downflat; and the people shall go up, each manin front of him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And whan the horne of the yeare of Iubilye bloweth and maketh a sounde, so that ye heare the trompettes, all the people shal make a greate shoute, then shal the walles of the cite fall downe, and ye people shal fall in, euery one straight before him.

New American Standard Bible
"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 wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight ahead."

New King James Version
It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."

New Living Translation
When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams' horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"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 wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."

Legacy Standard Bible
And it will 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 wall of the city will fall down beneath itself, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."

Contextual Overview

¹Now Jericho [a fortified city with high walls] was tightly closed because [of the people's fear] of the sons of Israel; no one went out or came in. ²The LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty warriors. ³"Now you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do this [once each day] for six days. ⁴"Also, seven priests shall carry seven trumpets [made] of rams' horns ahead of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵"When they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall cry out with a great shout (battle cry); and the wall of the city will fall down in its place, and the people shall go up, each man [going] straight ahead [climbing over the rubble]."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

make a long: Joshua 6:16, Joshua 6:20, Exodus 19:19, 2 Chronicles 20:21, 2 Chronicles 20:22

the people: Judges 7:20-22, 1 Samuel 4:5, 1 Samuel 17:20, 1 Samuel 17:52, 2 Chronicles 13:14, 2 Chronicles 13:15, Jeremiah 50:15

and the wall: The words wenaphelah chomath hair tachteyha, are literally, "and the wall of the city shall fall down under itself;" which appears simply to mean, that the wall shall fall down from its very foundation; which was probably the case in every part, though large breaches in different places might have been amply sufficient first to admit the armed men, after whom the host might enter to destroy the city. There is no ground for the supposition that the walls sunk into the earth. Isaiah 25:12, Isaiah 30:25, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Hebrews 11:30

flat: Heb. under it

Reciprocal: Exodus 32:17 - There is a noise Numbers 10:9 - if ye go Numbers 20:8 - speak Judges 20:37 - drew themselves along 1 Samuel 4:3 - Let us 2 Samuel 6:15 - the sound 2 Kings 4:29 - lay my staff 2 Chronicles 6:41 - the ark Ezra 3:11 - shouted Psalms 47:5 - sound Ezekiel 26:10 - enter Zechariah 9:14 - blow

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
Now it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,

Genesis 6:3
Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive and remain with man forever, because he is indeed flesh [sinful, corrupt—given over to sensual appetites]; nevertheless his days shall yet be a hundred and twenty years."

Genesis 6:4
There were Nephilim (men of stature, notorious men) on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they gave birth to their children. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (great reputation, fame).

Genesis 6:9
These are the records of the generations (family history) of Noah. Noah was a righteous man [one who was just and had right standing with God], blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked (lived) [in habitual fellowship] with God.

Genesis 6:19
"And of every living thing [found on land], you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.

Genesis 6:20
"Of fowls and birds according to their kind, of animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind—two of every kind shall come to you to keep them alive.

Genesis 6:21
"Also take with you every kind of food that is edible, and you shall collect and store it; and it shall be food for you and for them."

Genesis 8:21
The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma [a soothing, satisfying scent] and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent (strong inclination, desire) of man's heart is wicked from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.

Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful against the LORD [unashamed in their open sin before Him].

Deuteronomy 29:19
"It will happen that when he (a renegade) hears the words of this oath, and he imagines himself as blessed, saying, 'I will have peace and safety even though I walk within the stubbornness of my heart [rejecting God and His law], in order that the watered land dwindles away along with the dry [destroying everything],'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long [blast] with the ram's horn,.... Continue blowing, and protracting, and drawing out the sound a long time; which they did only on the seventh day; on the other days it was but a short blast they made at a time; so that this being different, it would be a good sign and token to the people to do what they are next directed to:

[and] when ye hear the sound of the trumpet; drawn out to a great length:

all the people shall shout with a great shout; at once, as when an onset is made in battle, or a victory is obtained:

and the wall of the city shall fall down flat; or "under itself" a; which Jarchi interprets, in its place; that is, where it stood, and be swallowed up in it: so the Targum,

"and it shall be swallowed up under it;''

yet so that somewhat of it should be seen, as an attestation and proof of the miracle, as Kimchi; who says,

"it means that it should be swallowed up in its place under the earth, and a little of it appear above ground for a memorial of the miracle:''

and the people shall ascend up, every man straight before him; just as they were in the order of procession; for the wall being fallen everywhere, they would have no occasion to make up to one certain place, as when a breach is only made in one place, and the besiegers are obliged to go so many a breast to enter at it; but in this case they might go straight up from whence they were, and enter the city without any obstruction and difficulty.

a תחתיה "sub se", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "subtus se", Tigurine version; "sabter se", Masius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The command of the Lord as to the mode in which the fall of Jericho should be brought about is given in these verses in a condensed form. Further details (see Joshua 6:8-10, Joshua 6:16-17, etc.), were, no doubt, among the commands given to Joshua by the Angel.

Joshua 6:4

Trumpets of ram’s horns - Render rather here and in Joshua 6:5-6, Joshua 6:8, etc., “trumpets of jubilee” (compareLeviticus 25:10; Leviticus 25:10 note). The instrument is more correctly rendered “cornet” (see Leviticus 25:9, note). Various attempts have been made to explain the fall of Jericho by natural causes, as, e. g., by the undermining of the walls, or by an earthquake, or by a sudden assault. But the narrative of this chapter does not afford the slightest warrant for any such explanations; indeed it is totally inconsistent with them. It must be taken as it stands; and so taken it intends, beyond all doubt, to narrate a miracle, or rather a series of miracles.

In the belief that a record is not necessarily unhistorical because it is miraculous, never perhaps was a miracle more needed than that which gave Jericho to Joshua. Its lofty walls and well-fenced gates made it simply impregnable to the Israelites - a nomad people, reared in the desert, destitute alike of the engines of war for assaulting a fortified town, and of skill and experience in the use of them if they had had them. Nothing line a direct interference of the Almighty could in a week’s time give a city like Jericho, thoroughly on its guard and prepared (compare Joshua 2:9 ff and Joshua 6:1), to besiegers situated as were Joshua and the Israelites.

The fall of Jericho cogently taught the inhabitants of Canaan that the successes of Israel were not mere human triumphs of man against man, and that the God of Israel was not as “the gods of the countries.” This lesson some of them at least learned to their salvation, e. g., Rahab and the Gibeonites. Further, ensuing close upon the miraculous passage of Jordan, it was impressed on the people, prone ever to be led by the senses, that the same God who had delivered their fathers out of Egypt and led them through the Red Sea, was with Joshua no less effectually than He had been with Moses.

And the details of the orders given by God to Joshua Joshua 6:3-5 illustrate this last point further. The trumpets employed were not the silver trumpets used for signalling the marshalling of the host and for other warlike purposes (compare Numbers 10:2), but the curved horns employed for ushering in the Jubilee and the Sabbatical Year (Septuagint, σάλπιγγες ἱεραί salpinges hierai: compare the Leviticus 23:24 note). The trumpets were borne by priests, and were seven in number; the processions round Jericho were to be made on seven days, and seven times on the seventh day, thus laying a stress on the sacred number seven, which was an emhlem more especially of the work of God. The ark of God also, the seat of His special presence, was carried round the city. All these particulars were calculated to set forth symbolically, and in a mode sure to arrest the attention of the people, the fact that their triumph was wholly due to the might of the Lord, and to that covenant which made their cause His.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 6:5. The wall of the city shall fall down flat — Several commentators, both Jews and Christians, have supposed that the ground under the foundation of the walls opened, and the wall sunk into the chasm, so that there remained nothing but plain ground for the Israelites to walk over. Of this the text says nothing: - ונפלה חומת העיר תחתיה venaphelah chomath hair tachteyha, literally translated, is, The wall of the city shall fall down UNDER ITSELF; which appears to mean no more than, The wall shall fall down FROM ITS VERY FOUNDATIONS. And this probably was the case in every part, though large breaches in different places might be amply sufficient to admit the armed men first, after whom the whole host might enter, in order to destroy the city.