Joshua 6:6

THE MESSAGE

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and told them, "Take up the Chest of the Covenant. Seven priests are to carry seven ram's horn trumpets leading God 's Chest."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets in front of the ark of the Lord.”

Hebrew Names Version
Yehoshua the son of Nun called the Kohanim, and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven Kohanim bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.

King James Version
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 .

Lexham English Bible
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh."

English Standard Version
So 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 the ark of the Lord ."

New Century Version
So Joshua son of Nun called the priests together and said to them, "Carry the Ark of the Agreement. Tell seven priests to carry trumpets and march in front of it."

New English Translation
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 ."

Amplified Bible
So Joshua the son of Nun called for the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets made of rams' horns ahead of the ark of the LORD."

New American Standard Bible
So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark of the LORD."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then, Ioshua the sonne of Nun called the Priests & said vnto them, Take vp the Arke of the couenant, and let seuen Priests beare seuen trumpets of rams hornes before the Arke of the Lord.

Legacy Standard Bible
So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Carry the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh."

Contemporary English Version
Joshua called the priests together and said, "Take the chest and have seven priests carry trumpets and march ahead of it."

Complete Jewish Bible
Y'hoshua the son of Nun called the cohanim and told them, "Take up the ark for the covenant, and have seven cohanim carry seven shofars ahead of the ark of Adonai ."

Darby Translation
And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, Carry the ark of the covenant, and seven priests shall carry seven blast-trumpets before the ark of Jehovah.

Easy-to-Read Version
So Joshua son of Nun called the priests together and said to them, "Carry the Holy Box of the Lord . Tell seven priests to carry the trumpets and march in front of it."

George Lamsa Translation
And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets and blow them before the ark of the LORD.

Good News Translation
Joshua called the priests and told them, "Take the Covenant Box, and seven of you go in front of it, carrying trumpets."

Literal Translation
And 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 the ark of Jehovah.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then Iosua the sonne of Nun called ye prestes, and sayde vnto them: Beare ye the Arke of the couenaunt, and let seuen prestes take the seuen trompettes of the yeare of Iubilye before the Arke of the LORDE.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent for the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the agreement, and let seven priests take seven horns in their hands and go before the ark of the Lord.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iosuah the sonne of Nun, called the priestes, and sayde vnto them: Take vp the arke of the couenaunt, and let seuen priestes beare seuen trumpets of rammes hornes before the arke of the Lorde.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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 rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.'

King James Version (1611)
And Ioshua the sonne of Nun called the Priests, and said vnto them, Take vp the Arke of the Couenant, and let seuen Priests beare seuen trumpets of rammes-hornes, before the Arke of the Lord.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joshua the son of Naue went in to the priests, and spoke to them, saying,

English Revised Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, "Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets in front of the ark of the LORD."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Josue, the sone of Nun, clepide preestis, and seide to hem, Take ye the ark of boond of pees, and seuene othere preestis take seuene clariouns of iubile yeeris, and go thei bifor the arke of the Lord.

Young's Literal Translation
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;'

Update Bible Version
And 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 the ark of Yahweh.

Webster's Bible Translation
And 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 the ark of the LORD.

World English Bible
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 the ark of Yahweh.

New King James Version
Then 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 the ark of the LORD."

New Living Translation
So Joshua called together the priests and said, "Take up the Ark of the Lord 's Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram's horn."

New Life Bible
So Joshua the son of Nun called the religious leaders and said to them, "Take up the special box of the agreement. And let seven religious leaders carry seven rams' horns in front of the special box of the agreement."

New Revised Standard
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark of the Lord ."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then called Joshua son of Nun unto the priests, and said unto them, Bear ye the ark of the covenant, - and let, seven priest, bear seven rams horns, before the ark of Yahweh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then Josue, the son of Nun, called the priests, and said to them: Take the ark of the covenant: and let seven other priests take the seven trumpets of the jubilee, and march before the ark of the Lord.

Revised Standard Version
So 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 the ark of the LORD."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD."

Contextual Overview

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and told them, "Take up the Chest of the Covenant. Seven priests are to carry seven ram's horn trumpets leading God 's Chest." ⁷ Then he told the people, "Set out! March around the city. Have the armed guard march before the Chest of God ." ⁸And it happened. Joshua spoke, the people moved: Seven priests with their seven ram's horn trumpets set out before God . They blew the trumpets, leading God 's Chest of the Covenant. The armed guard marched ahead of the trumpet-blowing priests; the rear guard was marching after the Chest, marching and blowing their trumpets. ¹⁰ Joshua had given orders to the people, "Don't shout. In fact, don't even speak—not so much as a whisper until you hear me say, ‘Shout!'—then shout away!" ¹¹He sent the Chest of God on its way around the city. It circled once, came back to camp, and stayed for the night. Joshua was up early the next morning and the priests took up the Chest of God . The seven priests carrying the seven ram's horn trumpets marched before the Chest of God , marching and blowing the trumpets, with the armed guard marching before and the rear guard marching after. Marching and blowing of trumpets! ¹⁴ On the second day they again circled the city once and returned to camp. They did this six days. ¹⁵When the seventh day came, they got up early and marched around the city this same way but seven times—yes, this day they circled the city seven times. On the seventh time around the priests blew the trumpets and Joshua signaled the people, "Shout!— God has given you the city! The city and everything in it is under a holy curse and offered up to God . "Except for Rahab the harlot—she is to live, she and everyone in her house with her, because she hid the agents we sent.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Take up the ark: Joshua 6:8, Joshua 6:13, Joshua 3:3, Joshua 3:6, Exodus 25:14, Deuteronomy 20:2-4, Acts 9:1

Reciprocal: Joshua 3:14 - bearing the ark Joshua 6:12 - the priests Joshua 8:33 - priests 2 Samuel 15:24 - bearing 1 Kings 8:3 - the priests took up 1 Chronicles 13:10 - he put 1 Chronicles 15:2 - None ought to 2 Chronicles 5:4 - the Levites 2 Chronicles 5:12 - an hundred

Cross-References

Genesis 6:8
But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.

Genesis 6:17
"I'm going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.

Genesis 6:18
"But I'm going to establish a covenant with you: You'll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you'll need and store it up for you and them."

Exodus 32:14
And God did think twice. He decided not to do the evil he had threatened against his people.

Deuteronomy 32:36
Yes, God will judge his people, but oh how compassionately he'll do it. When he sees their weakened plight and there is no one left, slave or free, He'll say, "So where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge, The gods who feasted on the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink-offerings? Let them show their stuff and help you, let them give you a hand!

Psalms 81:13
"Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now? Israel, will you follow my map? I'll make short work of your enemies, give your foes the back of my hand. I'll send the God -haters cringing like dogs, never to be heard from again. You'll feast on my fresh-baked bread spread with butter and rock-pure honey."

Psalms 95:10
class="poetry"> Come, let's shout praises to God , raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let's march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns! And why? Because God is the best, High King over all the gods. In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns, in the other hand grasps the high mountains. He made Ocean—he owns it! His hands sculpted Earth! So come, let us worship: bow before him, on your knees before God , who made us! Oh yes, he's our God, and we're the people he pastures, the flock he feeds. Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks: "Don't turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising, As on the day of the Wilderness Test, when your ancestors turned and put me to the test. For forty years they watched me at work among them, as over and over they tried my patience. And I was provoked—oh, was I provoked! ‘Can't they keep their minds on God for five minutes? Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?' Exasperated, I exploded, ‘They'll never get where they're headed, never be able to sit down and rest.'"

Psalms 110:4
God gave his word and he won't take it back: you're the permanent priest, the Melchizedek priest. The Lord stands true at your side, crushing kings in his terrible wrath, Bringing judgment on the nations, handing out convictions wholesale, crushing opposition across the wide earth. The King-Maker put his King on the throne; the True King rules with head held high!

Isaiah 48:18
Tested in the Furnace of Affliction "And now listen to this, family of Jacob, you who are called by the name Israel: Who got you started in the loins of Judah, you who use God 's name to back up your promises and pray to the God of Israel? But do you mean it? Do you live like it? You claim to be citizens of the Holy City; you act as though you lean on the God of Israel, named God -of-the-Angel-Armies. For a long time now, I've let you in on the way I work: I told you what I was going to do beforehand, then I did it and it was done, and that's that. I know you're a bunch of hardheads, obstinate and flint-faced, So I got a running start and began telling you what was going on before it even happened. That is why you can't say, ‘My god-idol did this.' ‘My favorite god-carving commanded this.' You have all this evidence confirmed by your own eyes and ears. Shouldn't you be talking about it? And that was just the beginning. I have a lot more to tell you, things you never knew existed. This isn't a variation on the same old thing. This is new, brand-new, something you'd never guess or dream up. When you hear this you won't be able to say, ‘I knew that all along.' You've never been good listeners to me. You have a history of ignoring me, A sorry track record of fickle attachments— rebels from the womb. But out of the sheer goodness of my heart, because of who I am, I keep a tight rein on my anger and hold my temper. I don't wash my hands of you. Do you see what I've done? I've refined you, but not without fire. I've tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction. Out of myself, simply because of who I am, I do what I do. I have my reputation to keep up. I'm not playing second fiddle to either gods or people. "Listen, Jacob. Listen, Israel— I'm the One who named you! I'm the One. I got things started and, yes, I'll wrap them up. Earth is my work, handmade. And the skies—I made them, too, horizon to horizon. When I speak, they're on their feet, at attention. "Come everybody, gather around, listen: Who among the gods has delivered the news? I, God , love this man Cyrus, and I'm using him to do what I want with Babylon. I, yes I, have spoken. I've called him. I've brought him here. He'll be successful. Come close, listen carefully: I've never kept secrets from you. I've always been present with you." And now, the Master, God , sends me and his Spirit with this Message from God , your Redeemer, The Holy of Israel: "I am God , your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go. If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea. Children and grandchildren are like sand, your progeny like grains of sand. There would be no end of them, no danger of losing touch with me." Get out of Babylon! Run from the Babylonians! Shout the news. Broadcast it. Let the world know, the whole world. Tell them, " God redeemed his dear servant Jacob!" They weren't thirsty when he led them through the deserts. He made water pour out of the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed. "There is no peace," says God , "for the wicked."

Isaiah 63:10
But they turned on him; they grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned on them, became their enemy and fought them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests,.... Not the Levites and Kohathites, whose business it was in common to bear the ark, but upon this occasion the priests; not all of them, but as many as were sufficient for the purpose:

and said unto them, take up the ark of the covenant; by putting the staves into the rings of it, and so carry it, Exodus 25:14; see Numbers 7:9;

and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord: Numbers 7:9- :.

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.