Bible Verses About Sieges

When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; for you may eat of them. You shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged by you?

Only the trees that you know are not trees for food, you shall destroy and cut them down. You shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

They will besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land. They will besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you.

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in.

The LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor.

All your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days.

Seven priests shall bear seven shofars of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the shofars.

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.”

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 shofars of rams’ horns before the LORD’s ark.”

They said to the people, “Advance! March around the city, and let the armed men pass on before the LORD’s ark.”

It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven shofars of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced, and blew the shofars; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.

The armed men went before the priests who blew the shofars, and the ark went after them. The shofars sounded as they went.

Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.”

So he caused the LORD’s ark to go around the city, going about it once. Then they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the LORD’s ark.

The seven priests bearing the seven shofars of rams’ horns before the LORD’s ark went on continually, and blew the shofars: and the armed men went before them. The rear guard came after the LORD’s ark. The shofars sounded as they went.

The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days.

On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times. Only on this day they marched around the city seven times.

At the seventh time, when the priests blew the shofars, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!

The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is in it, to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

But as for you, only keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing; so would you make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it.

But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy to the LORD. They shall come into the LORD’s treasury.”

So the people shouted, and the priests blew the shofars. When the people heard the sound of the shofar, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the land.” The men went up and spied out Ai.

They returned to Joshua, and said to him, “Don’t let all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Don’t make all the people to toil there, for there are only a few of them.”