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Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in.
Joshua 6:1 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in.
  • KJV Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
  • BSB Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
  • NKJV Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
  • NLT Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jericho was shut up tight in fear of Israel, with no one going in or out. The fortified city braced itself, but its defenses could not withstand God.

Overview

This verse sets the scene for the siege: a fortress city locked down against the advancing Israelites. Humanly, Jericho's walls made it formidable. The narrative deliberately highlights its security to magnify the coming miracle, in which God overthrows the city by His own power rather than by Israel's military might.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Josh 2:9–14She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
  • Josh 2:24They said to Joshua, “Truly Yahweh has delivered all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.”
  • Ps 127:1A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
  • Josh 2:7The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.
  • 2 Kgs 17:4The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria seized him, and bound him in prison.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joshua videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joshua 6:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoshuaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.

How Joshua 6:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.