Joshua 6:3 (ASV)

Passage

And ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, going about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

Nearby Context

Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

Joshua 6:2 And Jehovah said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor.

Joshua 6:3 And ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, going about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

Joshua 6:4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams` horns before the ark: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

Joshua 6:5 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "compass", "city", "going", "once", "thus", and "shalt". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "compass", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And Jehovah said unto Joshua See I..." into verse 4's "And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets...", so "shall" and "compass" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "compass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.