Joshua 6:14 describes the second day of Israel’s march around Jericho: the people walked around the city once, then returned to their camp, and they repeated this for six days. The verse is a small piece of narrative, but it shows the people obeying an unusual command in patient, ordinary steps before anything dramatic happens. The narrator, writing in the history of Joshua, reports these events as the army prepares to enter the land God promised them.
The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days.
Joshua 6:14 (WEB)
What Joshua 6:14 Means
The phrase “the second day” tells you this is one stage in a sequence. The people are not finished, and nothing has yet happened to the walls. Each day follows the same pattern, so the verse emphasizes repetition rather than spectacle. Israel’s obedience is shown through routine: step after step, day after day.
The words “marched around the city once, and returned into the camp” describe a complete, orderly circuit. They did not charge at the gates or attempt an assault. They walked, turned, and went back. The verse does not promise that this will bring victory on any given day, and it does not explain why six days of walking are required. It simply records what they did, leaving the timing and outcome to God.
The closing words, “They did this six days,” point ahead. The reader knows from the surrounding chapter that a seventh day is coming, when the procession changes. So Joshua 6:14 works as a pause in the story, letting you feel how long and steady the waiting was.
The Context of Joshua 6:14
The book of Joshua tells how Israel, after Moses’ death, entered and took possession of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership. It is traditionally attributed to Joshua himself, though many scholars think it was compiled later, and its first audience was likely the Israelites settling in the land. Jericho stands at the threshold of that story, and the instructions for the march come directly from the LORD through Joshua.
Just before verse 14, verses 11 through 13 describe the ark of the LORD being carried around the city with seven priests blowing trumpets, while armed men walked ahead and the rear guard followed. Verse 14 continues that same pattern. After it, verses 15 through 17 shift to the seventh day, when the circuit is repeated seven times and the shout finally rings out. Seen this way, the second day is a middle stage, and its meaning comes from the anticipation built by what precedes and follows it.
Key Phrases in Joshua 6:14
Joshua 6:15
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.
(WEB)
This verse picks up immediately after Joshua 6:14, describing the seventh day when the people rise early and circle the city seven times. Reading it alongside verse 14 shows how the earlier days of routine lead to the climactic day, and it helps you see that the pattern was building toward something decisive.
Hebrews 11:30
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.
(WEB)
The letter to the Hebrews looks back on the faith of earlier generations and names the fall of Jericho’s walls as an act of faith. Reading this verse with Joshua 6:14 reminds you that the Israelites’ obedience in marching was understood, centuries later, as a deliberate expression of trust in God.
A Short Prayer From Joshua 6:14
Lord, you know the days I am living through, the ones that look the same from morning to night. Help me to keep walking faithfully in the steps you have given me, even when I cannot yet see what you are preparing. Steady my heart when the routine feels long and the results feel slow. Remind me that you are present in each ordinary day and that nothing done in obedience to you is ever lost. Teach me to trust your timing, as your people trusted it around the walls of Jericho. Amen.
