25 Bible Verses about Sieges

Now regarding the capture of Jerusalem: In the ninth year of [the reign of] Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it;

They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and on that day he utterly destroyed every person who was in it, just as he had done to Lachish.

Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and everyone who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

The Lord gave it also along with its king into the hands of Israel, and Joshua struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to the king of Libnah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

The Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and Joshua captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in the Aramaic (Syrian) language, because we understand it; and do not speak with us in the Judean (Hebrew) language in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

Then if the king's anger rises and he says to you, Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth (Gideon)? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall? Then say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

They shouted it loudly in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city [without a long siege].

When they called for the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the [king’s] household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary went out to [meet] them.

He sent messengers into Samaria to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, Thus says Ben-hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine; your wives and your children, even the fairest, also are mine.

You say (but they are only empty words) ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?

He who is far away will die of the virulent disease, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus I will spend My wrath on them.

On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine [caused by the siege] was severe in the city; there was no food for the people of the land.

As the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, a woman cried to him, Help, my lord, O king! He said, [For] if he does not help you [No, let the Lord help you!], from where can I get you help? Out of the threshing floor, or out of the winepress? And the king said to her, What ails you? She answered, This woman said to me, Give me your son so we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. read more.
So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, Give your son so we may eat him, but she had hidden her son.

Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria) gathered all his army together; thirty-two kings were [allied] with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria [Israel’s capital], and fought against it.

Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land [of Israel] and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years.

But it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria) gathered his whole army together and went up and besieged Samaria.

Also Hezekiah resolutely set to work and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down, and erected towers on it, and he built another wall outside and strengthened the Millo (fortification) in the City of David, and made a great number of weapons and shields.

You saw that the breaches [in the walls] of the City of David [the citadel of Zion] were many; [since the water supply was still defective] you collected [within the city's walls] the waters of the Lower Pool. And you numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses [to get materials] to fortify the [city] wall.

So now, assemble the rest of the men, and camp against the city and capture it, or I will take the city myself, and it will be named after me.”

After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, intending to take them for himself.

Then it happened in the spring, at the time when the kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all [the fighting men of] Israel, and they destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. Now therefore assemble the rest of the men, encamp against the city, and take it, lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. read more.
So David gathered all the men, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it.

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.

In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and they built siege works against it round about. The city was besieged [nearly two years] until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great virulent disease.

See the siege ramps [of mounded earth that the enemy has built against the walls]; they have come up to the city to capture it. And the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans [of Babylon] who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine and the virulent disease [that have overcome the people]. What You have spoken has come to pass, and behold, You see it.

The next morning Saul put the men into three companies; and they entered the [Ammonites’] camp during the [darkness of the early] morning watch and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and the survivors were scattered, and no two of them were left together.

So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; he drove away their cattle and struck them with a great slaughter. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.

So David gathered all the men together and went to Rabbah, then fought against it and captured it.

They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and on that day he utterly destroyed every person who was in it, just as he had done to Lachish.

And Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

So [Ahab] the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, Go up and spy out the land. So the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Let not all the men go up; but let about two thousand or three thousand go up and attack Ai; do not make the whole army toil up there, for they of Ai are few. So about three thousand Israelites went up there, but they fled before the men of Ai.

And the Lord said to Joshua, Fear not nor be dismayed. Take all the men of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that its spoil and its cattle [this time] you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city behind it. So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; [he] chose thirty thousand mighty men of strength and sent them forth by night. read more.
And he commanded them, Behold, you shall lie in wait against the city behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us, as the first time, we will flee before them Till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, They are fleeing from us as before. So we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand. When you have taken the city, you shall set it afire; as the Lord commanded, you shall do. See, I have commanded you. So Joshua sent them forth, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua lodged that night among the people. Joshua rose up early in the morning and mustered the men, and went up with the elders of Israel before the warriors to Ai. And all the fighting men who were with him went up and drew near before the city and encamped on the north side of [it], with a ravine between them and Ai. And he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, west of the city. So they stationed all the army -- "the main encampment that was north of the city and their men in ambush behind and on the west of the city -- "and Joshua went that night into the midst of the ravine. When the king [and people] of Ai saw it, they hastily rose early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle [at a time and place appointed] before the Arabah [plain]. But he did not know of the ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten by them, and fled toward the wilderness. So all the people in Ai were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. Leaving the city open, they pursued Israel. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand. So Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward the city. The men in the ambush arose quickly out of their place and ran when he stretched out his hand; and they entered the city and took it, and then hastened and set it afire.

He will direct the [shocking] blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his crowbars.

Then lay siege against it, build a siege wall, raise a ramp against it; set up [enemy] camps and place battering rams all around it.

He will kill your daughters on the mainland with the sword, and he shall make siege walls against you and build a siege ramp against you and raise [a roof of] large shields [as a defense] against you.

Then lay siege against it, build a siege wall, raise a ramp against it; set up [enemy] camps and place battering rams all around it.

So Abimelech and all the people who were with him got up during the night, and set up an ambush against Shechem, in four companies.

Abimelech fought against the city that entire day. He took the city and killed the people who were in it; he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

So he sent horses and chariots and a powerful army there. They came by night and surrounded the city.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by [hostile] armies, then understand [with confident assurance] that her complete destruction is near.

When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by using an ax on them, for you can eat their fruit; you must not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you? Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siege works against the city that makes war with you until it falls.

He decided with his officers and his mighty men to stop up the waters of the fountains which were outside the city [by enclosing them with masonry and concealing them], and they helped him. So many people gathered, and they stopped up all the springs and the brook which flowed through the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?

And he set captains of war over the people and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there is Another with us greater than [all those] with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Come against her from every quarter and from the utmost border. Open her granaries and storehouses; pile up [their contents] like heaps of rubbish. Burn and destroy her utterly; let nothing be left of her. Slay all her bullocks (her choice youths, the strength of her army); let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to [the Chaldeans]! For their day has come, the time of their visitation (their inspection and punishment).

They will besiege you in all your cities until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land; and they will besiege you in all your cities throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you.

And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish and encamped against it and attacked it. And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hands of Israel, and Joshua took it on the second day and smote it with the sword, and all the people in it, as he had done to Libnah.

Now when David and his men came home to Ziklag on the third day, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South (the Negeb) and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire, And had taken the women and all who were there, both great and small, captive. They killed no one, but carried them off and went on their way.

Then Joshua and all Israel went from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked Libnah. And the Lord gave it also and its king into Israel's hands, and Joshua smote it with the sword, and all the people in it. He left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

From Lachish Joshua and all Israel went on to Eglon, laid siege to it, and attacked it. And they took it that day and smote it with the sword and utterly destroyed all who were in it that day, as he had done to Lachish.

And Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir and attacked it. And he took it, with its king and all its towns, and they smote them with the sword and utterly destroyed everyone in it. He left none remaining. As he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and its king.

Then Joshua with all Israel went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they attacked it And took it and smote it with the sword, and its king and all its towns and everyone in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it and all its people.

And Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you. But Nahash the Ammonite told them, On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I thrust out all your right eyes and thus lay disgrace on all Israel. The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, Give us seven days' time, that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no man to save us, we will come out to you.

Set up a signal on the walls of Babylon [to spread the news];
Post a strong blockade,
Station the guards,
Prepare the men for ambush!
For the Lord has both purposed and done
That which He spoke against the people of Babylon.

He took his men and divided them into three companies and laid in wait in the field; and he looked and behold, the people were coming out of the city. And he rose up against them and smote them. And Abimelech and the company with him rushed forward and stood in the entrance of the city's gate, while the two other companies rushed upon all who were in the field and slew them.

A brother offended is harder to win over than a fortified city,
And contentions [separating families] are like the bars of a castle.

So now, assemble the rest of the men, and camp against the city and capture it, or I will take the city myself, and it will be named after me.”

In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of [the tribe of] Naphtali, and he carried the people captive to Assyria.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah [except Jerusalem] and captured them.

Now Nahash the Ammonite [king] went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty [of peace] with us and we will serve you.”

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned [over Israel] for seven days at Tirzah. Now the troops were camped against Gibbethon, [a city] which belonged to the Philistines,

Then Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.

Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering (robbing) the threshing floors [of the grain].”

And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho, its king and mighty men of valor, into your hands. You shall march around the enclosure, all the men of war going around the city once. This you shall do for six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns; and on the seventh day you shall march around the enclosure seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. read more.
When they make a long blast with the ram's horn and you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the enclosure shall fall down in its place and the people shall go up [over it], every man straight before him. So Joshua 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. He said to the people, Go on! March around the enclosure, and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord. When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the Lord and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, the priests blowing the trumpets as they went. But Joshua commanded the people, You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout! So he caused the ark of the Lord to go around the city once; and they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually; and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, the priests blowing the trumpets as they went. On the second day they compassed the city enclosure once and returned to the camp. So they did for six days. On the seventh day they rose early at daybreak and marched around the city as usual, only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. And the city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord [for destruction]; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. But you, keep yourselves from the accursed and devoted things, lest when you have devoted it [to destruction], you take of the accursed thing, and so make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it. But all the silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout, and [Jericho's] wall fell down in its place, so that the [Israelites] went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

‘Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: “He will not come to this city [Jerusalem] nor shoot an arrow there; nor will he come before it with a shield nor throw up a siege ramp against it.

They will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of people (infantry) who will array themselves against you on every side with large shield and small, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment and the punishment to them, and they will judge and punish you in accordance with their [pagan] customs.

“I dug wells and drank foreign waters,
And with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the rivers of [the Lower Nile of] Egypt.”

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].”

“And I will send foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow her
And may devastate and empty her land;
For in the day of destruction
They will be against her on every side.

“For behold, I will stir up and bring up against Babylon
An assembly of great nations from the north country.
They will equip themselves and set up the battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like an expert warrior
Who will not return empty-handed.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah [except Jerusalem] and captured them.

Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and everyone who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Now in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he with all his army, against Jerusalem, and camped against it and built siege works surrounding it.

Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land [of Israel] and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years.

Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and camped against Thebez and took it.

So Abimelech and all the people who were with him got up during the night, and set up an ambush against Shechem, in four companies.

You have enclosed me behind and before,
And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.

The [men in] ambush emerged quickly from their [hiding] place, and when Joshua stretched out his hand they ran and entered the city and captured it, and quickly set the city on fire.

Abimelech fought against the city that entire day. He took the city and killed the people who were in it; he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

Abimelech fought against the city that entire day. He took the city and killed the people who were in it; he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

Draw water for a [long, continued] siege!
Strengthen your fortresses!
Go down to the clay pits, trample the mortar!
Prepare the brick kiln [to burn bricks for the rampart]!

Now Jericho [a fortified city with high walls] was tightly closed because [of the people’s fear] of the sons of Israel; no one went out or came in.

For a time [of siege] is coming when your enemies will put up a barricade [with pointed stakes] against you, and surround you [with armies] and hem you in on every side,

The Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem) is left like a [deserted] shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city [isolated, surrounded by devastation].

“Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops;
A state of siege has been placed against us.
They shall strike the ruler of Israel on the cheek with a rod (scepter).

Like the noise of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble,
Like a mighty people set in battle formation.