25 Bible Verses about Sieges

This is how Jerusalem was captured: In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it.

They captured it on that day, attacking it in battle. Then Joshua completely destroyed it that day, the same way he had dealt with Lachish.

Joshua captured Makkedah that very day, and attacked both it and its king with swords, utterly destroying it along with every person in it, leaving no survivors. He dealt with the king of Makkedah the same way he had dealt with the king of Jericho.

The LORD gave both it and its king into the control of Israel, and Joshua executed both its king and every person in it with swords, leaving no survivors. He dealt with the king the same way he had dealt with the king of Jericho.

The LORD gave Lachish into the control of Israel, and Joshua captured it the next day. He declared war on the city and executed everyone in it, the same way he had treated Libnah.

At this, Hilkiah's son Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah asked Rab-shakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it, but don't speak the language of Judah to us within the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

if the king starts to get angry and asks you, "Why did you get so near the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Jerubbesheth's son Abimelech? Didn't a woman kill him by throwing an upper millstone on him from the wall at Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?' then tell him, "Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'"

His spokesmen shouted these things out with loud voices in the language of Judah to frighten and terrify the people of Jerusalem who were stationed on the city walls, to make it easier to conquer the city.

When they called for the King, Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who managed the household, Shebnah the scribe, and Asaph's son Joah the recorder went out to them.

Then he sent envoys to visit King Ahab of Israel and told him, "This is what Ben-hadad says: "Your silver and gold belong to me. So do the most beautiful of your wives and children.'"

""Why are you so confident? You're saying but they're only empty words "I have enough advice and resources to conduct warfare!'

The one who lives far away will die by pestilence and the one who is near will die violently. The survivors and their surveillance details will die by famine as I exhaust my rage against them.

By the ninth day of the fourth month, the resulting famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land.

While the king of Israel was walking along the city wall, a woman cried out to him. "Help me, your majesty!" she said. He replied, "No! Since the LORD won't give you victory, how will I be able to deliver you? From the threshing floor? From the wine press?" Then the king asked her, "What's bothering you?" read more.
She said, "This woman told me, "Give up your son, and we'll eat him today, and we'll eat your son tomorrow.'" So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day, I told her, "Give me your son so we can eat him!' But she has hidden her son!"

A little while later, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered an army of cavalry and chariots in a military confederacy with 32 kings, invaded Samaria, and set up siege encampments there.

After this, the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, approached Samaria, and began a three year siege.

Some time later, King Ben-hadad from Aram mustered his army, invaded the land, and attacked Samaria

Hezekiah took courage and rebuilt all of the walls that had been broken down. Then he erected watch towers on them, and added another external wall. He fortified the terrace ramparts in the City of David and prepared a large number of weapons and shields.

At that time, you looked at the arsenal of the Palace of the Forest, and saw that there were many breaches in the City of David. So you stored up water from the Lower Pool, counted the houses of Jerusalem, tore down certain houses to strengthen the wall,

so call out the rest of the army, attack the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I'll take the city myself and name it after me."

After all of these acts of faithfulness occurred, King Sennacherib of Assyria came, invaded Judah, and laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.

One spring day, during the time of year when kings go off to war, David sent out Joab, along with his personal staff and all of Israel's army. They utterly destroyed the Ammonites and then attacked Rabbah while David remained in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Joab attacked the Ammonite city of Rabbah and captured its stronghold. Then Joab sent messengers to David to tell him, "I just attacked Rabbah and captured its municipal water supply, so call out the rest of the army, attack the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I'll take the city myself and name it after me." read more.
So David mustered his entire army and marched on Rabbah, attacked it, and captured it.

At that time, the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and the city was placed under siege.

Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon, so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah.

I'll strike down the residents of this city, both people and animals, and they'll die from a terrible plague.

Look, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it. Because of the sword, famine, and plague, the city has been given over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you said has happened, and you are watching it occur!

The next day Saul separated the people into three companies. They came into the camp during the morning watch, and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered so that no two of them remained together.

David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He carried off their livestock and defeated them decisively, and so David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

So David mustered his entire army and marched on Rabbah, attacked it, and captured it.

They captured it on that day, attacking it in battle. Then Joshua completely destroyed it that day, the same way he had dealt with Lachish.

Then he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you join me in battle against Ramoth-gilead?"

So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah both attacked Ramoth-gilead.

Meanwhile, Joshua had sent some soldiers from Jericho to Ai, which was near Beth-aven, east of Bethel. He ordered them, "Go up and scout the land." So the soldiers went up and scouted Ai and returned to Joshua. "Not all of the people need to go up," they reported. "Only about two or three thousand men should attack Ai. Since they are so few, don't make all of the army work hard up there." So about three thousand went up there, but they ran away from the men of Ai.

The LORD then told Joshua, "Don't be afraid or lose heart! Take all the fighting men with you, and go up right now to Ai. Take note that I have handed over the king of Ai into your control, along with his people, his city, and his land. Do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, but take its spoil and its livestock as war booty for yourselves. Set an ambush around the city." So Joshua and all of the fighting men prepared to go out against Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 valiant warriors and sent them out by night, read more.
telling them, "Pay attention now! You are to set up an ambush around the city. Don't go very far from the city, and all of you remain on alert. I and all of the army with me will advance upon the city. When they come out after us like they did before, we'll run away from them. They'll come after us until we've drawn them away from the city, because they'll say, "They're running away from us just like they did before.' While we're running away from them, you get up from the ambush and seize the city, because the LORD your God will give it into your control. When you've taken the city, set it on fire, just as the LORD ordered. Look! These are your orders!" So Joshua sent them out, and they set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. Joshua spent that night in the camp among the army. In the morning, Joshua got up early, mustered his army, and set off for Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel in full view of the army. The entire fighting force with him attacked, approaching the city, and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. Taking about 5,000 men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai to the west of the city, stationing their forces with its main encampment north of the city and its rear guard to the west. Joshua spent that night in the valley. When the king of Ai saw what had happened, he and his army quickly got up early and went out to meet Israel in battle. He and all his people met at the place adjacent to the desert plain. But he didn't know about the ambush that had been set for him on the other side of the city. Because Joshua and the entire fighting force of Israel pretended to lose the battle by running away in front of them toward the wilderness, everyone in the city followed after them. As they pursued Joshua, they were drawn away from the town. There wasn't a single man left in Ai or Bethel who didn't run out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel. Then the LORD told Joshua, "Stretch out the battle lance that's in your hand toward Ai, because I will give it into your control." So Joshua stretched out the battle lance that was in his hand toward the city. As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush quickly got up from their place of hiding and attacked. They entered the city, seized it, and immediately set it on fire.

""He'll direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and will breach your fortified towers with axes.

You are to lay siege against it, build a rampart around it, set a bulwark against it, encircle it with a berm, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it.

He'll execute your citizens who live on the mainland with swords. He'll build siege engines to attack you. Then he'll construct siege ramps against you and build huge shields to protect themselves against you.

You are to lay siege against it, build a rampart around it, set a bulwark against it, encircle it with a berm, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it.

So Abimelech and his entire army got up that night and waited in ambush against Shechem in four separate companies.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day, captured the city, killed the people in it, then tore the city to the ground and sowed it with salt.

So the king of Aram sent out horses, chariots, and an elite force, and they arrived during the night and surrounded the city.

"When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then understand that its devastation is approaching.

"When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don't destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them? However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit you know isn't edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls."

he developed a plan with his commanders and his elite forces to cut off the water supply from the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him to carry it out. Many people gathered together and plugged up all the springs, along with the stream that flowed through the region. They were thinking to themselves, "Why should the Assyrian kings invade and discover an abundant water supply?"

He appointed military officers to take charge of the people, who gathered them together in the square near the city gate and spoke to them encouragingly, "Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid or disheartened because of the king of Assyria or because of the army that accompanies him, because the one who is with us is greater than the one with him. He only has the strength of his own flesh, but the LORD our God is with us to help us and to fight our battles." So the people were encouraged from what King Hezekiah of Judah told them.

Come to her from afar. Open up her barns. Pile her up like heaps of grain, and completely destroy her. Don't leave any survivors. Put all her bulls to the sword, let them go down to the slaughter. How terrible for them because their day has come, the time of their judgment.

They'll besiege all your cities until your high and fortified walls in which you have trusted collapse throughout the land. Indeed, they will besiege all your cities, which the LORD your God gave you."

Then Joshua and all of Israel passed from Libnah to Lachish, camped near it, and attacked it. The LORD gave Lachish into the control of Israel, and Joshua captured it the next day. He declared war on the city and executed everyone in it, the same way he had treated Libnah.

When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and set it on fire. They took the women in it captive, from young to old. They did not kill anyone. Instead, they carried them off and went on their way.

Afterward, Joshua and all of Israel passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, where they fought against Libnah. The LORD gave both it and its king into the control of Israel, and Joshua executed both its king and every person in it with swords, leaving no survivors. He dealt with the king the same way he had dealt with the king of Jericho.

After this, Joshua, accompanied by all of Israel, proceeded from Lachish to Eglon, laid siege to it, and attacked it. They captured it on that day, attacking it in battle. Then Joshua completely destroyed it that day, the same way he had dealt with Lachish.

Then Joshua returned, accompanied by the entire fighting force of Israel, to Debir, where they attacked it, captured it, its king, and all of its villages. They executed them, totally destroying it and everyone in it, leaving no one remaining. He dealt with Debir and its king just as he had dealt with Hebron, treating them the same way he had dealt with Libnah and its king.

Then Joshua, accompanied by all of Israel, left Eglon for Hebron, where they attacked it, captured it, and executed its inhabitants its king, all of its cities, and every person in it, leaving no one remaining, the same way he had dealt with Eglon. He completely destroyed it, along with everyone in it.

Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead. So after a month, Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh told Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you." Nahash the Ammonite told them, "I'll make a covenant with you on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel." read more.
The elders of Jabesh told him, "Leave us alone for seven days so that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then if no one delivers us, we will come out to you and surrender."

Lift up the battle standard against Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard; post watchmen. Set men in position for an ambush. For the LORD will both plan and carry out what he has declared against the inhabitants of Babylon.

So he took his army, divided it into three separate companies, and laid in ambush out in the field. When Abimelech noticed the people coming out from the city, his army attacked them and killed them. Then Abimelech and the soldiers who were with him rushed forward and commandeered the entrance to the city gate while the other two companies ran out to kill everyone who was in the field.

An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and his disputes are like the bars of a fortress.

so call out the rest of the army, attack the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I'll take the city myself and name it after me."

During the lifetime of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria attacked. He captured the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor. He also captured Gilead, Galilee, and the entire territory of Naphtali, and carried its people off to Assyria.

During the fourteenth year of the reign of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria approached all of the walled cities of Judah and seized them.

Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.

Zimri reigned for seven days at Tirzah during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. At that time, the army was encamped in a siege against Gibbethon of Philistia.

Then Omri and the entire army of Israel left from Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah.

Someone told David, "Look, the Philistines are fighting at Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors."

The LORD told Joshua, "Look! I have given Jericho over to your control, along with its kings and valiant soldiers. March around the city, all the soldiers circling the city once. Do this for six days, with seven priests carrying in front of the ark seven trumpets made from rams' horns. On the seventh day march around the city seven times while the priests blow their trumpets. read more.
When they sound a long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then the entire army is to cry out loud, the city wall will collapse, and then all of the soldiers are to charge straight ahead." So Nun's son Joshua called for the priests. "Pick up the Ark of the Covenant," he told them, "and have seven priests carry seven trumpets made from rams' horns in front of the ark of the LORD." He told the army, "Go out and encircle the city. Have the armed men march out in front of the ark of the LORD." And so, just as Joshua had commanded, seven of the priests went forward, carrying the seven trumpets made of rams' horns in the LORD's presence, blowing the trumpets while the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD followed them. Armed men preceded the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and a rear guard followed the ark, while the trumpets continued to blow. Joshua issued orders to the army: "You are not to shout or even let your voice be heard. Don't utter a word until I tell you to shout. Then shout!" So the ark of the LORD was taken once around the city, then they went back to camp and spent the night there. Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests picked up the ark of the LORD. The seven priests who carried the seven trumpets made from rams' horns preceded the ark of the LORD, blowing their trumpets constantly. The armed men preceded them, and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets continued to blow. On the second day they marched around the city once and then went back to camp. They did this for six days. They rose early at dawn on the seventh day and marched around the city seven times, just as they had before, except that on that day only they marched around the city seven times. As they completed the seventh time, after the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua told the army, "Shout, because the LORD has given you the city! The city along with everything in it is to be turned over to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone who is with her in her house may live, because she hid the scouts we sent. Now as for you, everything has been turned over for destruction. Don't covet or take any of these things. Otherwise, you'll make the camp of Israel itself an object worthy of destruction, and bring trouble on it. But everything made of silver and gold, and vessels made of bronze and iron are set apart to the LORD. They are to go into the treasury of the LORD." So the army shouted and the trumpets were blown again. As soon as the army heard the sound of the trumpets, they shouted loudly and the wall collapsed. The army charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.

"Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: "Not only will he not approach this city or shoot an arrow in its direction, he won't approach it with so much as a shield, nor will he throw up a siege ramp against it.

""They'll invade you with weapons, chariots, wagons, and a vast army. They'll set themselves in place to attack you from every direction with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I'll turn over judgment to them, and they'll punish you according to their own standards.

I myself dug for and drank foreign water. With the sole of my foot I dried up all the streams of Egypt!"

"Son of Man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army work very hard to attack Tyre. They tore their hair out and rubbed their shoulders raw! Despite all of that work trying to capture Tyre, neither he nor his army got paid from Tyre for all that!

I'll send foreigners to Babylon, and they'll winnow her, and devastate her land. They'll come against her from every side on the day of her disaster.

Indeed, I'm going to stir up and bring against Babylon a great company of nations from the land of the north. They'll deploy for battle against her, and from there she will be captured. Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior; they won't miss their targets.

During the fourteenth year of the reign of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria approached all of the walled cities of Judah and seized them.

Joshua captured Makkedah that very day, and attacked both it and its king with swords, utterly destroying it along with every person in it, leaving no survivors. He dealt with the king of Makkedah the same way he had dealt with the king of Jericho.

Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon, so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city.

After this, the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, approached Samaria, and began a three year siege.

Later on, Abimelech went to Thebez, set up a siege encampment there, and captured it.

So Abimelech and his entire army got up that night and waited in ambush against Shechem in four separate companies.

You encircle me from back to front, placing your hand upon me.

As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush quickly got up from their place of hiding and attacked. They entered the city, seized it, and immediately set it on fire.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day, captured the city, killed the people in it, then tore the city to the ground and sowed it with salt.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day, captured the city, killed the people in it, then tore the city to the ground and sowed it with salt.

"Draw water, because a siege is coming! Strengthen your fortresses! Make the clay good and strong! Mix the mortar! Go get your brick molds!

Meanwhile, Jericho was fortified inside and out because of the Israelis. Nobody could leave or enter.

because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side.

"The daughter of Zion is left abandoned, like a booth in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, or like a city under siege.

"Now marshal yourselves as troops. He has laid siege to us. They will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod."

They leap like the rumbling of chariots echoing from mountain tops, like the roar of wild fire that devours the chaff, as an army firmly established in battle array.