25 Bible Verses about Sieges

In the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and laid siege to it.

And they captured it on that day, and he struck it with {the edge of the sword}, and all the people that [were] in it on that day he utterly destroyed as he had done to Lachish.

Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and he struck it and its king with {the edge of the sword}; he utterly destroyed it and everyone that was in it. He did not leave behind a survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he did to the king of Jericho.

And Yahweh also gave it into the hand of Israel, and its king and all the people in it he struck with {the edge of the sword}. He left in it no survivor. He did to its king just as he did to the king of Jericho.

And Yahweh gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day. He struck it with {the edge of the sword}, and everyone in it, just as he did to Libnah.

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we [are] understanding, but you must not speak Judean with us in the ears of the people who [are] on the wall."

if the anger of the king rises and he says to you, 'Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from [atop] the wall? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerub-bosheth, if not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from [atop] the wall and he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?' Then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'"

Then they called with a great voice in Judean to the people of Jerusalem who [were] upon the wall to frighten them and terrify them, so that they could take the city captive.

Then they called to the king, so Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who [was] over the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.

He sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel. He said to him, "Thus says Ben-Hadad: 'Your silver and your gold are mine, and your women and your best sons are mine.'"

You think only a word of lips, '[I have] advice and power for the war.' Now, on whom do you trust that you have rebelled against me?

The one who is far [away] will die by the plague, and the one who is near will fall by the sword, and the one who is being left behind and being spared will die by the famine, and I will complete my rage on them.

In the ninth month, the famine became severe in the city, and there was no food for the people of the land.

It happened that the king of Israel [was] crossing over on the wall, and a woman called out to him, saying, "Help, my lord the king!" He said, "No, let Yahweh help you. {How} can I save you? From the threshing floor or from the wine press?" The king said to her, "{What is the problem}?" Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.' read more.
So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him.' But she had hidden her son."

Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all of his army, and thirty-two kings [were] with him, and horses and chariots. He went up and laid siege against Samaria and fought with it.

So the king of Assyria went up in all the land, then he went up [to] Samaria and besieged it [for] three years.

It happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Aram assembled all of his army and marched up and laid siege against Samaria.

Then he strengthened himself and built up all the walls that were broken down, and raised towers upon [them] and another wall {outside}. And he strengthened the Millo of the city of David and made much weaponry and small shields.

and you saw that the breaches in the walls of the city of David were many, and you gathered the waters of the lower pool. And you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.

So then, gather the remainder of the army and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and my name be proclaimed over it."

After these things and these [acts of] faithfulness, Sennacherib the king of Assyria came, and he came against Judah. And he encamped against the fortified cities and planned to break them down for himself.

{It came about in the spring}, at the time {kings} go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all of Israel. They ravaged all of the {Ammonites} and besieged Rabbah, but David [was] remaining in Jerusalem.

And Joab fought against Rabbah of the {Ammonites}, and he captured {the royal city}. Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, "We have fought against Rabbah, and we captured the city of the waters. So then, gather the remainder of the army and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and my name be proclaimed over it." read more.
So David gathered all of the army, and he went to Rabbah and fought against it and captured it.

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

It happened that in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and his army, against Jerusalem. He encamped against it and built siege works against it all around. So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of the king.

And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both humankind and animal; by a great plague they will die.

Look, the siege ramps have come up [to] the city to capture it, and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it, because of the sword, the famine, and the plague, and what you spoke happened, and look, you [are] seeing [it].

{And the} next day Saul placed the people [in] three divisions. Then they came into the middle of the camp {at the early morning watch} and struck down {the Ammonites} until the heat of the day. It happened that the remainder were scattered {so that no two among them remained together}.

So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with [the] Philistines. They drove off their livestock and {dealt them a heavy blow}. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

So David gathered all of the army, and he went to Rabbah and fought against it and captured it.

And they captured it on that day, and he struck it with {the edge of the sword}, and all the people that [were] in it on that day he utterly destroyed as he had done to Lachish.

Then he said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to the battle for Ramoth-Gilead?" Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "{I am like you}; {my people are like your people}; {my horses are like your horses}."

Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up [to] Ramoth-Gilead.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho [to] Ai, which [is] near Beth Aven, east of Bethel, and he said to them, "Go up and spy out Ai." And the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up and attack Ai; [only] two or three thousand men should go up because they [are] few. Do not make all the people weary [up] there." So about three thousand from the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai.

Then Yahweh said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed. Take {all the fighting men} with you {and go up immediately to Ai}. Look, I am giving into your hand the king of Ai, his city, and his land. You will do to Ai and its king that which you did to Jericho and its king; you may take only its spoils and livestock as booty for yourself. Set for yourself an ambush against the city [from] behind [it]." So Joshua and {all the fighting men} went up immediately to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand of the best fighting men and sent them [by] night. read more.
And he commanded them, saying, "Look, you are to lay an ambush against the city from behind. Do not go very far from the city and be ready. Then I and all of the people who [are] with me will approach the city. And when they go out to meet us {as before}, we will flee from them. They will come out after us until we draw them away from the city, because they will think, '[They are] fleeing from us {as before}.' So we will flee from them. Then you will rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city, for Yahweh your God will give it into your hand. And when you capture the city you will set it on fire as Yahweh commanded. Look, I have commanded you." So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the [place of the] ambush, and they sat between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai; but Joshua spent the night {with the people}. Joshua rose early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up [with] the elders of Israel before the people of Ai. {All the fighting men} who [were] with him {went up and drew near before the city} and camped north of Ai; [there was] a valley between him and Ai. And he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. So they stationed the forces; all the army [was] north of the city while {the rear guard was west}. But Joshua went that night to the middle of the valley. When the king of Ai saw [this], the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle--he and all his army--to the meeting place before the Arabah. He did not know that [there was] an ambush for him behind the city. Then Joshua and all Israel acted like they were beaten before them, and they fled {in the direction of the wilderness}. All of the people who [were] in the city were called to pursue after them. As they pursued after Joshua, they were drawn away from the city. Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel; they left the city open and pursued after Israel. And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Stretch out the sword that is in your hand to Ai, because I will give it into your hand." And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand to the city. The moment he stretched out his hand, those in the ambush stood up quickly from their place and ran. And they went [into] the city and captured it, quickly setting the city ablaze with fire.

and the thrust of his battering ram he will direct against your walls, and your towers he will break down with his weapons.

And you must build against it siege works, and you must build against it bulwark, and you must heap against it a siege ramp, and you must set up against it camps and put against it a battering ram all around.

Your daughters he will kill in the field with the sword, and he will place against you siege works, and he will build against you a siege ramp, and he will raise against you a shield,

And you must build against it siege works, and you must build against it bulwark, and you must heap against it a siege ramp, and you must set up against it camps and put against it a battering ram all around.

So Abimelech and all the army that [was] with him got up [by] night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem [in] four divisions.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people that [were] in it; then he broke down the city and sowed it [with] salt.

So he sent horses, chariots, and an oppressing army there. They arrived at night and surrounded the town.

"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.

"If you besiege a town [for] many days to make war against it [in order to] seize it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, and [so] you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege {against you}? Only the trees that you know {are not fruit trees} you may destroy and you may cut down, and you may build siege works against that city that is making war with you {until it falls}."

he took counsel with his commanders and his mighty warriors to block off the waters of the springs that [came] from outside the city, and they helped him. Then many people were gathered, and they blocked off all the springs and the river that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?"

And he appointed commanders for battle over the people and gathered them to himself into the public square of the gate of the city. And he spoke to their hearts, saying, "Be strong! Be courageous! Do not fear and do not be dismayed before the king of Assyria and before all the crowd that [is] with him, for [there are] more with us than with him. With him [is] the arm of flesh, and with us [is] Yahweh our God, to help us and to fight our battles." And the people took confidence with the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

Come against her from [the] end, open her granaries. Pile her up like heaps and destroy her. Let there be no remnant for her. Massacre all her bulls, let them go down to the slaughtering. Woe to them, for [their] day has come, the time of their punishment.

And it shall besiege you in all your towns {until your high and fortified walls fall}, which you [are] trusting in {throughout your land}; and it shall besiege you in all of your towns in all of your land that Yahweh your God has given to you.

And Joshua passed on, and all of Israel with him, from Libnah to Lachish, and {he laid siege to it} and fought against it. And Yahweh gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day. He struck it with {the edge of the sword}, and everyone in it, just as he did to Libnah.

{Now} when David and his men came [to] Ziklag on the third day, [the] Amalekites had raided [the] Negev and Ziklag. When they attacked Ziklag, they burned it with fire. They took captive the women who were in it, {from the youngest to the oldest}. They did not kill anyone, but carried [them] off and went on their way.

And Joshua passed on, and all of Israel with him, from Makkedah [to] Libnah, and he fought against Libnah. And Yahweh also gave it into the hand of Israel, and its king and all the people in it he struck with {the edge of the sword}. He left in it no survivor. He did to its king just as he did to the king of Jericho.

And Joshua passed on, and all of Israel with him, from Lachish to Eglon, and {they laid siege to it} and fought against it. And they captured it on that day, and he struck it with {the edge of the sword}, and all the people that [were] in it on that day he utterly destroyed as he had done to Lachish.

Then Joshua returned to Debir, and all of Israel with him, and they fought against it, and he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with {the the edge of the sword}, and they utterly destroyed all the people that [were] in it; he left behind no survivor, just as he had done to Hebron. Thus he did to Debir and its king what he had done to Libnah and its king.

And Joshua went up, and all Israel with him, from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it and captured it, and they struck it with {the edge of the sword}, its king and all its cities, and all the people that [were] in it; he left behind no survivor, as he had done to Eglon, and he utterly destroyed it and all the people that [were] in it.

Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "{Make a treaty with us} and we will serve you." But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this [condition] {I will make a treaty} with you, by gouging out the right eye of each of you, so that I can make it a disgrace for all Israel." So the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Leave us alone for seven days so that we may send messengers in all the territory of Israel, and if there [is] no deliverer for us, then we will come out to you."

Against the walls of Babylon raise a banner; {post a strong watch}, post watchmen, prepare the ambushes, for Yahweh has both planned as well as performed what he has spoken concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

so he took the army and divided them into three divisions, and he laid an ambush in the field. And he saw the people [were] coming out from the city, and he arose against them and killed them. Then Abimelech and the divisions that [were] with him dashed out and stood [at] the entrance of the city gate, and the two divisions dashed out against all who [were] in the field, and they killed them.

A brother who is offended [is worse] than a city of strength, and quarrels [are] like the bars of a fortification.

So then, gather the remainder of the army and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and my name be proclaimed over it."

In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-Beth-Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, the Gilead, the Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali; then he deported them to Assyria.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all of the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "{Make a treaty with us} and we will serve you."

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the army was encamping against Gibbethon which belonged to the Philistines.

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

Now they told David, "Look, [the] Philistines [are] fighting in Keilah and they [are] raiding the threshing floors."

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Look, I am giving Jericho into your hand, its king and the soldiers of the army. You will march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once; you will do so for six days. And seven priests will bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you will march around the city seven times, and the priests will blow on the trumpets. read more.
And when they blow long on the horn of the ram, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people will shout [with] a great war cry, and the wall of the city will fall flat, and {the people will charge, each one straight ahead}." So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh." And he said to the people, "Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed [men] pass before the ark of Yahweh. {And when Joshua spoke} to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the presence of Yahweh went forward and they blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed behind them. And the armed [men] went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they were blowing the trumpets. But Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You will not shout, and you will not let your voice be heard; a word will not go out from your mouth until the day I say to you 'Shout!' Then you will shout." And the ark of Yahweh went around the city, {circling once}, and they came [into] the camp and spent the night in the camp. Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually, and they blew on the trumpets. And the armed [men] went before them, and [the] rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, while the trumpets blew continually. And they marched around the city once on the second day, and they returned [to] the camp. They did [this] for six days. Then on the seventh day they rose early at dawn, and they marched around the city in this manner seven times. [It was] only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time the priests blew on the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For Yahweh has given you the city. The city and all that is in it will be devoted to Yahweh; only Rahab the prostitute and all who [are] with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. As for you, keep [away] from the things devoted to destruction so that you do not take them and bring about your own destruction, making the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. But all of the silver and gold, and the items of bronze and iron, [are] holy to Yahweh, and they must go to Yahweh's treasury." So the people shouted, and they blew on the trumpets. And when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell flat. {The people charged, each one straight ahead into the city}, and they captured it.

" 'Therefore thus says Yahweh to the king of Assyria, "He shall not come to this city, nor shall he shoot an arrow there, nor shall he bring a small shield near her, nor shall he cast a siege ramp against her.

And they will come against you [with] an army chariot and wagon and with a crowd of peoples; they will set [themselves] against you [from] all around [with] large shield and small shield and helmet. And I will give {before them} judgment, and they will judge you with their judgments.

I dug [wells] and I drank foreign water, and I dried up with the sole of my steps all the canals of Egypt.'

"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, he made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bare, and every shoulder [was] rubbed raw, but a wage was not [paid] for him and for his army from Tyre for the labor that he did against it."

And I will send winnowers to Babylon, and they will winnow her, and they will lay waste her land, for they will be against her from all sides on [the] day of disaster.

For look, I [am] going to stir up, and I [am] going to bring against Babylon a contingent of great nations from [the] land of [the] north. And they will draw up a battle formation against her, from there she will be captured. Their arrows [are] like a warrior [who has] achieved success, he does not return without success.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all of the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and he struck it and its king with {the edge of the sword}; he utterly destroyed it and everyone that was in it. He did not leave behind a survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he did to the king of Jericho.

It happened that in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and his army, against Jerusalem. He encamped against it and built siege works against it all around.

So the king of Assyria went up in all the land, then he went up [to] Samaria and besieged it [for] three years.

Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and captured it.

So Abimelech and all the army that [was] with him got up [by] night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem [in] four divisions.

You barricade me behind and in front, and set your hand upon me.

The moment he stretched out his hand, those in the ambush stood up quickly from their place and ran. And they went [into] the city and captured it, quickly setting the city ablaze with fire.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people that [were] in it; then he broke down the city and sowed it [with] salt.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people that [were] in it; then he broke down the city and sowed it [with] salt.

Draw water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go to the mud [pit]! Trample the clay! Grasp the brick mold!

Now Jericho [was] shut up inside and out because of the presence of the {Israelites}; no one was going out or coming in.

For days will come upon you and your enemies will put up an embankment against you, and will surround you and press you hard from all directions.

And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a shelter in a cucumber field, like a city that is besieged.

Now muster troops, O daughter of troops; a siege he puts against us. They strike the ruler of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

like [the] sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap about; like [the] sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble; like a strong army arranged in rows [for] battle.