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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Jos C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Jos 6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27
OET (OET-LV) And_only you(pl) keep from the_devoted_thing[s] lest you(pl)_should_totally_destroy and_you(pl)_will_take any_of the_devoted_thing[s] and_you(pl)_will_make DOM the_camp_of Yisrāʼēl/(Israel) into_a_devoted_thing and_you(pl)_will_trouble it.
OET (OET-RV) But for all of you, everything inside the city is forbidden—if any of you take anything out of the city then our camp would also then be marked for destruction and it would cause a lot of trouble.
The Israelites followed God’s instructions and marched around the wall of Jericho town. On the seventh day the wall of the town collapsed and they conquered the town. They killed everybody in it except for Rahab and her family.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The wall of Jericho fell
The conquering of Jericho
But keep away from the things devoted to destruction,
It is important that none of you take any of the things that belong to Yahweh.
But remember: do not take any of the things that I told you to destroy as an offering to Yahweh.
But: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as But marks a contrast. In 6:17 Yahweh said that the Israelite soldiers were not to kill Rahab and her family. But they are to destroy all the other things in the town.
keep away from the things devoted to destruction: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as keep away is an emphatic direct address to the Israelites. It stresses that it is important for the Israelite soldiers to obey Joshua’s (and Yahweh’s) command.
keep away: The phrase keep away means that the Israelite soldiers must be careful not to take for themselves the things that belong to Yahweh.
the things devoted to destruction: The phrase the things devoted to destruction includes the people, animals, and other things in the town that belong to Yahweh. The Israelites must offer these things to Yahweh by destroying them.
Translate 6:18a in a natural way in your language that emphasizes this command. For example:
It is important that none of you take any of the things that belong to Yahweh
But remember! You must be careful not to take for yourselves anything or any person that belongs to Yahweh
lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these,
You(plur) must not be overcome by greed and take what belongs to Yahweh.
Do not be tempted to take them for yourselves,
lest you yourself be set apart for destruction: There is a textual issue in the clause lest you yourself be set apart for destruction.
The Greek Septuagint reads “lest you should covet.” For example:
for fear that, moved by greed, you take something lying under the curse (NJB) (NJB, NRSV, NIV, CEV, NAB, NASB, REB)
The Hebrew text reads “lest you should devote to destruction.” For example:
lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things (ESV) (BSB, ESV, RSV, NCV, NJPS)
It is recommended that you follow option (1). There is strong support for it among English versions, and in the Septuagint, and it makes better sense of the verse.
Some versions that are based on the Hebrew (option 2) leave out the parts of the verse that are difficult to understand.
It may help to reorder the parts of this verse so that the meaning is clearer. See the General Comment at the end of 6:18.
If you take any of these: The clause take any of these is the result of coveting.
these: The word these refers to things that were mentioned in 6:18a. It may be more natural to refer to them by a pronoun. For example, you could say:
so that you are not tempted to take them for yourselves
you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it.
If you do, you will bring disaster and destruction on Israel.
or the Israelite people will be destroyed.
you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction: The result of taking the “devoted things” is that the whole Israelite camp would also become part of what must be destroyed.
and bring disaster upon it: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as bring disaster can also be translated as:
bring trouble
cause a calamity
it: The pronoun it refers to the “camp of Israel” and all the Israelite people.
In some languages it may help to reorder the parts of this verse. For example:
18bAnd you must beware of coveting anything that is forbidden under the ban; 18ayou must take none of it for yourselves, 18cor else you will put the Israelite camp itself under the ban and bring disaster on it. (REB)
18aBe careful not to take anything, 18bbecause of your greed, 18athat is devoted to Yahweh for destruction. 18cIf you do, you will also bring disaster and destruction on Israel.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
אַתֶּם֙ שִׁמְר֣וּ & תַּחֲרִ֖ימוּ וּלְקַחְתֶּ֣ם & וְשַׂמְתֶּ֞ם
you(pl) keep & covet and,you(pl)_will_take & and,you(pl)_will_make
In this verse, every occurrence of the word you refers to the Israelite soldiers, and so each is plural. So use plural forms in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
OET (OET-LV) And_only you(pl) keep from the_devoted_thing[s] lest you(pl)_should_totally_destroy and_you(pl)_will_take any_of the_devoted_thing[s] and_you(pl)_will_make DOM the_camp_of Yisrāʼēl/(Israel) into_a_devoted_thing and_you(pl)_will_trouble it.
OET (OET-RV) But for all of you, everything inside the city is forbidden—if any of you take anything out of the city then our camp would also then be marked for destruction and it would cause a lot of trouble.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.