JOS 7:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ ἀνέβησαν ὡσεὶ τρισχίλιοι ἄνδρες, καὶ ἔφυγον ἀπὸ προσώπου ἀνδρῶν Γαί.
(Kai anebaʸsan hōsei trisⱪilioi andres, kai efugon apo prosōpou andrōn Gai. )

BrTr And there went up about three thousand men, and they fled from before the men of Gai.

ULT And about 3, 000 men from the people went up there, and they fled to the face of the men of Ai.

UST So about 3, 000 Israelite men went to attack Ai. But the men of Ai defeated the men of Israel so badly that the men of Israel ran away.

OEB So about three thousand men marched up. But they ran away from the men of Ai.

WEBBE So about three thousand men of the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai.

LSV So about three thousand men of the people go up from there, and they flee before the men of Ai,

FBV So around three thousand men went to fight, but they were beaten by the men of Ai and they ran away.

T4T So about 3,000 Israeli men went to attack Ai. But the men of Ai defeated them badly.

LEB So about three thousand from the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai.

BBE So about three thousand of the people went up, and were sent in flight by the men of Ai.

Moff So about three thousand men marched up. But they ran away from the men of Ai.

JPS So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men; and they fled before the men of Ai.

ASV So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.

DRA There went up therefore three thousand fighting men: who immediately turned their backs,

YLT And there go up of the people thither about three thousand men, and they flee before the men of Ai,

Drby And there went up thither of the people about three thousand men, but they fled before the men of Ai.

RV So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
(So there went up thither/there of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. )

SLT And they will go up there from the people about three thousand men: and they will flee from the face of the men of Ai.

Wbstr So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.

KJB-1769 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
(So there went up thither/there of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. )

KJB-1611 So there went vp thither of the people about three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And so there went vp thyther of the people about a three thousande men, and they fled before the men of Ai.
(And so there went up thither/there of the people about a three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai.)

Gnva So there went vp thither of the people about three thousande men, and they fledde before the men of Ai.
(So there went up thither/there of the people about three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai. )

Cvdl So there wente vp, of the people vpon a thre thousande men, and they fled before the men of Hai,
(So there went up, of the people upon a three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Hai,)

Wycl Therfor thre thousynde of fiyteris stieden, whiche turneden the backis anoon,
(Therefore three thousand of fighters stayed, which turned the backs anoon,)

Luth Also zogen hinauf des Volks bei dreitausend Mann, und die flohen vor den Männern zu Ai.
(So pulled up the peoples at/in three_thousand man, and the fled before/in_front_of the men to/for Ai.)

ClVg Ascenderunt ergo tria millia pugnatorum. Qui statim terga vertentes,
(Ascenderunt therefore three thousands fighters. Who immediately back vertentes, )

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Community Responsibility: Achan’s Sin

Should an entire community be held responsible for the sins of a smaller few?

Why did so many of Israel’s soldiers die at Ai because of Achan’s sin (Josh 7)? Why did the Israelites stone Achan’s family along with him? A significant part of the answer to these questions comes by understanding the concept of community responsibility.

If Achan’s family knew of his theft, they were accomplices and shared Achan’s guilt. A community becomes responsible for sin when people either actively participate in an act of sin or silently condone sinful actions or attitudes.

But what about Achan’s children who were too young to understand or those who had no knowledge of his theft? What about Israel’s soldiers who died at Ai because Achan stole what belonged to God?

To understand, we have to go back to the beginning. The sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve (Gen 3), was at least twofold. First, they chose not to trust God, even though they had an intimate relationship with him, choosing instead to listen to the voice of a stranger. Second, though they were unsuccessful, they declared their independence from God by trying to become like gods themselves.

Because we all make that same choice for ourselves, no one is truly innocent (see Ps 14:2-3; Rom 3:9-23). As a result, we are all subject to the consequences of sin in the world. We may die as the result of another’s sin, carelessness, or ignorance, or as a result of our own. Because one person drives under the influence of alcohol, someone else might die on the highway. Because one person wants to maximize profits, others can suffer in wretched conditions. And because Achan sinned, others in Israel died at Ai.

None of this is “fair.” However, God promises to bring perfect justice in his own time. God’s justice will be mediated through his grace and mercy, brought to us through Jesus’ death in our place (see Rom 5:12-21).

Passages for Further Study

Gen 9:24-27; Exod 20:5; Josh 7:1-26; 2 Kgs 14:6; 21:10-15; Ezra 9:6-15; Neh 9:16-37; Jer 31:29-30; Ezek 18:20; Dan 9:4-19; Matt 23:29-36; John 9:1-3; Rom 5:12-21; 1 Cor 15:21

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 7:1–26 Achan sinned and God punished him

Achan disobeyed God. He took some of the things from Jericho that God told them to destroy. Because of his sin, the Israelites lost the battle against the town of Ai. Yahweh showed the Israelites that Achan was the one who had sinned, and they punished Achan.

Here are some other possible section headings:

The defeat at Ai

Achan’s sin

Paragraph 7:2–5

Joshua sent the Israelite army to fight against the men of Ai, but the Israelites were defeated.

7:4a

So about three thousand men went up,

So about three thousand Israelite men went to attack Ai.
Then Joshua agreed and sent about three thousand soldiers to attack Ai City.

So: The BSB inserts the word So, which is not found in the Hebrew text. This introduces the result of the advice in 7:3d. Many English versions introduce this result with the word “so.”

Consider what is the most natural way in your language to indicate a result connection.

about three thousand men went up: This clause implies that Joshua sent the three thousand men to Ai, as the spies suggested. In some languages it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:

Joshua sent about three thousand soldiers to attack Ai (CEV)

Notice that the CEV included the reason why the men went to Ai, that is, to attack. It may be helpful to make that clear in your translation in some way.

men: The word men indicates “from among the Israelite army.” Only three thousand Israelite soldiers went to Ai. Some English versions omit this phrase because it is implied by the context.

went up: The town of Ai was at a higher elevation than the Israelite camp at Gilgal. The Hebrew language keeps track of elevation, and thus has the word up.

7:4b

but they fled before the men of Ai.

But the Israelites had to retreat from the soldiers of Ai.
But the soldiers of Ai defeated them and the Israelites ran away.

but: The Hebrew prefix that the BSB translates as but introduces the next event in the storyline. Mark this next event in a way that is most natural in your language.

Many English versions use a contrastive connector such as but or “however” to show that what happened next is contrary-to-expectation. For example:

but they were routed by the men of Ai (NIV)

Translate this contrary-to-expectation relation in a way that is most natural in your language.

they fled before the men of Ai: The Hebrew text implies that the Israelites attacked Ai. The men of Ai defeated the Israelites so that the Israelites ran away from the battle. In some languages it may be helpful to make some of this information explicit. For example:

When the soldiers arrived at Ai, they attacked the town. The men of Ai defeated them and they ran from the battle

they: The word they refers to the three thousand Israelite men.

fled: The word fled indicates that the Israelite army had to run away from the people who were defending Ai.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

they turned back

they ran away

the men of Ai: This phrase refers to the men who lived in Ai and were defending it against the Israelites. Because they were fighting a battle they could be called:

the soldiers of Ai

Parallel JOS 7:4

Section 7:1–26 Achan sinned and God punished him

Paragraph 7:2–5

7:4a

7:4b