JOS 7:6 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, green:YHWH.
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 διέῤῥηξεν Ἰησοῦς τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἔπεσεν Ἰησοῦς ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐναντίον Κυρίου ἕως ἑσπέρας, αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ἐπεβάλοντο χοῦν ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν.
(Kai dieɽɽaʸxen Yaʸsous ta himatia autou; kai epesen Yaʸsous epi taʸn gaʸn epi prosōpon enantion Kuriou heōs hesperas, autos kai hoi presbuteroi Israaʸl; kai epebalonto ⱪoun epi tas kefalas autōn. )

BrTr And Joshua tore his garments; and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads.

ULT And Joshua tore his garments and fell on his face to the earth to the face of the Box of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they made dust go up onto their heads.

UST Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes to show that they were very sad that their enemies had defeated them. They lay down on the ground in front of the sacred chest of Yahweh, and they stayed there until evening time. They also put dirt on their heads to show that they were very sad about what had happened.

OEB and Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground upon his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel, with dust upon their heads.

WEBBE Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the LORD’s ark until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Joshua tore his clothes; he and the leaders of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening and threw dirt on their heads.

LSV And Joshua tears his garments, and falls on his face to the earth before the Ark of YHWH until the evening, he and [the] elderly of Israel, and they cause dust to go up on their head.

FBV Joshua ripped his clothes[fn] and fell down with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord until the evening. The elders did likewise, and he and the elders threw dust on their heads.

7:6 A symbol of grief.

T4T Joshua and the other Israeli leaders tore their clothes because they were very sad about being defeated. They prostrated themselves on the ground in front of the Sacred Tent in which was the sacred chest. They stayed there until that evening. They also threw dirt on their heads to show that they were very sad about what had happened.

LEB And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.[fn]

7:6 Hebrew “head”

BBE Then Joshua, in great grief, went down on the earth before the ark of the Lord till the evening, and all the chiefs of Israel with him, and they put dust on their heads.

Moff and Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground upon his face before the ark of the Eternal till evening, he and the sheikhs of Israel, with dust upon their heads.

JPS And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.

ASV And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.

DRA But Josue rent his garments, and fell flat on the ground before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and all the ancients of Israel: and they put dust upon their heads.

YLT And Joshua rendeth his garments, and falleth on his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah till the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they cause dust to go up on their head.

Drby And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and threw dust upon their heads.

RV And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.

SLT And Joshua will rend his garments and will fall upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah even till evening, he and the old men of Israel; and they will lift up dust upon their heads.

Wbstr And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

KJB-1769 ¶ And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

KJB-1611 ¶ And Ioshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth vpon his face, before the Arke of the LORD, vntill the euentide, he and the Elders of Israel, and put dust vpon their heads.
(¶ And Yoshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face, before the Ark of the LORD, until the eventide/evening, he and the Elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.)

Bshps And Iosuah rent his clothes, & fell to the earth vpo his face before the arke of the Lorde vntill the euentide, he and the elders of Israel, and put earth vpon their heades.
(And Yoshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide/evening, he and the elders of Israel, and put earth upon their heads.)

Gnva Then Ioshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth vpon his face before the Arke of the Lord, vntill the euentide, he, and the Elders of Israel, and put dust vpon their heads.
(Then Yoshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the Ark of the Lord, until the eventide/evening, he, and the Elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. )

Cvdl As for Iosua he rente his clothes, and fell vpon his face vnto the earth before the Arke of the LORDE, vntill the eueninge, with the Elders of Israel, and cast dust vpon their heades.
(As for Yoshua he rente his clothes, and fell upon his face unto the earth before the Ark of the LORD, until the evening, with the Elders of Israel, and cast dust upon their heads.)

Wycl Sotheli Josue torente hise clothis, and felde lowe to the erthe bifor the arke of the Lord, `til to euentid, as wel he, as alle the elde men of Israel; and thei castiden powdir on her heedis.
(Truly Yosue torente his clothes, and field low to the earth before the ark of the Lord, till to eventide/evening, as well he, as all the old men of Israel; and they cast/throw powder on her heads.)

Luth Josua aber zerriß seine Kleider und fiel auf sein Angesicht zur Erde vor der Lade des HErr’s bis auf den Abend, samt den Ältesten Israels, und warfen Staub auf ihre Häupter.
(Yosua but tore his clothes and fell on/in/to be face to/for earth/land/ground before/in_front_of the/of_the box/chest the LORD’s until on/in/to the evening/night, together_with the elders Israels, and threw dust on/in/to their/her heads.)

ClVg Josue vero scidit vestimenta sua, et pronus cecidit in terram coram arca Domini usque ad vesperam, tam ipse quam omnes senes Israël: miseruntque pulverem super capita sua,
(Yosue indeed/however tear clothes his_own, and pronus fell in/into/on the_earth/land before box Master until to evening, tam exactly_that/himself how everyone old_people Israel: they_sentque dust over heads his_own, )

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 7:6–9

Joshua asked Yahweh why he allowed the people of Ai to defeat the Israelites.

7:6a

Then Joshua tore his clothes

¶ Then Joshua tore his clothes to show his sorrow.
¶ When the soldiers returned to the camp and told Joshua, he tore his clothes to show his sorrow.

Then: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as Then introduces the next event in the storyline. There is some implied information here. The Israelite soldiers returned to their camp and told Joshua what happened in the battle. In some languages it may be clearer to make this information explicit. For example:

When the soldiers returned to camp and reported to Joshua, he tore his clothes

Joshua: In the Hebrew text Joshua is mentioned alone as the subject of the sentence. Later in the verse, the elders of Israel also acted along with Joshua. This is a way to emphasize Joshua because he was the leader, and his reaction was the most important.

In some languages it may be more natural to include the elders of Israel as part of the subject. For example:

Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothes

tore his clothes: The phrase tore his clothes means that Joshua intentionally tore his clothes open. This dramatic action was a way to express grief or sorrow. Joshua ripped open his upper and under garment in front of his chest, as a symbol of the pain in his heart.7:6 This dramatic action was an expression of heartfelt grief. TWOT says that he tore both outer and inner garments (p. 816). Holladay’s lexicon defines this word as “to tear, to tear in pieces.” However, Bratcher and Newman says this was “probably only a tear along the edge of the outer garment” (p. 89). This seems unlikely because it is difficult to make a small tear along the edge of a garment with only the bare hands. It is recommended that you translate this as tearing his clothes completely open.

It may be helpful to make the reason for this action explicit. For example:

tore their clothes in grief (GNT)

7:6b

and fell facedown

He lay face down on the ground
He lay down with his face toward the ground

and fell facedown: Joshua lay down on the ground with his face downward. The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as fell means that Joshua deliberately lay down on the ground. This was one of the ways that he showed his humility and sorrow.

7:6c

before the ark of the LORD until evening,

in front of the ark of Yahweh until evening came.
in front of the covenant box of Yahweh until the sun set.

before: The word before indicates “in front of” the ark.

the ark of the LORD: the ark of the LORD was a wooden box that represented the presence of Yahweh among the people. You should use the same word for ark as you did in 3:3.

until evening: Joshua lay this way until the sun set.

7:6d

as did the elders of Israel;

The elders of Israel were with him on their faces in front of the ark.
Joshua did this with the leaders of Israel.

as did the elders of Israel: The Hebrew is an ellipsis. In many languages it may be necessary to express it in a different way. For example:

he and the elders of Israel all did this

The leaders of Israel did the same thing. (NCV)

The elders of Israel also did these things along with Joshua.

The Hebrew text puts this reference to the elders at an unusual place in the verse. In some languages it may not be natural to keep the order of the Hebrew text. Some English versions include the elders, along with Joshua, as the subject of the sentence in 7:6a. For example:

^6aJoshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes in grief (GNT)

Express this in a way that is natural in your language.

the elders of Israel: The elders of Israel were older men who were the leaders of Israel.

7:6e

and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

Joshua and the elders threw dirt onto their heads.
They sprinkled dust on their heads.

and they all sprinkled dust on their heads: It was the custom for people to put dust on their heads to show sorrow. In some languages the reason for this action must be made explicit. For example:

with dust on their heads to show their sorrow (GNT)

sprinkled: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as sprinkled is more literally “to cause to go up.” The precise action that the people used is not clear. Some English versions translate this word as “threw” (REB, NCV, NET). Choose a word that seems natural in your language.

dust: The word dust can also be translated as “dirt.”

General Comment on 7:6

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of some of the information in this verse. There is more than one way to do this. Here are two examples:

^6aJoshua ^6dand the leaders of Israel ^6atore their clothing in dismay, ^6ethrew dust on their heads, ^6band bowed down ^6cfacing the Ark of the Lord until evening. (NLT)

^6aThen Joshua ^6dand the leaders of Israel ^6cwent to Yahweh’s Covenant Box. ^6aThey tore their clothes ^6eand put dirt on their heads to show their grief. ^6bThen they threw themselves down ^6cin front of the Covenant Box and lay there with their faces to the ground until sunset.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-symaction

וַ⁠יִּקְרַ֨ע יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַ שִׂמְלֹתָ֗י⁠ו

and,he_tore Yəhōshūˊa/(Joshua) clothes_of,his

Joshua tore his garments as a symbolic act to show his grief and distress. If there is a gesture with a similar meaning in your culture, you could use it here in your translation, or you could explain what this action means. Alternate translation: [And Joshua tore his garments to express his grief and distress]

Note 2 topic: translate-symaction

וַ⁠יִּפֹּל֩ עַל־פָּנָ֨י⁠ו אַ֜רְצָ⁠ה

and,he_fell on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in his/its=faces/face towards=land

See how you translated the phrase fell on his face to the earth in [5:14](../05/14.md). Alternate translation: [and knelt down and touched his face to the ground]

Note 3 topic: translate-symaction

וַ⁠יַּעֲל֥וּ עָפָ֖ר עַל־רֹאשָֽׁ⁠ם

and,they_made_go_up dust on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in head_of,their

Joshua put dust on his head as a further symbolic act done to show grief. If there is a gesture with a similar meaning in your culture, you could use it here in your translation, or you could explain what this action means. Alternate translation: [And they made dust go up on their heads to show their grief]

Parallel JOS 7:6