Deuteronomy 13:17

13:17 You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment. ¹  Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors.

Leviticus 27:28-29

Things Permanently Dedicated to the Lord

27:28 “‘Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the Lord ²  from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord. 27:29 Any human being who is permanently dedicated ³  must not be ransomed; such a person must be put to death.

Joshua 6:17-24

6:17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord, ⁴  except for Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the spies ⁵  we sent. 6:18 But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for the Lord. If you take any of it, you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster. ⁶  6:19 All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord. ⁷  They must go into the Lord’s treasury.”

6:20 The rams’ horns sounded ⁸  and when the army ⁹  heard the signal, ¹⁰  they gave a loud battle cry. ¹¹  The wall collapsed ¹²  and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. ¹³  6:21 They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city, ¹⁴  including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys. 6:22 Joshua told the two men who had spied on the land, “Enter the prostitute’s house ¹⁵  and bring out the woman and all who belong to her as you promised her.” ¹⁶  6:23 So the young spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and took them to a place outside ¹⁷  the Israelite camp. 6:24 But they burned ¹⁸  the city and all that was in it, except for the silver, gold, and bronze and iron items they put in the treasury of the Lord’s house. ¹⁹ 

Joshua 7:1-25

Achan Sins and is Punished

7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. ²⁰  Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, ²¹  son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. ²²  The Lord was furious with the Israelites. ²³ 

7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho ²⁴  to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel ²⁵ ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. 7:3 They returned and reported to Joshua, ²⁶  “Don’t send the whole army. ²⁷  About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. ²⁸  Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.” ²⁹ 

7:4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. 7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures ³⁰  and defeated them on the steep slope. ³¹  The people’s ³²  courage melted away like water. ³³ 

7:6 Joshua tore his clothes; ³⁴  he and the leaders ³⁵  of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening ³⁶  and threw dirt on their heads. ³⁷  7:7 Joshua prayed, ³⁸  “O, Master, Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us? 7:8 If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated ³⁹  before its enemies? 7:9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us ⁴⁰  from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” ⁴¹ 

7:10 The Lord responded ⁴²  to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down? ⁴³  7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! ⁴⁴  They have taken some of the riches; ⁴⁵  they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. ⁴⁶  7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ⁴⁷  I will no longer be with you, ⁴⁸  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ⁴⁹  7:13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, “You are contaminated, ⁵⁰  O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.” ⁵¹  7:14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order. ⁵²  The tribe the Lord selects ⁵³  must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families. ⁵⁴  The family the Lord selects must approach man by man. ⁵⁵  7:15 The one caught with the riches ⁵⁶  must be burned up ⁵⁷  along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

7:16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order ⁵⁸  and the tribe of Judah was selected. 7:17 He then made the clans of Judah approach and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach and Zabdi ⁵⁹  was selected. ⁶⁰  7:18 He then made Zabdi’s ⁶¹  family approach man by man ⁶²  and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 7:19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor ⁶³  the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!” 7:20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way: ⁶⁴  7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ⁶⁵  two hundred silver pieces, ⁶⁶  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

7:22 Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath. ⁶⁷  7:23 They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placed ⁶⁸  it before the Lord. 7:24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster. ⁶⁹  7:25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster ⁷⁰  on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.) ⁷¹ 

Joshua 7:11-26

7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! ⁷²  They have taken some of the riches; ⁷³  they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. ⁷⁴  7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ⁷⁵  I will no longer be with you, ⁷⁶  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ⁷⁷  7:13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, “You are contaminated, ⁷⁸  O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.” ⁷⁹  7:14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order. ⁸⁰  The tribe the Lord selects ⁸¹  must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families. ⁸²  The family the Lord selects must approach man by man. ⁸³  7:15 The one caught with the riches ⁸⁴  must be burned up ⁸⁵  along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

7:16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order ⁸⁶  and the tribe of Judah was selected. 7:17 He then made the clans of Judah approach and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach and Zabdi ⁸⁷  was selected. ⁸⁸  7:18 He then made Zabdi’s ⁸⁹  family approach man by man ⁹⁰  and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 7:19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor ⁹¹  the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!” 7:20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way: ⁹²  7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ⁹³  two hundred silver pieces, ⁹⁴  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

7:22 Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath. ⁹⁵  7:23 They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placed ⁹⁶  it before the Lord. 7:24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster. ⁹⁷  7:25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster ⁹⁸  on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.) ⁹⁹  7:26 Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day ¹⁰⁰ ) and the Lord’s anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.

Ezekiel 14:7

14:7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.

Habakkuk 2:9-11

2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ¹⁰¹ 

He does this so he can build his nest way up high

and escape the clutches of disaster. ¹⁰² 

2:10 Your schemes will bring shame to your house.

Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct. ¹⁰³ 

2:11 For the stones in the walls will cry out,

and the wooden rafters will answer back. ¹⁰⁴ 

Zechariah 5:4

5:4 “I will send it out,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and it will enter the house of the thief and of the person who swears falsely in my name. It will land in the middle of his house and destroy both timber and stones.”

[13:17]  ¹ tn Or “anything that has been put under the divine curse”; Heb “anything of the ban” (cf. NASB). See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.

[27:28]  ² tn Heb “Surely, any permanently dedicated [thing] which a man shall permanently dedicate to the Lord.” The Hebrew term חֵרֶם (kherem) refers to things that are devoted permanently to the Lord (see the note on v. 21 above).

[27:29]  ³ tn Heb “permanently dedicated from among men.”

[6:17]  ⁴ tn Or “dedicated to the Lord.”

[6:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “messengers.”

[6:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “Only you keep [away] from what is set apart [to the Lord] so that you might not, as you are setting [it] apart, take some of what is set apart [to the Lord] and make the camp of Israel set apart [to destruction by the Lord] and bring trouble on it.”

[6:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “it is holy to the Lord.”

[6:20]  ⁸ tc Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the LXX.

[6:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “the people.”

[6:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”

[6:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”

[6:20]  ¹² tn Heb “fell in its place.”

[6:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”

[6:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all which was in the city.”

[6:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the house of the woman, the prostitute.”

[6:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her as you swore on oath to her.”

[6:23]  ¹⁷ tn Or “placed them outside.”

[6:24]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

[6:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the treasury of the house of the Lord.” Technically the Lord did not have a “house” yet, so perhaps this refers to the tabernacle using later terminology.

[7:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ²¹ tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).

[7:1]  ²² tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ²³ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.”

[7:2]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[7:2]  ²⁵ map For the location of Bethel see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and they returned to Joshua and said to him.”

[7:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Don’t let all the people go up.”

[7:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up to defeat Ai.”

[7:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “all the people for they are small.”

[7:5]  ³⁰ tn The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shÿvarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 HT (60:2 ET), where it appears to refer to cracks in the earth caused by an earthquake. Perhaps deep ravines or gorges are in view, or the word is a proper noun (“all the way to Shebarim”).

[7:5]  ³¹ sn The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.

[7:5]  ³² tn Or “army’s.”

[7:5]  ³³ tn Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”

[7:6]  ³⁴ sn Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).

[7:6]  ³⁵ tn Or “elders.”

[7:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”

[7:6]  ³⁷ sn Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).

[7:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “said.”

[7:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “turned [the] back.”

[7:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and cut off our name.”

[7:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “What will you do for your great name?”

[7:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “said.”

[7:10]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Why are you falling on your face?”

[7:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”

[7:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”

[7:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”

[7:12]  ⁴⁸ tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.

[7:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] [is] in your midst.”

[7:13]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:14]  ⁵² tn Heb “by your tribes.”

[7:14]  ⁵³ tn Heb “takes forcefully, seizes.”

[7:14]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “houses.”

[7:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “by men.”

[7:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:15]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “burned with fire.”

[7:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “by tribes.”

[7:17]  ⁵⁹ tn See the note on “Zabdi” in 1 Chr 7:1.

[7:17]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he selected Zabdi.” The Lord is the apparent subject. The LXX supports reading a passive (Niphal) form here, as does the immediate context.

[7:18]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:18]  ⁶² tn Heb “by men.”

[7:19]  ⁶³ tn Heb “give glory to.”

[7:20]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “like this and like this I did.”

[7:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[7:21]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “shekels.”

[7:22]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Look, [it was] hidden in his tent, and the silver was beneath it.”

[7:23]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “poured out,” probably referring to the way the silver pieces poured out of their container.

[7:24]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “Trouble” The name is “Achor” in Hebrew, which means “disaster” or “trouble” (also in v. 26).

[7:25]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).

[7:25]  ⁷¹ tc Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the LXX; they may represent a later scribal addition.

[7:11]  ⁷² tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”

[7:11]  ⁷³ tn Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:11]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”

[7:12]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”

[7:12]  ⁷⁶ tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.

[7:12]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:13]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] [is] in your midst.”

[7:13]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:14]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “by your tribes.”

[7:14]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “takes forcefully, seizes.”

[7:14]  ⁸² tn Heb “houses.”

[7:14]  ⁸³ tn Heb “by men.”

[7:15]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:15]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “burned with fire.”

[7:16]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “by tribes.”

[7:17]  ⁸⁷ tn See the note on “Zabdi” in 1 Chr 7:1.

[7:17]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and he selected Zabdi.” The Lord is the apparent subject. The LXX supports reading a passive (Niphal) form here, as does the immediate context.

[7:18]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:18]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “by men.”

[7:19]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “give glory to.”

[7:20]  ⁹² tn Heb “like this and like this I did.”

[7:21]  ⁹³ tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[7:21]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “shekels.”

[7:22]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “Look, [it was] hidden in his tent, and the silver was beneath it.”

[7:23]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “poured out,” probably referring to the way the silver pieces poured out of their container.

[7:24]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “Trouble” The name is “Achor” in Hebrew, which means “disaster” or “trouble” (also in v. 26).

[7:25]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).

[7:25]  ⁹⁹ tc Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the LXX; they may represent a later scribal addition.

[7:26]  ¹⁰⁰ tc Heb “to this day.” The phrase “to this day” is omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition.

[2:9]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who profits unjustly by evil unjust gain for his house.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:9]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “you planned shame for your house, cutting off many nations, and sinning [against] your life.”

[2:11]  ¹⁰⁴ sn The house mentioned in vv. 9-10 represents the Babylonian empire, which became great through imperialism. Here the materials of this “house” (the stones in the walls, the wooden rafters) are personified as witnesses who testify that the occupants have built the house through wealth stolen from others.