Joshua, in a rather kindly manner (My son), urges Achan to tell the truth. My son must not imply a parent-child relation between Joshua and Achan. In many languages it will be more satisfactory not to include any noun of address. Other languages will have their own ways of introducing address in polite and kind manner when a person of higher rank speaks to one of lower rank.

The Hebrew “give glory to the Lord” (see Revised Standard Version) is a way of demanding the truth before God (see John 9.24), in much the same way that a modern witness in court (in the U.S.A.) is called upon to place his hand on the Bible and promise to tell the truth. The next demand, “render praise to him” (Revised Standard Version), is taken by some to mean that Achan is to thank God for making his will known through the drawing of the lots (see Gray, Bright). So most translations agree with Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation, New English Bible, however, have confess (New English Bible “make your confession”; see also King James Version).Soggin, who translates “praise,” says that “the confession of praise seems to have been necessary in order that no one should believe that the method employed was arbitrary.” This does rather strain one’s credulity. One of the standard Hebrew lexicons explains “the song of thanksgiving … develops into confession,” and cites this passage and Ezra 10.11, where the context demands the sense “confess” (see Revised Standard Version). Certainly confess better fits the context here, and is recommended. It is difficult to visualize Joshua demanding that Achan break into a song of thanksgiving.

Since tell the truth and confess carry basically the same meaning, it is possible to translate them by a single verb: “confess to the LORD, the God of Israel, what you have done.” Or a negative and a positive form may be used: “Do not lie to the LORD, the God of Israel. Tell him what you have done.”

Tell me now what you have done indicates the manner in which Achan confesses his sin to the Lord, the God of Israel. He stands near the Lord’s Covenant Box and tells Joshua, the Lord’s representative, what he has done. The translation should not imply that more than one confession is involved; to make open confession to Joshua is the manner in which Achan tells the truth to the Lord.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .