18As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it.
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “covet” in English is translated as “bulge your eyes over what is someone else’s” in Isthmus Zapotec (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Bura-Pabir with ngguka or “have strong desire for” which differentiates from silka or “jealous,” which refers not to one’s jealous attitude to one’s neighbor (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), and in Newari´as “cause your eye to go to” (source: Newari Back Translation).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 6:18:
Kupsabiny: “No one are to take anything from those people. If you do (plur.) you have pushed the whole people of Israel into an amazing thing (trouble).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “You are not to take anything that has been devoted in this way, otherwise the one who takes it will himself be destroyed. If any such thing is taken you will bring trouble and destruction into the camp of the Israelites. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “[You (plur.)] do- not ever -take anything which has- already -been-offered entirely to the LORD. If you (plur.) take anything, you (plur.) will-be-destroyed completely, and you (plur.) will-be the reason if there-is destruction that comes to Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “And because Yahweh has declared that everything must be destroyed , you must not take any of the things in the city. If you take anything, you will cause Yahweh to destroy our own camp and cause terrible things to happen to us.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
The order to destroy everything and everyone in the city is reinforced with the warning that unless the Israelites do so the Israelite camp itself will have to be destroyed.The Masoretic text of verse 18 has the verb charam “to dedicate to destruction” (Revised Standard Version “lest when you have devoted them”); Septuagint translates the Hebrew verb chamad “to desire, covet,” which is preferred by Bright and Gray and is followed by An American TranslationNew English BibleNew American BibleJerusalem Bible, and also by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project on the basis of what it calls Factor 12, “other scribal errors.” This is certainly an easier text; but as Soggin says, “the correction is useful but not essential.” Revised Standard VersionGood News TranslationTraduction œcuménique de la Bible translate the Masoretic text. But you translates a strongly emphatic form in Hebrew.
That is to be destroyed may be translated “that I have told you to destroy.” This dreadful warning of destruction is followed in Hebrew by another verbal phrase which Revised Standard Version translates “and bring trouble upon it.” This seems rather anticlimactic; the Jerusalem Bible rendering is more effective, “bring disaster on it.” For the sake of making the passage more climactic, Good News Translation inverts the order of the Hebrew nouns “trouble” and “destruction.” It is possible to take the noun phrase trouble and destruction as meaning “great trouble” or “terrible destruction.” With this in mind, and representing the two nouns as verbs, one may translate “If you do take anything that belongs to the LORD, he will totally destroy everyone in our camp. And it will be your own fault.” It should be observed that in this restructuring the Israelite camp of Good News Translation is rendered “our camp,” since Joshua himself is included in the group. This is also in keeping with the use of our spies of verse 17. The Hebrew verb translated bring trouble … on is used also in 7.25, in connection with Achan’s disregard of this very order requiring the destruction of all the enemy loot.
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 .
But: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible 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 Berean Standard Bible 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 -or-
But remember! You must be careful not to take for yourselves anything or any person that belongs to Yahweh
6:18b
lest you yourself be set apart for destruction: There is a textual issue in the clause lest you yourself be set apart for destruction.
(1) The Greek Septuagint reads “lest you should covet.” For example:
for fear that, moved by greed, you take something lying under the curse (New Jerusalem Bible)
(New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, New American Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible)
(2) 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 (English Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
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
6:18c
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 Berean Standard Bible translates as bring disaster can also be translated as:
bring trouble -or-
cause a calamity
it: The pronoun it refers to the “camp of Israel” and all the Israelite people.
General Comment on 6:18
In some languages it may help to reorder the parts of this verse. For example:
18b And you must beware of coveting anything that is forbidden under the ban; 18a you must take none of it for yourselves, 18c or else you will put the Israelite camp itself under the ban and bring disaster on it. (Revised English Bible) -or-
18a Be careful not to take anything, 18b because of your greed, 18a that is devoted to Yahweh for destruction. 18c If you do, you will also bring disaster and destruction on Israel.
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