Joshua 6:18

18 "But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed.

Joshua 6:18 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 6:18

And you in any wise keep [yourselves] from the accursed
thing
From laying hold on, secreting, and enjoying as their own, what was devoted to another use:

lest ye make [yourselves] accursed;
or a "cherem", also devoted to destruction:

when ye take of the accursed thing;
any part of it, be it what it will, gold or any other metal, or raiment, and the like:

and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it;
for being done secretly, and not known who did it, the whole body of the people would be chargeable with it, and suffer on account of it, unless discovered and punished, and as more fully appears by an after instance.

Joshua 6:18 In-Context

16 On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets. Then Joshua gave a command to the men. He said, "Shout! The LORD has given you the city!

17 The city and everything that is in it must be set apart to the LORD in a special way to be destroyed. But the prostitute Rahab and all those who are with her in her house must be spared. That's because she hid the spies we sent.

18 "But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed.

19 All of the silver and gold is holy. It is set apart to the Lord. So are all of the articles that are made out of bronze and iron. All of those things must be added to the treasures that are kept in the LORD's house."

20 The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the fighting men heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down. Every man charged straight in. So they took the city.