Joshua 7:14

Verse

In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man.

American Standard Version (1901)

In the morning therefore ye shall be brought near by your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which Jehovah taketh shall come near by families; and the family which Jehovah shall take shall come near by households; and the household which Jehovah shall take shall come near man by man.

Bible in Basic English

So in the morning you are to come near, tribe by tribe; and the tribe marked out by the Lord is to come near, family by family; and the family marked out by the Lord is to come near, house by house; and the house marked out by the Lord is to come near, man by man.

Free Bible Version

In the morning, you will come forward, tribe by tribe. Whichever tribe the Lord chooses will come forward clan by clan. The clan that the Lord chooses will come forward family by family. The family that the Lord chooses will come forward man by man.

Geneva Bible 1599

In the morning therefore ye shall come according to your tribes, and the tribe which the Lord taketh, shall come according to the families: and the familie which the Lord shall take, shall come by the housholds: and the houshold which the Lord shall take, shall come man by man.

King James (Authorized) Version

In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.

Translation for Translators

‘Tomorrow morning you must present yourselves before Yahweh, tribe by tribe. Then Yahweh will indicate to which tribe the man who took those things belongs. Then Yahweh will indicate to which clan from that tribe the guilty man belongs. Then Yahweh will indicate to which family he belongs. And then he will indicate which person in that family took those things.

Unlocked Literal Bible

In the morning, you must present yourselves by your tribes. The tribe that Yahweh selects will come near by their clans. The clan that Yahweh selects must come near by each household. The household that Yahweh selects must come near one by one.

Noah Webster Bible

In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to their families: and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.

World English Bible

In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. It shall be that the tribe which Yahweh selects shall come near by families. The family which Yahweh selects shall come near by households. The household which Yahweh selects shall come near man by man.

Young's Literal Translation

and ye have been brought near in the morning by your tribes, and it hath been, the tribe which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by families, and the family which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by households, and the household which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by men;

Context

The Defeat at Ai

¹³Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.¹⁴In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man.¹⁵The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”

Summary

In this verse, Joshua is instructed by the Lord to gather the tribes of Israel and identify the guilty party responsible for the sin that caused defeat in battle. Through this process of elimination, Achan is revealed as the one who violated God's command by taking forbidden items from Jericho. This event underscores the seriousness of sin and the importance of obedience to God's laws. It also serves as a reminder that individual actions can have consequences for the entire community, highlighting the need for accountability and repentance.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Ye shall be brought according to your tribes - It has been a subject of serious inquiry in what manner and by what means the culpable tribe, family, household, and individual, were discovered. The Jews have many conceits on the subject; the most rational is, that the tribes being, in their representatives, brought before the high priest, the stone on the breastplate gave immediate intimation by suddenly losing its lustre. According to them, this is what is termed consulting God by Urim and Thummim. It is however most probable that the whole was determined by the lot; and that God chose this method to detect the guilty tribe, next the family, thirdly the household, and lastly the individual. This was nearly the plan pursued in the election of Saul by Samuel. "Now therefore," says he, "present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken," Sa1 10:19, Sa1 10:20. If the lot was used in the one case it was doubtless used in the other also, as the procedure in the main was entirely similar. The same mode was used to find out who it was that transgressed the king's command, when it was found that Jonathan had eaten a little honey, Sa1 14:40-43. It is well known that the promised land was divided by lot among the Israelites; (see Num 26:55; Num 33:54; Deu 1:38, etc.); and that the courses of the priests were regulated by lot in the days of David, Ch1 24:5, etc. That this was a frequent mode of determining difficult questions, and appointed by God himself, is evident from Lev 16:8; Psa 51:18; Pro 16:33; Pro 18:18; Act 1:26.