Joshua 7:20
in Joshua 7“It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Of a truth I have sinned against Jehovah, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
KJV
And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
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This verse in Joshua 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBut human habits have so long applied themselves to this admiration of money that no one is thought worthy of honor unless he is rich. This is no new habit. No, this vice (and that makes the matter worse) grew long years ago in human hearts. When the city of Jericho fell at the sound of the priests' trumpets and Joshua the son of Nun gained the victory, he knew that the valor of the people was weakened through love of money and desire for gold.
This site's exposition
and make confession unto him
on Joshua 7:19-20
Joshua calls him my son, and give glory to the God of Israel is a formula of solemn adjuration, a demand for the truth under oath; the same words are put to the healed man in John 9:24 by men who want an admission out of him. Barnes reads it as summoning a man before God to speak plainly. Achan answers without argument, indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and the older commentators divide over what the confession was worth to him, Clarke holding out hope for the man while others read an admission the lot had already forced.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
Indeed I have sinned - He seems to make a sincere and ingenuous confession, and loads his sin with all just aggravations. Against the Lord - Against his express command, and glorious attributes.
Upon thy face - This business is not to be done by inactive supplication, but by vigourous endeavours for reformation. Israel - Some or one of them. Transgressed my covenant - That is, broken the conditions of my covenant which they have promised to perform, whereof this was one, not to meddle with the accursed thing.
And Achan answered Joshua, and said,....
A penitent acknowledgment of fault. "Indeed I have sinned; what I am charged with is too true to be denied and too bad to be excused. I own it, I lament it; the Lord is righteous in bringing it to light, for indeed I have sinned." This is the language of a penitent that is sick of his, and whose conscience is loaded with it.
And by this story it appears that, as the laws, so Canaan itself, "made nothing perfect," the perfection both of holiness and peace to God's Israel is to be expected in the heavenly Canaan only.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I have sinned against the Lord God - This seems a very honest and hearty confession, and there is hope that this poor culprit escaped perdition.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֧עַן | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| עָכָ֛ן | ʾakhan | Achan | H5912 → | 6 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָמְנָ֗ה | ʾamenah | truly | H546 → | |
| אָנֹכִ֤י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| חָטָ֙אתִי֙ | chatati | I have sinned | H2398 → | |
| לַֽיהוָה֙ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְכָזֹ֥את | vekhazot | and like this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְכָזֹ֖את | vekhazot | and like this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| עָשִֽׂיתִי׃ | ʾasiti | I have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַיַּ֧עַןand he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
עָכָ֛ןAchan
ʾakhanH5912 →6 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
אָמְנָ֗הtruly
ʾamenahH546 →
אָנֹכִ֤יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
חָטָ֙אתִי֙I have sinned
chatatiH2398 →
לַֽיהוָה֙to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְכָזֹ֥אתand like this
vekhazotH2063 →603 times
וְכָזֹ֖אתand like this
vekhazotH2063 →603 times
עָשִֽׂיתִי׃I have done
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 38:18Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
- Job 33:27
Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.
- Psalms 51:3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
- Proverbs 28:13
Through
Job 7:20If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:12
He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
- Lamentations 3:12
Through
Genesis 42:21Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress…
it leads to
- Job 34:31–32
Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 5:15
Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
- Job 34:31–32
Through
Exodus 10:16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
it leads to
- Exodus 9:27
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said. “The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
- Exodus 9:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 2.26.129; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.