But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for the Lord. If you take any of it, you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster. ¹ 

When it reverts ¹  in the jubilee, the field will be holy to the Lord like a permanently dedicated field; ²  it will become the priest’s property. ³ 

But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle – the best of what was to be slaughtered – to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

We put all of these under divine judgment ¹  just as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon – every occupied city, ²  including women and children.

and he ¹  delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate ²  them. Make no treaty ³  with them and show them no mercy!

Instead you must utterly annihilate them ¹  – the Hittites, ²  Amorites, ³  Canaanites, ⁴  Perizzites, ⁵  Hivites, ⁶  and Jebusites ⁷  – just as the Lord your God has commanded you,

They annihilated everyone who lived there with the sword ¹  – no one who breathed remained – and burned ²  Hazor.

you must by all means ¹  slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate ²  with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock.

You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment. ¹  Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors.

But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. ¹  Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, ²  son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. ³  The Lord was furious with the Israelites. ⁴ 

Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! ¹  They have taken some of the riches; ²  they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. ³ 

The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ¹  I will no longer be with you, ²  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ³ 

Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, “You are contaminated, ¹  O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.” ² 

That day Joshua captured Makkedah and put the sword to it and its king. He annihilated everyone who lived in it; he left no survivors. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho. ¹