Joshua 6:18 (DRB)

Passage

But beware ye lest you touch ought of those things that are forbidden, and you be guilty of transgression, and all the camp of Israel be under sin, and be troubled.

Nearby Context

Joshua 6:16 And when in the seventh going about the priests sounded with the trumpets, Joshua said to all Israel: Shout: for the Lord hath delivered the city to you:

Joshua 6:17 And let this city be an anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord. Let only Rahab, the harlot, live, with all that are with her in the house: for she hid the messengers whom we sent.

Joshua 6:18 But beware ye lest you touch ought of those things that are forbidden, and you be guilty of transgression, and all the camp of Israel be under sin, and be troubled.

Joshua 6:19 But whatsoever gold or silver there shall be, or vessels of brass and iron, let it be consecrated to the Lord, laid up in his treasures.

Joshua 6:20 So all the people making a shout, and the trumpets sounding, when the voice and the sound thundered in the ears of the multitude, the walls forthwith fell down: and every man went up by the place that was over against him: and they took the city,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beware", "lest", "touch", "ought", "things", "forbidden", "guilty", and "transgression". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beware" and "lest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And let this city be an anathema..." into verse 19's "But whatsoever gold or silver there shall...", so "beware" and "lest" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "beware" and "lest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.