Joshua 6:18 (YLT)

Passage

and surely ye have kept from the devoted thing, lest ye devote <FI>yourselves<Fi> , and have taken from the devoted thing, and have made the camp of Israel become a devoted thing, and have troubled it;

Nearby Context

Joshua 6:16 and it cometh to pass, at the seventh time, the priests have blown with the trumpets, and Joshua saith unto the people, `Shout ye, for Jehovah hath given to you the city;

Joshua 6:17 and the city hath been devoted, it and all that <FI>is<Fi> in it, to Jehovah; only Rahab the harlot doth live, she and all who <FI>are<Fi> with her in the house, for she hid the messengers whom we sent;

Joshua 6:18 and surely ye have kept from the devoted thing, lest ye devote <FI>yourselves<Fi> , and have taken from the devoted thing, and have made the camp of Israel become a devoted thing, and have troubled it;

Joshua 6:19 and all the silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, holy they <FI>are<Fi> to Jehovah; into the treasury of Jehovah they come.'

Joshua 6:20 And the people shout, and blow with the trumpets, and it cometh to pass when the people hear the voice of the trumpet, that the people shout--a great shout, and the wall falleth under it, and the people goeth up into the city, each over-against him, and they capture the city;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "surely", "kept", "devoted", "lest", "yourselves", and "taken". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "surely" and "kept", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "and the city hath been devoted it..." into verse 19's "and all the silver and gold and...", so "surely" and "kept" 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 "surely" and "kept" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.