And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide [it] not from me.
Ver. 19. My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord.] See for explication of this expression, 1Sa 6:5 Jer 13:16 John 9:24. It seemeth to have been a solemn kind of form among that people, whereby a man was urged to confess his sin before the Lord, who knoweth all thy business; wherefore reverence his majesty, and give him the glory of his omniscience; choose rather to tell all openly, than to lie before him, or to keep a senseless silence, as Judas did. Joh 13:21 Mat 26:24
And make confession unto him.] That thou mayest have mercy. Proverbs 28:13 1Jn 1:9 In men's courts the best plea, saith Quintilian, is Non feci, Not guilty: but here, Ego feci, miserere. This, good Joshua knew, and was therefore thus earnest with Achan to confess his sin, though he knew it, and was resolved he should die for it.