Joshua 7

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing: and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel.

2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and spy out the land. And the men went up and spied out Ai.3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; make not all the people to toil thither; for they are but few.4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; and they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them at the descent; and the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? would that we had been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan!8 Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel hath turned their backs before their enemies!9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do for thy great name?

10 And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore art thou thus fallen upon thy face?11 Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also; and they have even put it among their own stuff.12 Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they are become accursed: I will not be with you any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing from among you.13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, There is a devoted thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the devoted thing from among you.14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought near by your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which Jehovah taketh shall come near by families; and the family which Jehovah shall take shall come near by households; and the household which Jehovah shall take shall come near man by man.15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.

16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:17 and he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zerahites: and he brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:18 and he brought near his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.20 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:21 when I saw among the spoil a goodly Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel; and they laid them down before Jehovah.24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them up unto the valley of Achor.25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? Jehovah shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones.26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones, unto this day; and Jehovah turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

Joshua 7

Achan Sins and is Punished

1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches.t Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi,t son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches.t The Lord was furious with the Israelites.ts
2 Joshua sent men from Jerichos to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethels) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.

3 They returned and reported to Joshua,t “Don’t send the whole army.t About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai.t Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.”t
4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai.

5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissurest and defeated them on the steep slope.s The people’st courage melted away like water.t
6 Joshua tore his clothes;s he and the leaderst of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until eveningt and threw dirt on their heads.s7 Joshua prayed,t “O, Master, Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us?8 If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreatedt before its enemies?

9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of ust from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?”t
10 The Lord respondedt to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down?t11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment!t They have taken some of the riches;t they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions.t12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation.t I will no longer be with you,t unless you destroy what has contaminated you.t13 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,t O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.”t14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order.t The tribe the Lord selectst must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families.t The family the Lord selects must approach man by man.t

15 The one caught with the richest must be burned upt along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”
16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal ordert and the tribe of Judah was selected.17 He then made the clans of Judah approach and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach and Zabdit was selected.t18 He then made Zabdi’st family approach man by mant and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected.19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honort the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!”20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way:t

21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon,t two hundred silver pieces,t and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”
22 Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath.t23 They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placedt it before the Lord.24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster.t25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disastert on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.)s

26 Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very days) and the Lord’s anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.