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¶ But the sons of Israel committed a trespass in the anathema; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the anathema; and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the sons of Israel.

And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which was beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke unto them, saying, Go up and spy out the land. And the men went up and spied out Ai.

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; do not make all the people to labour there; for they are but few.

So about three thousand men of the people went up there; and they fled before the men of Ai.

And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty-six men; for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down; therefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

¶ Then Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, putting dust upon their heads.

And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, why hast thou caused this people to pass the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? We should have been content and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!

O Lord, what shall I say now that Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!

For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it and shall compass us around and cut off our name from upon the earth; then what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

10 ¶ And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get up; why dost thou lie thus upon thy face?

11 Israel has sinned and has even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; for they have even taken of the anathema and have also stolen and lied also, and they have even put it in their own vessels.

12 Therefore, the sons of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but shall turn their backs before their enemies because they have been in the anathema; neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the anathema from among you.

13 Get up, sanctify the people and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is anathema in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thy enemies until ye take away the anathema from among you.

14 In the morning, therefore, ye shall come near according to your tribes, and it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to the families thereof, and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households, and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.

15 And it shall be that he that is taken in the anathema shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he has because he has broken the covenant of the LORD and because he has wrought folly in Israel.

16 ¶ So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken;

17 and bringing near the tribe of Judah, the family of the Zarhites was taken; and bringing near the family of the Zarhites man by man, Zabdi was taken;

18 and he caused his household to come near, 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 Then Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory now to the LORD God of Israel and give him praise; and tell me now what thou hast done; do not hide it from me.

20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done.

21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment 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 out of the midst of the tent and brought them unto Joshua and unto all the sons of Israel and laid them out before the LORD.

24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver and the garment 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 unto the valley of Achor.

25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? The LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

26 And they raised over them a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

Achan’s Sin

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a];(A) Achan(B) son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah,(C) of the tribe of Judah,(D) took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned(E) against Israel.(F)

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai,(G) which is near Beth Aven(H) to the east of Bethel,(I) and told them, “Go up and spy out(J) the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai,(K) who killed about thirty-six(L) of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear(M) and became like water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes(N) and fell facedown(O) to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening.(P) The elders of Israel(Q) did the same, and sprinkled dust(R) on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why(S) did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?(T) If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth.(U) What then will you do for your own great name?(V)

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned;(W) they have violated my covenant,(X) which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied,(Y) they have put them with their own possessions.(Z) 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies;(AA) they turn their backs(AB) and run(AC) because they have been made liable to destruction.(AD) I will not be with you anymore(AE) unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves(AF) in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

14 “‘In the morning, present(AG) yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses(AH) shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things(AI) shall be destroyed by fire,(AJ) along with all that belongs to him.(AK) He has violated the covenant(AL) of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”(AM)

16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen.(AN) He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah,(AO) was chosen.(AP)

19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory(AQ) to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell(AR) me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder(AS) a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted(AT) them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.

24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons(AU) and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.(AV) 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble(AW) on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”

Then all Israel stoned him,(AX) and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.(AY) 26 Over Achan they heaped(AZ) up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.(BA) Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger.(BB) Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor[f](BC) ever since.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 7:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 11, 12, 13 and 15.
  2. Joshua 7:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 2:6; Hebrew Zabdi; also in verses 17 and 18.
  3. Joshua 7:21 Hebrew Shinar
  4. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  5. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  6. Joshua 7:26 Achor means trouble.