Joshua 7
1 But the children of Israel did wrong about the cursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the family of Judah, took of the cursed thing, moving the Lord to wrath against the children of Israel.
But the children of Israel committed a great trespass, and purloined [part] of the accursed thing; and Achar the son of Charmi, the son of Zambri, the son of Zara, of the tribe of Juda, took of the accursed thing; and the Lord was very angry with the children of Israel.
2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is by the side of Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and said to them, Go up and make a search through the land. And the men went up and saw how Ai was placed.
And Joshua sent men to Gai, which is by Baethel, saying, Spy out Gai: and the men went up and spied Gai.
3 Then they came back to Joshua and said to him, Do not send all the people up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and make an attack on Ai; there is no need for all the people to be tired with the journey there, for it is only a small town.
And they returned to Joshua, and said to him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and take the city by siege: carry not up there the whole people, for [the enemy] are few.
4 So about three thousand of the people went up, and were sent in flight by the men of Ai.
And there went up about three thousand men, and they fled from before the men of Gai.
5 The men of Ai put to death about thirty-six of them, driving them from before the town as far as the stoneworks, and overcoming them on the way down: and the hearts of the people became like water.
And the men of Gai killed of them to the number of thirty-six men, and they pursued them from the gate, and destroyed them from the steep hill; and the heart of the people was alarmed and became as water.
6 Then Joshua, in great grief, went down on the earth before the ark of the Lord till the evening, and all the chiefs of Israel with him, and they put dust on their heads.
And Joshua tore his garments; and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads.
7 And Joshua said, O Lord God, why have you taken us over Jordan only to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction? If only it had been enough for us to keep on the other side of Jordan!
And Joshua said, I pray, Lord, therefore has your servant brought this people over Jordan to deliver them to the Amorite to destroy us? would we had remained and settled ourselves beyond Jordan.
8 O Lord, what am I to say now that Israel have given way before their attackers?
And what shall I say since Israel has turned his back before his enemy?
9 For when the news comes to the Canaanites and all the people of the land, they will come up, shutting us in and cutting off our name from the earth: and what will you do for the honour of your great name?
And when the Chananite and all the inhabitants of the land hear it, they shall compass us round and destroy us from off the land: and what will you do [for] your great name?
10 Then the Lord said to Joshua, Get up; what are you doing with your face to the earth?
And the Lord said to Joshua, Rise up; why have you fallen upon your face?
11 Israel has done wrong, sinning against the agreement which I made with them: they have even taken of the cursed thing; acting falsely like thieves they have put it among their goods.
The people has sinned, and transgressed the covenant which I made with them; they have stolen from the cursed thing, and put it into their store.
12 For this reason the children of Israel have given way, turning their backs in flight before their attackers, because they are cursed: I will no longer be with you, if you do not put the cursed thing away from among you.
And the children of Israel will not be able to stand before their enemies; they will turn their back before their enemies, for they have become an accursed thing: I will not any longer be with you, unless you remove the cursed thing from yourselves.
13 Up! make the people holy; say to them, Make yourselves holy before tomorrow, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, There is a cursed thing among you, O Israel, and you will give way before your attackers in the fight till the cursed thing has been taken away from among you.
Rise, sanctify the people and tell them to sanctify themselves for the morrow: thus says the Lord God of Israel, The accursed thing is amongst you; you shall not be able to stand before your enemies, until you shall have removed the cursed thing from amongst you.
14 So in the morning you are to come near, tribe by tribe; and the tribe marked out by the Lord is to come near, family by family; and the family marked out by the Lord is to come near, house by house; and the house marked out by the Lord is to come near, man by man.
And you shall all be gathered together by your tribes in the morning, and it shall come to pass that the tribe which the Lord shall show, you shall bring by families; and the family which the Lord shall show, you shall bring by households; and the household which the Lord shall show, you shall bring man by man.
15 Then the man who is taken with the cursed thing is to be burned, with everything which is his; because he has gone against the agreement of the Lord and has done an act of shame in Israel.
And the man who shall be pointed out, shall be burnt with fire, and all that he has; because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and has wrought wickedness in Israel.
16 So Joshua got up early in the morning, and made Israel come before him by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken;
And Joshua rose up early, and brought the people by their tribes; and the tribe of Juda was pointed out.
17 Then he made Judah come forward, and the family of the Zerahites was taken; and he made the family of the Zerahites come forward man by man; and Zabdi was taken;
And it was brought by their families, and family of the Zaraites was pointed out.
18 Then the house of Zabdi came forward man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
And it was brought man by man, and Achar the son of Zambri the son of Zara was pointed out.
19 And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give glory and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel; give me word now of what you have done, and keep nothing back from me.
And Joshua said to Achar, Give glory this day to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession; and tell me what you have done, and hide it not from me.
20 And Achan, answering, said to Joshua, Truly I have done wrong against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done:
And Achar answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel: thus and thus have I done:
21 When I saw among their goods a fair robe of Babylon and two hundred shekels of silver, and a mass of gold, fifty shekels in weight, I was overcome by desire and took them; and they are put away in the earth in my tent, and the silver is under it.
I saw in the spoil an embroidered mantle, and two hundred didrachmas of silver, and one golden wedge of fifty didrachmas, and I desired them and took them; and, behold, they are hid in my tent, and the silver is hid under them.
22 So Joshua sent men quickly, and looking in his tent, they saw where the robe had been put away secretly with the silver under it.
And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent into the camp; and these things were hidden in his tent, and the silver under them.
23 And they took them from the tent and came back with them to Joshua and the children of Israel, and put them before the Lord.
And they brought them out of the tent, and brought them to Joshua and the elders of Israel, and they laid them before the Lord.
24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver and the robe and the mass of gold, and his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his asses and his sheep and his tent and everything he had; and they took them up into the valley of Achor.
And Joshua took Achar the son of Zara, and brought him to the valley of Achor, and his sons, and his daughters, and his calves, and his asses, and all his sheep, and his tent, and all his property, and all the people [were] with him; and he brought them to Emec Achor.
25 And Joshua said, Why have you been a cause of trouble to us? Today the Lord will send trouble on you. And all Israel took part in stoning him; they had him stoned to death and then burned with fire.
And Joshua said to Achar, Why have you destroyed us? the Lord destroy you as at this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones.
26 And over him they put a great mass of stones, which is there to this day; then the heat of the Lord's wrath was turned away. So that place was named, The Valley of Achor, to this day.
And they set up over him a great heap of stones; and the Lord ceased from his fierce anger. Therefore he called the place Emecachor until this day.
