Joshua 7
1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass on the devoted things; for 'Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerach, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted things: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.
However, the Israelites had not been faithful regarding those things set apart for the Lord. Achan had taken some of them which made the Lord very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to 'Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and said unto them, thus, Go up and spy out the country. And the men went up and spied out 'Ai.
Joshua sent men from the camp near Jericho to the town of Ai, which is near Bethaven, east of Bethel. “Go and explore the land,” he told them. So they went and explored around 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: do not fatigue all the people [to go] thither; for they are but few.
When they returned they told Joshua, “The whole army isn't needed. Two or three thousand men is enough to go and attack Ai. Don't bother sending everyone—there's only a few of them.”
4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men; and they fled before the men of 'Ai.
So around three thousand men went to fight, but they were beaten by the men of Ai and they ran away.
5 And the men of 'Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; and they chased them from before the gate unto the stone-quarries, and smote them on the declivity [of the hill]; wherefore the heart of the people melted, and became as water.
The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing the Israelites from the town gate until they were defeated, killing them on their way down. At this the Israelites became afraid, losing all their courage.
6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he with the elders of Israel, and they put dust upon their head.
Joshua ripped his clothes and fell down with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord until the evening. The elders did likewise, and he and the elders threw dust on their heads.
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord Eternal, wherefore hast thou caused this people to pass over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Emorites, to destroy us? and oh! that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!
Joshua cried, “Why, oh why, Lord God, did you bring us across the Jordan River only to hand us over to the Amorites for them to destroy us? We should have been satisfied to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
8 I pray thee, O Lord, what shall I say, since Israel have turned their back before their enemies!
Excuse me, Lord, but what can I say now that Israel has turned tail and run away from its enemies?
9 And when the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, they will environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt thou do for thy great name?
The Canaanites and everyone living in the land will come and surround us and wipe us out so completely that even our name will be forgotten. Then what will happen to your great reputation?”
10 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou upon thy face.
But the Lord replied to Joshua, “Stand up! What do you think you're doing lying on your face like that?
11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I have commanded them; and they have also taken of the devoted things, and have also stolen, and have also dissembled, and they have also put it into their own vessels.
Israel has sinned and has broken my agreement that I ordered them to keep. They have taken some of the things set apart for me; they have acted dishonestly; they have hidden the stolen items with their own belongings.
12 Therefore will the children of Israel not be able to stand up before their enemies; their back will they turn before their enemies, because they have become accursed: I will not be any more with you, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
That's why the Israelites can't stand up to their enemies. That's why they turn and run from their enemies, and have themselves become set apart for destruction. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you have removed from among you those things set apart for destruction.
13 Rise up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; for thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, An accursed thing is in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou shalt not be able to stand up before thy enemies, until ye have removed the accursed from among you.
Get up, and make sure the people are pure. Tell them, ‘Make yourselves pure in readiness for tomorrow, because this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, There are things set apart for me that are hidden among you, Israel. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove all of them.
14 And ye shall be brought near in the morning according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord will seize shall come near according to its families; and the family which the Lord will seize shall come near by households; and the household which the Lord shall seize will come near by its men.
In the morning, you will come forward, tribe by tribe. Whichever tribe the Lord chooses will come forward clan by clan. The clan that the Lord chooses will come forward family by family. The family that the Lord chooses will come forward man by man.
15 And it shall be, that he that is seized with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he, and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought wickedness in Israel.
The one who is caught with what was set apart for destruction will be burned by fire, along with all that is his, for he broke the Lord's agreement and committed a terrible act in Israel.’”
16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was seized;
Joshua got up early the next morning and called Israel forward, tribe by tribe.
17 And he brought near the family of Judah, and he seized the family of the Zarchites; and he brought near the family of the Zarchites by its men, and Zabdi was seized;
The tribe of Judah was chosen. The clans of Judah came forward and the Zerahites were chosen. The clan of Zerahites came forward, and the family of Zabdi was chosen.
18 And he brought near his household by its men, and 'Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerach, of the tribe of Judah, was seized.
The family of Zabdi came forward, and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.
19 And Joshua said unto 'Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me, I pray thee, what thou hast done: hide nothing from me.
Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor the Lord, the God of Israel, and confess. Tell me what you have done. Don't hide it from me.”
20 And 'Achan answered Joshua, and said, Truly! I have indeed sinned against the Lord the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
“It's true!” Achan replied. “I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did.
21 I saw among the spoil a handsome Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels in weight, and I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver beneath the same.
Among the plunder I saw a beautiful cloak from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I really wanted them, so I took them. They're hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver buried deeper.”
22 Joshua thereupon sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hidden in his tent, and the silver beneath it.
Joshua sent men who ran over to search the tent. They found what had been hidden, with the silver buried deeper.
23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and they laid them out before the Lord.
The men took the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites. There they spread them out before the Lord.
24 And Joshua took 'Achan the son of Zerach, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his ox, and his ass, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had, and all Israel were with him, and they brought them up unto the valley of 'Achor.
Then Joshua, with all the Israelites, took Achan, the son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, together with his sons and daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, and his tent—everything he had—and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, How hast thou troubled us! so shall the Lord trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burnt them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why did you bring so much trouble down on us? Today the Lord will bring trouble down on you.” All the Israelites stoned Achan. Then when they had stoned the rest they burned their bodies.
26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones [which is] unto this day; and the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of 'Achor, unto this day.
They set up a great pile of stones over him which remains to this day. The Lord was no longer angry. This is why the place was called the Valley of Achor ever since.
