Joshua 7
1 And the sons of Israel commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, taketh of the devoted thing, and the anger of Jehovah burneth against the sons of Israel.
Yahweh had commanded that all the things [that they had captured in Jericho] should be [destroyed to show that they belong] to him. But there was a man from the tribe of Judah named Achan. He was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi and great-grandson of Zerah. He disobeyed [what] Yahweh [had commanded] and took for himself some of those things. So Yahweh was very angry with the Israelis.
2 And Joshua sendeth men from Jericho to Ai, which [is] near Beth-Aven, on the east of Bethel, and speaketh unto them, saying, 'Go up and spy the land;' and the men go up and spy Ai,
Joshua told some of his men to go from Jericho to Ai [town], which was east of Bethel [city] and near Beth-Aven [town]. He said to them, “Go to Ai and (spy out the area/see what the area is like).” So the men went.
3 and they turn back unto Joshua, and say unto him, 'Let not all the people go up; let about two thousand men, or about three thousand men, go up, and they smite Ai; cause not all the people to labour thither; for they [are] few.'
When they returned to Joshua they said, “There are only a few people in Ai. So we do not need to send all of our soldiers to defeat them. Send 2.000 or 3,000 men to attack them. That will be enough.”
4 And there go up of the people thither about three thousand men, and they flee before the men of Ai,
So about 3,000 Israeli men went [to attack Ai]. But the men of Ai defeated them badly.
5 and the men of Ai smite of them about thirty and six men, and pursue them before the gate unto Shebarim, and they smite them in Morad; and the heart of the people is melted, and becometh water.
They killed about 36 Israelis and chased the rest of Israeli men from the city gate to the bottom of the hill. When the other Israelis saw that this had happened, they became very discouraged.
6 And Joshua rendeth his garments, and falleth on his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah till the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they cause dust to go up on their head.
Joshua and the other Israeli leaders tore their clothes [because they were very sad about being defeated]. They prostrated themselves on the ground in front of [the Sacred Tent in which was] the sacred chest. They stayed there until that evening. They also threw dirt on their heads [to show that they were very sad about what had happened].
7 And Joshua saith, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, why hast Thou at all caused this people to pass over the Jordan, to give us into the hand of the Amorite to destroy us? — and oh that we had been willing — and we dwell beyond the Jordan!
Then Joshua prayed and said, “Lord God, you brought us Israelis [safely] across the Jordan River. So why are you now allowing the Amor people-group to defeat us [RHQ]? [This would not have happened] if we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan River!
8 Oh, Lord, what do I say, after that Israel hath turned the neck before its enemies?
Lord, we Israelis have been defeated by our enemies, so I do not know what to say now [RHQ].
9 and the Canaanite and all the inhabitants of the land do hear, and have come round against us, and cut off our name out of the earth; and what dost Thou do for Thy great name?'
The Canaan people-group and all the other people who are living in this land will hear about this. Then they will surround us and kill all of us! Then what will you do (to defend your reputation [MTY]/to show that you are a powerful God)?”
10 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'Rise for thee, why [is] this? — thou [art] falling on thy face?
But Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stand up! Stop lying there with your face on the ground [RHQ]!
11 Israel hath sinned, and also they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them, and also taken of the devoted thing, and also stolen, and also deceived, and also put [it] among their vessels,
You Israelis have sinned! You have disobeyed the commands that I told you to obey. [One of] your men has taken some of the things that I told you to destroy. He has stolen them and taken them for himself and lied [about it].
12 and the sons of Israel have not been able to stand before their enemies; the neck they turn before their enemies, for they have become a devoted thing; I add not to be with you — if ye destroy not the devoted thing out of your midst.
That is why you Israelis have been unable to be strong when you went to attack your enemies. That is why you have run away from them. And now you yourselves may be destroyed. If you do not do as I commanded you and destroy everything [that you captured in Jericho] I will not help you any more!”
13 'Rise, sanctify the people, and thou hast said, Sanctify yourselves for to-morrow; for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, A devoted thing [is] in thy midst, O Israel, thou art not able to stand before thine enemies till your turning aside of the devoted thing out of your midst;
“Now go and tell this to the people: ‘Tomorrow you must [perform the rituals that will] cause yourselves to become acceptable to Yahweh again. Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says that one of you has kept things that he told you to destroy. You will never defeat your enemies until you get rid of those things.
14 and ye have been brought near in the morning by your tribes, and it hath been, the tribe which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by families, and the family which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by households, and the household which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by men;
‘Tomorrow morning you must present yourselves before Yahweh, tribe by tribe. Then Yahweh will indicate to which tribe [the man who took those things belongs]. Then Yahweh will indicate to which clan from that tribe [the guilty man belongs]. Then Yahweh will indicate to which family he belongs. And then he will indicate which person [in that family took those things].
15 and it hath been, he who is captured with the devoted thing is burnt with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath done folly in Israel.'
Then the one who has taken some of the things that should have been destroyed will be destroyed in a fire. And everything he owns will be destroyed with him, because he has disobeyed the command that Yahweh gave us and has done something that is disgraceful to us Israeli people.’”
16 And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and bringeth Israel near by its tribes, and the tribe of Judah is captured;
Early the next morning, Joshua told all the Israeli people to stand before the Sacred Tent, tribe by tribe. [When they did that], Yahweh indicated that a man from the tribe of Judah [was the one who had taken the things].
17 and he bringeth near the family of Judah, and he captureth the family of the Zarhite; and he bringeth near the family of the Zarhite by men, and Zabdi is captured;
Then the clans of Judah presented themselves, and Yahweh indicated that someone from the clan of Zerah was the guilty one. Then the families of Zerah’s clan presented themselves, and Yahweh indicated that someone from the family of Zabdi [was the guilty one].
18 and he bringeth near his household by men, and Achan — son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah — is captured.
Then Joshua told the men from that family to present themselves. And Yahweh indicated that Achan was guilty.
19 And Joshua saith unto Achan, 'My son, put, I pray thee, honour on Jehovah, God of Israel, and give to Him thanks, and declare, I pray thee, to me, what thou hast done — hide not from me.'
Then Joshua said to Achan, “Son, tell the truth [IDM]. Confess to Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship, what you have done]. And tell me what you did, and do not try to (conceal anything/prevent me from knowing what you did).”
20 And Achan answereth Joshua, and saith, 'Truly I have sinned against Jehovah, God of Israel, and thus and thus I have done;
Achan replied, “It is true. I have sinned against Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship].
21 and I see among the spoil a goodly robe of Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and one wedge of gold, whose weight [is] fifty shekels, and I desire them, and take them; and lo, they [are] hid in the earth, in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.'
Among the things [in Jericho] that I saw was a beautiful coat from Babylonia. I also saw 200 pieces of silver and some gold that weighed as much as 50 pieces of silver. I wanted those things very much for myself, so I took them. I buried them all in the ground under my tent. You will find them there. The silver is buried under the other things.”
22 And Joshua sendeth messengers, and they run unto the tent, and lo, it is hidden in his tent, and the silver under it;
So Joshua sent some men [to find those things]. They ran to Achan’s tent and found all the things hidden there.
23 and they take them out of the midst of the tent, and bring them in unto Joshua, and unto all the sons of Israel, and pour them out before Jehovah.
The men brought them all out of the tent and took them to Joshua and the rest of the Israeli people. Then they spread/laid them out on the ground, where Yahweh could see them.
24 And Joshua taketh Achan son of Zerah, and the silver, and the robe, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his ox, and his ass, and his flock, and his tent, and all that he hath, and all Israel with him, and they cause them to go up the valley of Achor.
Then Joshua and the rest of the people led Achan down to the valley. They also took down there the silver, the coat, the gold, Achan’s [wife and] sons and daughters, and his cattle and donkeys and sheep, and his tent, and everything else that he owned.
25 And Joshua saith, 'What! thou hast troubled us! — Jehovah doth trouble thee this day;' and all Israel cast stones at him, and they burn them with fire, and they stone them with stones,
Joshua said, “(I do not know why you caused so much trouble for us/You have caused a lot of trouble for us) [RHQ], but now Yahweh will cause trouble for you.” Then all the people threw stones at Achan and his family until they all died. Then the people burned their corpses.
26 and they raise up over him a great heap of stones unto this day, and Jehovah turneth back from the heat of His anger, therefore hath [one] called the name of that place 'Valley of Achor' till this day.
They piled rocks over [the ashes of] their [corpses], and those rocks are still there. That is why that valley is called Trouble Valley. After that, Yahweh was no longer angry [with the Israeli people].
