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MOF JOS Chapter 7

7 But the Israelites broke faith with regard to the doomed spoil; Achan the son of Karmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, who belonged to the clan of Judah, took some of it, and so the anger of the Eternal blazed against the Israelites.

2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which lies close to Bethaven on the east of Bethel, ordering them to go up and spy out the land. They went up and spied out Ai 3 and came back to Joshua, saying, “All the nation need not go up; let only about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make all the nation toil up there, for there are few folk at Ai.” 4 So about three thousand men marched up. But they ran away from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, and chased them from their gates as far as Shebarim, killing some others at the descent. The hearts of Israel quivered and became weak as water, 6 and Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground upon his face before the ark of the Eternal till evening, he and the sheikhs of Israel, with dust upon their heads. 7 “Ah, Lord Eternal,” said Joshua, “why didst thou ever bring this people across the Jordan, only to hand us over to the Amorites to be killed? Would that we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan. 8 O Lord, what can I say, after Israel has run away from its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and all the natives will hear of it and surround us and wipe us off the earth. Then what wilt thou do for thy great honour?” 10 “Get up,” said the Eternal to Joshua, “why are you lying on your face there? 11 Israel has sinned; they have broken my compact which I commanded them to keep, they have taken some of the doomed spoil, stolen it, acted deceitfully, and hidden it among their own goods. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand up against their enemies and why they run from their enemies, because they have brought themselves under doom. I will never be with you again, unless you remove the doomed thing from among you. 13 Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow. Tell them this from the Eternal the God of Israel, There is a doomed thing among you, O Israel; you cannot hold your own against your enemies until you put the doomed thing away from you. 14 So in the morning you shall be brought before me by your clans, and the clan which the Eternal takes by lot shall come with its septs, and the sept which the Eternal takes by lot shall come with its families, and the family which the Eternal takes by lot shall come man by man. 15 Then he who is taken by lot, in possession of the doomed thing, shall be burned, he and all he has, because he has broken the compact of the Eternal, because he has committed a scandal in Israel.” 16 In the morning Joshua rose and brought Israel before the Eternal by their clans; the clan of Judah was taken by lot. 17 Then the septs of Judah were brought, and the sept of the Zerahites was taken by lot; the sept of the Zerahites was brought, family by family, and the family of Zabdi was taken by lot. 18 Then Zabdi brought his family man by man, and Achan the son of Karmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, belonging to the clan of Judah, was taken by lot. 19 Joshua said to Achan, ”My son, pray confess to the Eternal, the God of Israel, own up to him; tell me what you have done, do not hide it from me.” 20 Achan answered, “Truly I have sinned against the Eternal, the God of Israel; this is what I did. 21 When I saw among the spoil a splendid mantle from Shinar and twenty-five pounds in silver and a bar of gold weighing twenty-five ounces, I coveted them and took them. The mantle is hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the money under it.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers, who ran to the tent, and there was the mantle hidden inside the tent, with the money under it! 23 They took them from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, who laid them before the Eternal. 24 Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan the son of Zerah and the silver and the mantle and the bar 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; they brought them to the valley of Achor. 25 “Why have you undone us?” said Joshua. “The Eternal shall undo you this day.” Then all Israel stoned him; they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones, 26 and over them they raised a great cairn of stones. It stands there to this day. Then the Eternal relented from his fierce anger. So the name of the place is called Glen- Undoing (Achor-vale) down to this day.

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