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The Book of Joshua 7

7 Yahweh had commanded the Israelites to show that all the things they found in Jericho belonged to him. To do that, the Israelites were to destroy them or put them in his treasury. But there was a man from the tribe of Judah whose name was Achan. He was the son of Karmi, the grandson of Zabdi, and the great-grandson of Zerah. He disobeyed what Yahweh had commanded the Israelites. He took for himself some of the things Yahweh had said belonged only to him. Therefore, Yahweh became very angry with the Israelites. 2 Now Joshua told some of his men to go from the city of Jericho to the town of Ai. That town was east of the city of Bethel and near the town of Beth Aven. Joshua said to them, “Go to Ai and see what we need to do to conquer it.” So the men went and did what Joshua had instructed them to do. 3 When they returned, they told him, “Only a small number of people live in Ai. So just send 2,000 or 3,000 men to attack them. There is no need to send all of our soldiers.” 4 So about 3, 000 Israelite men went to attack Ai. But the men of Ai defeated the men of Israel so badly that the men of Israel ran away. 5 The soldiers of Ai killed about 36 Israelite soldiers. They chased the rest of them from the city gate to the stone quarries. They even killed Israelite soldiers on the slopes that led back down to the Jordan River. When the Israelite people saw this, they became very afraid. They no longer had the courage to fight. 6 Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes to show that they were very sad that their enemies had defeated them. They lay down on the ground in front of the sacred chest of Yahweh, and they stayed there until evening time. They also put dirt on their heads to show that they were very sad about what had happened. 7 Then Joshua prayed and said, “Lord Yahweh, you brought us Israelites safely across the Jordan River. So I do not understand why you are now allowing the Amorites to destroy us. I really wish that we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan River! Then we would not be in this situation. 8 O Lord, I do not know what to say, now that we Israelites have run away from our enemies. 9 The Canaanites and all the other people who are living in this land will hear that the army of the city of Ai defeated us. Then they will surround us and kill us all! Then people will no longer think that you are a great and powerful God!” 10 But Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stand up! Stop lying there with your face in the dirt! 11 The people of Israel have sinned. They have disobeyed the commands that I instructed them to obey. They have taken from the things that I said they must devote to me. They have stolen and been deceptive and put what they have stolen in with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelite soldiers could not defeat the soldiers of Ai. That is why they ran away from them. And now Israelites you have become something that someone should destroy. Unless you do as I commanded you and destroy the things you took from Jericho that you were supposed to devote to me, then I will not help you anymore! 13 Now go and tell the people of Israel that they must prepare themselves for what will happen tomorrow. They must perform the rituals that will cause them to become acceptable to me again. Tell them that I said that one of you has kept some of the things that I told you to devote to me. Tell them that I said you will not be able to defeat your enemies until you get rid of those things. 14 Tomorrow morning you must present yourselves before me, tribe by tribe. Then I will indicate to you which tribe the guilty person belongs to. Then I will indicate to you which clan from that tribe the guilty person belongs to. Then I will indicate to you which family he belongs to, and then I will indicate which man in that family took the things I said you must devote to me. 15 Then you must kill and burn the body of the person who has taken some of the things that you should have given to me. You must burn him and his family and everything he owns, because he has disobeyed the agreement that I, Yahweh made with you Israelites, and because he has done a disgraceful act among the people of Israel.” 16 Early the next morning, Joshua instructed all the Israelite people to come near to the sacred tent, tribe by tribe. When they did that, Yahweh indicated that a person from the tribe of Judah was the one who had taken the things that the Israelites should have given him. 17 Then the clans of Judah presented themselves, and Yahweh indicated that someone from the clan of Zerah was the guilty person). Then the families of Zerah’s clan presented themselves, and Yahweh indicated that someone from the family of Zabdi was the guilty person. 18 Then Joshua told the men from the family of Zabdi to present themselves. When they did that, Yahweh indicated that Achan was the guilty man. He was the son of Carmi, the grandson of Zabdi, the great-grandson of Zerah, and the great-great-grandson of Judah. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “Young man, honor Yahweh, the God we Israelites worship, by telling the truth and confessing it before him. Now tell me what you did, and do not try to conceal it from me.” 20 Achan replied, “It is true. I have sinned against Yahweh, the God we Israelites worship. This is what I did: 21 I saw among the plunder from Jericho a beautiful coat from Babylon. I also saw 200 pieces of silver and a piece of gold that weighed the equivalent of 50 pieces of silver. I wanted those things very much, so I took them. I buried them in the ground under my tent. You will find them there. The silver pieces are buried under the other things.” 22 So Joshua sent some men to find the things that Achan had stolen from Yahweh. They ran to Achan’s tent and found all the things he had hidden there. 23 The men took the things Achan had stolen out of his tent and brought them to Joshua and to the Israelites. Then they spread them out on the ground in front of the sacred tent as evidence that Achan was guilty of stealing from the plunder, as Yahweh had said an Israelite had done. 24 Then Joshua and the Israelites brought Achan son of Zerah up to a place that people later called the Valley of Trouble. They brought the things he had stolen from Yahweh, and they also brought his sons and daughters and his wife and his cattle and donkeys and sheep and goats. They also brought his tent and everything else that belonged to him. 25 Joshua said, “You have troubled us Israelites greatly, so today Yahweh will trouble you.” Then all the people of Israel threw stones at Achan and his family until they died. Then they burned them and all their possessions with fire. 26 They piled rocks over the ashes of their corpses, and those rocks are still there now. After that, Yahweh was no longer angry with the Israelites. That is why the Israelites named that place the Valley of Trouble. People still call it by that name now.

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