May
13
Joshua
7, 8
Jos
7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted
things; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of
Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things.
Therefore Yahweh's anger burned against the children of Israel.
Jos
7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven,
on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, "Go up
and spy out the land." The men went up and spied out Ai.
Jos
7:3 They returned to Joshua, and said to him, "Don't let all
the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and
strike Ai. Don't make all the people to toil there, for there are
only a few of them."
Jos
7:4 So about three thousand men of the people went up there, and
they fled before the men of Ai.
Jos
7:5 The men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, and they
chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and struck them at
the descent. The hearts of the people melted, and became like water.
Jos
7:6 Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face
before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of
Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Jos
7:7 Joshua said, "Alas, Lord Yahweh, why have you brought this
people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of the
Amorites, to cause us to perish? I wish that we had been content and
lived beyond the Jordan!
Jos
7:8 Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel has turned their
backs before their enemies!
Jos
7:9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear
of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth.
What will you do for your great name?"
Jos
7:10 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Get up! Why are you fallen on your
face like that?
Jos
7:11 Israel has sinned. Yes, they have even transgressed my covenant
which I commanded them. Yes, they have even taken of the devoted
things, and have also stolen, and also deceived. They have even put
it among their own stuff.
Jos
7:12 Therefore the children of Israel can't stand before their
enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they
have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more,
unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
Jos
7:13 Get up! Sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for
tomorrow, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, "There is a
devoted thing in the midst of you, Israel. You cannot stand before
your enemies until you take away the devoted thing from among you."
Jos
7:14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your
tribes. It shall be that the tribe which Yahweh selects shall come
near by families. The family which Yahweh selects shall come near by
households. The household which Yahweh selects shall come near man by
man.
Jos
7:15 It shall be, that he who is taken with the devoted thing shall
be burnt with fire, he and all that he has, because he has
transgressed the covenant of Yahweh, and because he has done a
disgraceful thing in Israel.' "
Jos
7:16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near
by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected.
Jos
7:17 He brought near the family of Judah; and he selected the family
of the Zerahites. He brought near the family of the Zerahites man by
man, and Zabdi was selected.
Jos
7:18 He brought near his household man by man, and Achan, the son of
Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was
selected.
Jos
7:19 Joshua said to Achan, "My son, please give glory to
Yahweh, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now
what you have done! Don't hide it from me!"
Jos
7:20 Achan answered Joshua, and said, "I have truly sinned
against Yahweh, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done.
Jos
7:21 When I saw among the spoil a beautiful Babylonian robe, two
hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty
shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden
in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it."
Jos
7:22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent. Behold, it
was hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
Jos
7:23 They took them from the middle of the tent, and brought them to
Joshua and to all the children of Israel. They laid them down before
Yahweh.
Jos
7:24 Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah,
the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his
cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and
they brought them up to the valley of Achor.
Jos
7:25 Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? Yahweh will
trouble you this day." All Israel stoned him with stones, and
they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.
Jos
7:26 They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to
this day. Yahweh turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore
the name of that place was called "The valley of Achor" to
this day.
Jos
7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted
things; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of
Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things.
Therefore Yahweh's anger burned against the children of Israel.
Jos
7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven,
on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, "Go up
and spy out the land." The men went up and spied out Ai.
Jos
7:3 They returned to Joshua, and said to him, "Don't let all
the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and
strike Ai. Don't make all the people to toil there, for there are
only a few of them."
Jos
7:4 So about three thousand men of the people went up there, and
they fled before the men of Ai.
Jos
7:5 The men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, and they
chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and struck them at
the descent. The hearts of the people melted, and became like water.
Jos
7:6 Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face
before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of
Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Jos
7:7 Joshua said, "Alas, Lord Yahweh, why have you brought this
people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of the
Amorites, to cause us to perish? I wish that we had been content and
lived beyond the Jordan!
Jos
7:8 Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel has turned their
backs before their enemies!
Jos
7:9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear
of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth.
What will you do for your great name?"
Jos
7:10 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Get up! Why are you fallen on your
face like that?
Jos
7:11 Israel has sinned. Yes, they have even transgressed my covenant
which I commanded them. Yes, they have even taken of the devoted
things, and have also stolen, and also deceived. They have even put
it among their own stuff.
Jos
7:12 Therefore the children of Israel can't stand before their
enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they
have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more,
unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
Jos
7:13 Get up! Sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for
tomorrow, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, "There is a
devoted thing in the midst of you, Israel. You cannot stand before
your enemies until you take away the devoted thing from among you."
Jos
7:14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your
tribes. It shall be that the tribe which Yahweh selects shall come
near by families. The family which Yahweh selects shall come near by
households. The household which Yahweh selects shall come near man by
man.
Jos
7:15 It shall be, that he who is taken with the devoted thing shall
be burnt with fire, he and all that he has, because he has
transgressed the covenant of Yahweh, and because he has done a
disgraceful thing in Israel.' "
Jos
7:16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near
by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected.
Jos
7:17 He brought near the family of Judah; and he selected the family
of the Zerahites. He brought near the family of the Zerahites man by
man, and Zabdi was selected.
Jos
7:18 He brought near his household man by man, and Achan, the son of
Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was
selected.
Jos
7:19 Joshua said to Achan, "My son, please give glory to
Yahweh, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now
what you have done! Don't hide it from me!"
Jos
7:20 Achan answered Joshua, and said, "I have truly sinned
against Yahweh, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done.
Jos
7:21 When I saw among the spoil a beautiful Babylonian robe, two
hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty
shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden
in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it."
Jos
7:22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent. Behold, it
was hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
Jos
7:23 They took them from the middle of the tent, and brought them to
Joshua and to all the children of Israel. They laid them down before
Yahweh.
Jos
7:24 Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah,
the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his
cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and
they brought them up to the valley of Achor.
Jos
7:25 Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? Yahweh will
trouble you this day." All Israel stoned him with stones, and
they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.
Jos
7:26 They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to
this day. Yahweh turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore
the name of that place was called "The valley of Achor" to
this day.
Jos
8:1 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Don't be afraid, neither be
dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to
Ai. Behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, with his
people, his city, and his land.
Jos
8:2 You shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her
king, except its spoil and its livestock, you shall take for a
plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it."
Jos
8:3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai.
Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent
them out by night.
Jos
8:4 He commanded them, saying, "Behold, you shall lie in ambush
against the city, behind the city. Don't go very far from the city,
but all of you be ready.
Jos
8:5 I, and all the people who are with me, will approach to the
city. It shall happen, when they come out against us, as at the
first, that we will flee before them.
Jos
8:6 They will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from
the city; for they will say, 'They flee before us, like the first
time.' So we will flee before them,
Jos
8:7 and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of
the city; for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.
Jos
8:8 It shall be, when you have seized on the city, that you shall
set the city on fire. You shall do this according to the word of
Yahweh. Behold, I have commanded you."
Jos
8:9 Joshua sent them out; and they went to set up the ambush, and
stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua
stayed among the people that night.
Jos
8:10 Joshua rose up early in the morning, mustered the people, and
went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
Jos
8:11 All the people, even the men of war who were with him, went up,
and drew near, and came before the city, and encamped on the north
side of Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai.
Jos
8:12 He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between
Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Jos
8:13 So they set the people, even all the army who was on the north
of the city, and their ambush on the west of the city; and Joshua
went that night into the midst of the valley.
Jos
8:14 It happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hurried and
rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to
battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the
Arabah; but he didn't know that there was an ambush against him
behind the city.
Jos
8:15 Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them,
and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Jos
8:16 All the people who were in the city were called together to
pursue after them. They pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the
city.
Jos
8:17 There was not a man left in Ai or Beth El who didn't go out
after Israel. They left the city open, and pursued Israel.
Jos
8:18 Yahweh said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in
your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." Joshua
stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
Jos
8:19 The ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as
soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and
took it. They hurried and set the city on fire.
Jos
8:20 When the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold,
the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to
flee this way or that way. The people who fled to the wilderness
turned back on the pursuers.
Jos
8:21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the
city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned
again, and killed the men of Ai.
Jos
8:22 The others came out of the city against them, so they were in
the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. They
struck them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.
Jos
8:23 They captured the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua.
Jos
8:24 It happened, when Israel had made an end of killing all the
inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they
pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword, until
they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai, and struck it
with the edge of the sword.
Jos
8:25 All that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve
thousand, even all the men of Ai.
Jos
8:26 For Joshua didn't draw back his hand, with which he stretched
out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants
of Ai.
Jos
8:27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took for
prey to themselves, according to the word of Yahweh which he
commanded Joshua.
Jos
8:28 So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a
desolation, to this day.
Jos
8:29 He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening, and at
the sundown Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the
tree, and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and
raised a great heap of stones on it that remains to this day.
Jos
8:30 Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in
Mount Ebal,
Jos
8:31 as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of
Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of
uncut stones, on which no man had lifted up any iron. They offered
burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, and sacrificed peace offerings.
Jos
8:32 He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which
he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.
Jos
8:33 All Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges,
stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the
Levites, who carried the ark of Yahweh's covenant, the foreigner as
well as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half
of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had
commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
Jos
8:34 Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and
the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
Jos
8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua
didn't read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the
little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.