²⁵ “You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.

¹² The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, so David gave orders to burn them.

17 “Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the Lord your God, for he detests such gifts.

²⁰ He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.

²¹ Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon,^[a] 200 silver coins,^[b] and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound.^[c] I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”

³ Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their Asherah poles and cut down their carved idols. Completely erase the names of their gods!

²⁴ However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)

²⁵ “Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. ²⁶ The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds,^[a] not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels.

²⁷ Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

Ai Defeats the Israelites

7 But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord.^[a] A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zimri^[b] son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.

¹⁸ When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the Lord your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man^[a] or a woman, for both are detestable to the Lord your God.

⁵ This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols.