³⁸ Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed^(A) today.

³ But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten^(A) thousand of us.^[a] It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”^(B)

¹⁹ But you have now rejected^(A) your God, who saves^(B) you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king^(C) over us.’^(D) So now present^(E) yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”

²⁰ When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.

² The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men^(A) armed with swords.

¹⁴ “‘In the morning, present^(A) yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses^(B) shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵ Whoever is caught with the devoted things^(C) shall be destroyed by fire,^(D) along with all that belongs to him.^(E) He has violated the covenant^(F) of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”^(G)

¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. ¹⁷ The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen.^(H) He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. ¹⁸ Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah,^(I) was chosen.^(J)

¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory^(K) to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell^(L) me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

²⁰ Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ When I saw in the plunder^(M) a beautiful robe from Babylonia,^[a] two hundred shekels^[b] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,^[c] I coveted^(N) them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ²³ They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.

²⁴ Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons^(O) and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.^{(P) 25} Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble^(Q) on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”

Then all Israel stoned him,^(R) and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.^{(S) 26} Over Achan they heaped^(T) up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.^(U) Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger.^(V) Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor^[d](W) ever since.

¹¹ Israel has sinned;^(A) they have violated my covenant,^(B) which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied,^(C) they have put them with their own possessions.^(D)