¹¹ Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. ^(A)For they have even taken some of the ^[a]accursed things, and have both stolen and ^(B)deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. ^12 (C)Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because ^(D)they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.

⁵ And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore ^(A)the^[a] hearts of the people melted and became like water.

Defeat at Ai

7 But the children of Israel ^[a]committed a ^(A)trespass regarding the ^(B)accursed^[b] things, for ^(C)Achan the son of Carmi, the son of ^[c]Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.

^3 (A)For the time will come when they will not endure ^(B)sound doctrine, ^(C)but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and ^(D)be turned aside to fables.

¹⁶ But shun profane and ^[a]idle babblings, for they will ^[b]increase to more ungodliness. ¹⁷ And their message will spread like cancer. ^(A)Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, ¹⁸ who have strayed concerning the truth, ^(B)saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

¹⁶ Then I said:

¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone ^(A)fall short of the grace of God; lest any ^(B)root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any ^(C)fornicator or ^[a]profane person like Esau, ^(D)who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

The Elders’ Task

¹⁰ For there are many insubordinate, both idle ^(A)talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, ^(B)for the sake of dishonest gain.