¹² That is why the people of Israel are being defeated. That is why your men are running from their enemies—for they are cursed.^[a] I will not stay with you any longer unless you completely rid yourselves of this sin.

¹³ “Get up! Tell the people, ‘Each of you must undergo purification rites in preparation for tomorrow, for the Lord your God of Israel says that someone has stolen from him, and you cannot defeat your enemies until you deal with this sin. ¹⁴ In the morning you must come by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. And that tribe must come by its clans and the Lord will point out the guilty clan; and the clan must come by its families, and then each member of the guilty family must come one by one.