Joshua 7
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 7
Israelites Defeated at Ai.[a] 1 The Israelites, however, acted treacherously with regard to those things that had been dedicated. Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the dedicated things for himself. The Lord’s anger blazed forth against the Israelites. 2 Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, to the east of Bethel. He said to them, “Go up and take a look at the countryside,” so the men went up and investigated Ai. 3 They returned and said to Joshua, “You should not send the entire nation there, only send about two or three thousand men against Ai to conquer it. You should not bother the whole nation, for there are not that many of them. 4 So about three thousand men went up there, and they had to flee from before the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them when they chased them from their gates all the way down to Shebarim. They killed them as they ran down the slopes, and the people’s courage melted away like water.
6 Joshua tore his clothes and threw himself face down on the earth in front of the Ark of the Lord, remaining there until the evening. The elders of Israel did the same, tossing dust upon their heads. 7 [b]Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord, why did you bring this people across the Jordan just to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites so they could destroy us? It would have been better if we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan. 8 O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has fled before its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and all of the other inhabitants of the land will surely hear about this. They will surround us and wipe out remembrance of our name from the earth. What would happen to the grandeur of your name?”
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing on your face? 11 Israel has sinned. They have violated my covenant that I commanded them to observe. They have taken some of the dedicated things for themselves. They have stolen, they have lied, they have placed these things together with their own property. 12 This is why the Israelites could not stand up to their enemies. They turned their backs and fled because they were under a curse. I will not be with you anymore unless you wipe out those who are cursed from your midst. 13 Arise, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Sanctify yourselves in preparation for tomorrow. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “There are things that have been dedicated in your midst, O Israel. You will not be able to stand up to your enemies until you remove the dedicated things from your midst.” 14 In the morning you will present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord chooses will present itself clan by clan. The clan that the Lord chooses will present itself family by family. The family that the Lord chooses will present itself person by person.[c] 15 That person who has taken dedicated things will be thrown into the flames, he and all that he owns. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ ”
16 Achan’s Guilt and Punishment. Early the next morning Joshua had the people of Israel come forward by their tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah then came forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was chosen. The clan of the Zerahites came forward family by family, and the family of Zabdi was chosen. 18 The family came forward person by person, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah was chosen.
19 Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make your confession to him. Tell me now what you have done, do not hide it from me.” 20 Achan answered Joshua, “I have truly sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, for this is what I have done. 21 I spotted among the spoils a good garment made in Babylonia,[d] and two hundred silver shekels, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I coveted them so I took them. They are hidden in my tent, with the silver buried underneath it.”
22 Joshua sent some runners to the tent, and there it was in the tent, with the silver buried underneath it. 23 They took it out of the tent and brought it to Joshua and to all of the Israelites, laying it out before the Lord. 24 [e]Joshua, together with all of Israel, took Achan, the son of Zerah, along with the silver, the garment, and the bar of gold, his sons and his daughters, his oxen, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all his other property to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this calamity upon us? The Lord will bring a calamity down upon you today.” Then all of the Israelites stoned him, and after they stoned the rest of them, they threw them in the fire. 26 They piled up a great mound of stones over Achan that is still there to the present. The fierce anger of the Lord was thus quenched. This is why this site is called the Valley of Achor to this day.
Footnotes
- Joshua 7:1 The cruel measures taken in this primitive war emphasize the condition required for God’s help, namely, unconditional obedience and the sacrifice of personal desires. Observe that Ai means “ruin”; the account bears the mark of this.
- Joshua 7:7 This informal and heartfelt prayer reveals Joshua’s confusion in the light of defeat. His resort to persuasive questioning of God reveals his weakness and fear (i.e., humanity).
- Joshua 7:14 Tribes, which are subdivisions of nomadic societies, are made up of a number of clans; clans are made up of a number of families that descend from a common ancestor and are united by ties of blood; a family is made up of relatives living together, the head of it having juridical and religious authority.
- Joshua 7:21 Babylonia: the Hebrew has “Shinar,” a region of Mesopotamia, but here standing for Babylonia, which was noted for its wealth.
- Joshua 7:24 As head of the family Achan brings all of them down because of his disobedience. His entire family is eradicated and everything that belongs to him is destroyed. The Israelites understand this punishment to be appropriate to the sin of betrayal of the Lord.
Jozye 7
Haitian Creole Version
7 ¶ Men, pèp Izrayèl la te dezobeyi lòd Seyè a te bay pou yo pa t' pran anyen nan sa yo te gen pou yo detwi nèt yo. Te gen yon nonm nan branch fanmi Jida a ki te rele Akan. Se te pitit Kami. Kami sa a te pitit Zabdi, Zabdi te pitit Zerak. Akan sa a te pran kichòy nan sa yo te gen pou yo detwi nèt yo. Kifè Seyè a te move anpil sou pèp Izrayèl la.
2 Jozye te voye kèk moun soti lavil Jeriko ale bò Ayi, yon lavil ki te toupre Bèt Avenn, sou bò solèy leve lavil Betèl. Li te di yo pou y' al wè jan sa ye nan peyi a. Mesye yo ale vre, yo wè jan sa ye nan lavil Ayi.
3 Lè yo tounen vin jwenn Jozye, yo di li: -Nou pa bezwen deplase tout moun. N'a voye de twa mil moun konsa pou atake lavil Ayi a. Ou pa bezwen voye tout moun al goumen, paske pa gen anpil moun la.
4 Lè sa a, yo chwazi twamil sòlda konsa ki te moute al atake. Men, moun lavil Ayi yo te fè yo kraze rak.
5 Yo kouri dèyè sòlda pèp Izrayèl yo depi devan pòtay lavil la jouk nan men wòch yo. Nan ladesant lan yo touye trannsis moun konsa nan sòlda pèp Izrayèl yo. Lè sa a, pèp Izrayèl la soti pè. Yo pèdi kouraj.
6 ¶ Jozye te sitèlman nan lapenn, li chire rad sou li, epi li tonbe ajenou, li bese tèt jouk atè devan Bwat Kontra Seyè a. Li rete konsa jouk aswè ansanm ak tout chèf fanmi pèp Izrayèl yo, yo pran pousyè tè yo mete sou tèt yo pou fè wè jan yo te nan lapenn.
7 Epi Jozye di: -Ay, Seyè Bondye! Poukisa ou fè pèp la janbe lòt bò larivyè Jouden an? Gen lè se pou ou te lage nou nan men moun Amori yo pou yo touye nou? Pa pito ou te kite nou rete lòt bò larivyè Jouden an!
8 Tanpri, Mèt mwen! Kisa m' ka di koulye a lè m' wè moun Izrayèl yo ap kouri devan lènmi l' yo?
9 Moun Kanaran yo ak tout lòt moun ki rete nan peyi a pral konn sa. Yo pral leve dèyè nou. Yo pral touye nou nèt nan peyi a. Kisa ou pral fè lè sa a pou yo pa avili non ou?
10 ¶ Seyè a di Jozye konsa: -Leve non! Poukisa ou lage kò ou atè konsa?
11 Se paske pèp Izrayèl la peche, yo pa respekte kontra mwen te pase ak yo a ak lòd mwen te ba yo. Yo pran nan bagay pou yo te detwi yo. Yo vòlò yo, yo kache yo, yo mete yo nan zafè pa yo.
12 Se poutèt sa, pèp Izrayèl la p'ap ka kanpe devan lènmi l' yo. Yo gen pou yo kouri devan lènmi yo, paske koulye a se yo menm ki gen pou mouri. Mwen p'ap kanpe la avèk yo ankò, si bagay mwen te ban nou lòd pa pran an nou pa wete l' nan mitan nou pou nou detwi l' tou.
13 Leve non! Fè sèvis pou mete pèp la nan kondisyon pou sèvi m'. W'a di yo pou yo pare kò yo pou yo ka nan kondisyon fè sèvis pou mwen denmen, paske mwen menm, Bondye pèp Izrayèl la, men sa mwen di: Nou menm pèp Izrayèl, nou gen nan mitan nou bagay mwen te ban nou lòd detwi. Nou p'ap ka kenbe tèt ak lènmi nou yo si nou pa wete l' nan mitan nou.
14 Se konsa, denmen maten, nou tout n'ap vini, branch fanmi pa branch fanmi. Branch fanmi Seyè a va denonse a va pwoche fanmi pa fanmi. Nan fanmi Seyè a va denonse a, chèf fanmi yo va pwoche yonn apre lòt avèk moun pa yo. Chèf fanmi Seyè a va denonse a va fè moun pa l' yo pwoche grenn pa grenn.
15 Moun y'a jwenn avèk bagay la gen pou mouri boule nan dife, ansanm ak tout fanmi l' ak tou sa li genyen, paske li pa respekte kontra Seyè a te pase ak pèp la. Se yon gwo wont pou tout pèp Izrayèl la.
16 ¶ Nan denmen maten vre, Jozye leve byen bonè, li fè tout pèp Izrayèl la pwoche vin jwenn li, branch fanmi pa branch fanmi. Se branch fanmi Jida a Seyè a te denonse.
17 Li fè fanmi Jida yo vin jwenn li yonn apre lòt. Se fanmi Zerak la Seyè a te denonse. Li fè tout chèf fanmi Zerak yo vin jwenn li yonn apre lòt ak tout fanmi yo. Se Zabdi Seyè a te denonse.
18 Zabdi fè tout moun pa l' yo pwoche grenn pa grenn. Se konsa Seyè a denonse Akan, pitit Kami an. Kami te pitit Zabdi, Zabdi te pitit Zerak, yo tout te fè pati branch fanmi Jida a.
19 Jozye di Akan konsa: -Pitit mwen, fè lwanj Seyè a! Moutre ou gen respe pou Bondye pèp Izrayèl la! Koulye a, di m' kisa ou fè. Pa kache m' anyen.
20 Akan reponn li: -Se vre wi. Se mwen ki peche kont Seyè a, Bondye pèp Izrayèl la. Men sa m' fè.
21 Nan bagay nou te pran apre batay la, mwen te wè yon bèl manto ki te soti lavil Babilòn, desan (200) pyès an ajan ki te peze wit liv antou, ak yon gwo moso lò ki te peze de liv. Mwen te sitèlman anvi yo, mwen pran yo. Mwen fouye yon twou nan mitan tant kote m' rete a, mwen antere yo ladan l', avèk pyès ajan yo anba nèt.
22 Jozye voye kèk mesaje ki kouri al nan tant Akan an. Yo jwenn tout bagay yo nan twou a avèk pyès ajan yo anba nèt.
23 Yo pran yo, yo soti avèk yo nan tant lan. Yo pote yo bay Jozye ak tout pèp Izrayèl la. Yo mete yo atè devan Seyè a.
24 Jozye, ansanm ak tout moun pèp Izrayèl yo, pran Akan, pyès ajan yo, manto a, moso lò a ansanm ak pitit fi l' yo, pitit gason l' yo, bèlfi li yo, bèf li yo, bourik li yo, mouton l' yo ak tout lòt bagay li te genyen, yo mennen yo nan Fon Malè.
25 Epi Jozye di Akan konsa: -Poukisa ou rale tout malè sa a sou tèt nou? Jòdi a, Seyè a pral fè malè tonbe sou ou! Epi tout moun pèp Izrayèl yo pran wòch, yo kalonnen yo jouk yo touye yo. Yo boule tout bagay yo nan dife. Yo touye tout fanmi l' yo ak bèt li yo ak koutwòch.
26 Yo mete yon gwo pil wòch sou yo. Gwo pil wòch sa a la jouk jòdi a. Se poutèt sa, jouk jòdi a, yo rele kote sa a Fon Malè. Se konsa Seyè a te sispann move sou pèp la.
