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Joshua 7
New English Translation

Achan Sins and is Punished

7 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches.[a] Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi,[b] son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches.[c] The Lord was furious with the Israelites.[d]

2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. 3 They returned and reported to Joshua,[e] “Don’t send the whole army.[f] About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai.[g] Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.”[h]

4 So about 3,000 men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures[i] and defeated them on the steep slope.[j] The people’s[k] courage melted away like water.[l]

6 Joshua tore his clothes;[m] he and the leaders[n] of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening[o] and threw dirt on their heads.[p] 7 Joshua prayed,[q] “O, Sovereign Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us? If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated[r] before its enemies? 9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us[s] from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?”[t]

10 The Lord responded[u] to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down?[v] 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment![w] They have taken some of the riches;[x] they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions.[y] 12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation.[z] I will no longer be with you,[aa] unless you destroy what has contaminated you.[ab] 13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because this is what the Lord God of Israel has said, “You are contaminated,[ac] O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.”[ad] 14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order.[ae] The tribe the Lord selects[af] must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families.[ag] The family the Lord selects must approach man by man.[ah] 15 The one caught with the riches[ai] must be burned up[aj] along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order,[ak] and the tribe of Judah was selected. 17 He then made the clans of Judah approach, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach, and Zabdi[al] was selected.[am] 18 He then made Zabdi’s[an] family approach man by man[ao] and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor[ap] the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me.” 20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way:[aq] 21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon,[ar] 200 silver pieces,[as] and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath.[at] 23 They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placed[au] it before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, oxen, donkeys, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster.[av] 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on[aw] us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.)[ax] 26 Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day[ay]) and the Lord’s anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 7:1 tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”
  2. Joshua 7:1 tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also Josh 7:17, 18).
  3. Joshua 7:1 tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”
  4. Joshua 7:1 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.”sn This incident illustrates well the principle of corporate solidarity and corporate guilt. The sin of one man brought the Lord’s anger down upon the entire nation.
  5. Joshua 7:3 tn Heb “and they returned to Joshua and said to him.”
  6. Joshua 7:3 tn Heb “Don’t let all the people go up.”
  7. Joshua 7:3 tn Heb “Let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up to defeat Ai.”
  8. Joshua 7:3 tn Heb “all the people for they are small.”
  9. Joshua 7:5 tn The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shevarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 HT (60:2 ET), where it appears to refer to cracks in the earth caused by an earthquake. Perhaps deep ravines or gorges are in view, or the word is a proper noun (“all the way to Shebarim”).
  10. Joshua 7:5 sn The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.
  11. Joshua 7:5 tn Or “army’s.”
  12. Joshua 7:5 tn Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”
  13. Joshua 7:6 sn Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).
  14. Joshua 7:6 tn Or “elders.”
  15. Joshua 7:6 tn Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”
  16. Joshua 7:6 sn Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).
  17. Joshua 7:7 tn Heb “said.”
  18. Joshua 7:8 tn Heb “turned [the] back.”
  19. Joshua 7:9 tn Heb “and cut off our name.”
  20. Joshua 7:9 tn Heb “What will you do for your great name?”
  21. Joshua 7:10 tn Heb “said.”
  22. Joshua 7:10 tn Heb “Why are you falling on your face?”
  23. Joshua 7:11 tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”
  24. Joshua 7:11 tn Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”
  25. Joshua 7:11 tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”
  26. Joshua 7:12 tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”
  27. Joshua 7:12 tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.
  28. Joshua 7:12 tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”
  29. Joshua 7:13 tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] [is] in your midst.”
  30. Joshua 7:13 tn Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”
  31. Joshua 7:14 tn Heb “by your tribes.”
  32. Joshua 7:14 tn Heb “takes forcefully, seizes.”
  33. Joshua 7:14 tn Heb “houses.”
  34. Joshua 7:14 tn Heb “by men.”
  35. Joshua 7:15 tn Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”
  36. Joshua 7:15 tn Heb “burned with fire.”
  37. Joshua 7:16 tn Heb “by tribes.”
  38. Joshua 7:17 tn See the note on “Zabdi” in Jos 7:1.
  39. Joshua 7:17 tn Heb “and he selected Zabdi.” The Lord is the apparent subject. The LXX supports reading a passive (Niphal) form here, as does the immediate context.
  40. Joshua 7:18 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  41. Joshua 7:18 tn Heb “by men.”
  42. Joshua 7:19 tn Heb “give glory to.”
  43. Joshua 7:20 tn Heb “like this and like this I did.”
  44. Joshua 7:21 tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).
  45. Joshua 7:21 tn Heb “shekels.”
  46. Joshua 7:22 tn Heb “Look, [it was] hidden in his tent, and the silver was beneath it.”
  47. Joshua 7:23 tn Heb “poured out,” probably referring to the way the silver pieces poured out of their container.
  48. Joshua 7:24 tn Or “Trouble” The name is “Achor” in Hebrew, which means “disaster” or “trouble” (also in v. 26).
  49. Joshua 7:25 tn Or “trouble on.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).
  50. Joshua 7:25 tc Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the LXX; they may represent a later scribal addition.
  51. Joshua 7:26 tc Heb “to this day.” The phrase “to this day” is omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition.
Listen to 约书亚记 7
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约书亚记 7
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

亚干犯罪

7 以色列人在当毁灭之物的事上犯了罪。因为犹大支派中谢拉的曾孙、撒底的孙子、迦米的儿子亚干拿了一些本该毁灭的东西，耶和华便向以色列人发怒。

2 当时，约书亚从耶利哥派人去侦察伯特利东边靠近伯·亚文的艾城。 3 他们侦察回来后对约书亚说：“那里的居民很少，我们不必劳师动众派所有的人上去，只要派两三千人上去便可以攻取艾城。” 4 于是，大约有三千以色列人去攻打艾城，不料却被艾城人击溃。 5 艾城的人杀了他们三十六人，从城门前追杀他们，一直到示巴琳，在下坡处杀败他们。以色列人吓得心惊胆战。

6 约书亚和以色列的长老便撕裂衣服，把灰撒在头上，俯伏在耶和华的约柜面前，直到晚上。 7 约书亚说：“唉！主耶和华啊，你让我们过了约旦河，为什么把我们交在亚摩利人手上，让他们毁灭我们呢？倒不如让我们住在约旦河对岸！ 8 主啊，现在以色列人被仇敌打败，我还有什么话可说呢？ 9 迦南人和这一带的人听到这消息以后，必从四面八方来围攻我们，将我们从地上斩尽杀绝。那时候，你的威名又何在呢？”

10 耶和华对约书亚说：“起来吧！你为何俯伏在地？ 11 以色列人犯了罪，违背了我吩咐他们应守的约，偷拿了本该毁灭的东西放在自己的行囊里，还撒谎。 12 所以，以色列人受咒诅，无法抵挡敌人，掉头败逃。你必须将那些本该毁灭的东西从你们中间除掉，不然我就不再与你们同在。 13 起来吧！去吩咐民众洁净自己，让他们为明天洁净自己，因为以色列的上帝耶和华这样说，‘以色列啊！你们中间有本该毁灭的东西，你们不除掉这些东西就无法抵挡敌人。 14 明天早上，你们要按支派一个一个前来，耶和华指出哪个支派，哪支派的各宗族便要前来。耶和华指出哪个宗族，哪宗族的各家族便要前来。耶和华指出哪个家族，哪家族的各成员便要前来。 15 哪个人被指出拿了本该毁灭的东西，哪个人及其所有的东西就要被火焚烧。因为他违背了耶和华的约，在以色列人中做了可耻的事。’”

16 第二天清早，约书亚按照支派召来以色列人，结果抽中犹大支派； 17 他让犹大支派各宗族前来，结果抽中谢拉宗族；他让谢拉宗族前来，结果抽中撒底家族； 18 他让撒底家族的人一个一个前来，结果抽中迦米的儿子亚干。 19 约书亚对亚干说：“孩子啊，我劝你把荣耀归给以色列的上帝耶和华，向祂认罪，把你所做的事告诉我，不要隐瞒。” 20 亚干答道：“我的确得罪了以色列的上帝耶和华。事情是这样的， 21 在夺得的财物中，我看上了一件漂亮的示拿外衣、两千二百克银子和五百五十克金子，我一时贪心便拿去了，藏在我帐篷的地底下，银子就放在衣服下面。”

22 约书亚派人跑到他的帐篷里，果然在那里找到了那件衣服和衣服下面的银子。 23 他们将这些东西带到约书亚和民众那里，摆在耶和华面前。 24 约书亚和全体以色列人把谢拉家族的亚干、那些银子、衣服和金子及其儿女、牛、驴、羊、帐篷和一切所有都带到亚割谷。 25 约书亚对亚干说：“你为什么给我们惹祸呢？今天耶和华要降祸给你。”于是，以色列人便拿石头打死了他和他一切的人畜，将其烧毁。 26 他们在亚干身上堆起一大堆石头，那些石头今天还在。耶和华这才息怒，因此那地方至今还叫亚割[a]谷。

Footnotes

  1. 7:26 “亚割”意思是“连累”。
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