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The Sin of Achan and Its Punishment

But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things: Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Not all the people need go up; about two or three thousand men should go up and attack Ai. Since they are so few, do not make the whole people toil up there.” So about three thousand of the people went up there; and they fled before the men of Ai. The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim and killing them on the slope. The hearts of the people melted and turned to water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, “Ah, Lord God! Why have you brought this people across the Jordan at all, to hand us over to the Amorites so as to destroy us? Would that we had been content to settle beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned their backs to their enemies! The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?”

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen upon your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I imposed on them. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs to their enemies, because they have become a thing devoted for destruction themselves. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Proceed to sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “There are devoted things among you, O Israel; you will be unable to stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord takes shall come near by clans, the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households, and the household that the Lord takes shall come near one by one. 15 And the one who is taken as having the devoted things shall be burned with fire, together with all that he has, for having transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and for having done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning, and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 He brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken; and he brought near the clan of the Zerahites, family by family,[a] and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household one by one, and Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “It is true; I am the one who sinned against the Lord God of Israel. This is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. They now lie 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 them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites; and they spread them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold, with his sons and daughters, with his oxen, donkeys, and sheep, and his tent and all that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord is bringing trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him to death; they burned them with fire, cast stones on them, 26 and raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place to this day is called the Valley of Achor.[b]

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 7:17 Mss Syr: MT man by man
  2. Joshua 7:26 That is Trouble

Forsooth the sons of Israel brake the commandment, and mis-took of the cursed thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, [the] son of Zerah, of the lineage of Judah, took something of the cursed thing; and the Lord was wroth against the sons of Israel. (But one of the Israelites disobeyed the Lord’s command, and took some of the cursed things; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the cursed things; and so the Lord was angry with the Israelites.)

And when Joshua sent men from Jericho against Ai, which is beside Bethaven, at the east coast of the city of Bethel, he said to them, Go ye up, and espy the land. Which [ful]filled the commandments, and espied Ai; (And when Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, to the east of the city of Bethel, he said to them, Go ye up, and spy out the land. And they fulfilled his commands, and spied out Ai;)

and they turned again, and said to him, All the people go not up thither, but two either three thousand of men go, and do away the city (and they returned, and said to him, All the people do not need to go up there, but only two or three thousand men need to go, and do away the city); why shall all the people be travailed in vain against (such) full few enemies?

Therefore three thousand of fighters ascended, which turned the backs anon, and were smitten of the men of Ai; (And so three thousand fighting men went up, who at once turned their backs, after they were attacked by the men of Ai;)

and six and thirty men of them were slain; and the adversaries pursued them from the (city) gate unto Shebarim; and they felled down fleeing by (the) low places. And the heart of the people dreaded much, and it was made unsteadfast at the likeness of water (And the people’s hearts were full of fear, and they were made as unstable as water).

And Joshua rent his clothes, and he fell down low to the earth before the ark of the Lord, unto the eventide, as well he, as all the elder men of Israel; and they casted powder on their heads. (And Joshua tore his clothes, and he fell down onto the ground before the Ark of the Lord, until the evening, he, as well as all the elders of Israel; and they threw powder on their heads.)

And Joshua said, Alas! alas! Lord God, what wouldest thou lead this people over the flood Jordan, that thou shouldest betake us in the hand of Amorites, and should lose us? I would, that as we began, we had dwelled beyond (the) Jordan. (And Joshua said, Alas! alas! Lord God, why didest thou lead this people over the Jordan River, so that thou couldest deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, and so destroy us? Oh how I wish, that we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan!)

My Lord God, what shall I say, seeing Israel turning the backs to his enemies? (My Lord God, what can I say, after seeing the men of Israel turn their backs to their enemies?)

Canaanites, and all the dwellers of the land shall hear this, and they shall be gathered together, and shall compass us, and they shall do away our name from [the] earth; and what shalt thou do to thy great name? (The Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of this land, shall hear of this, and they shall be gathered together, and shall surround us, and they shall do away our names from the earth; and then what shalt thou do for thy great name?)

10 And the Lord said to Joshua, Rise thou up; why liest thou low in the earth? (why liest thou there on the ground?)

11 Israel hath sinned, and hath broken my covenant; they have taken of the cursed thing(s), and they have stolen of it, and lied, and hid among their vessels. (Someone in Israel hath sinned, and hath broken my covenant; he hath taken some of the cursed things, yea, he hath stolen it, and lied about it, and hid it among his own possessions.)

12 And therefore Israel may not stand before his enemies, and he shall flee them, for it is defouled with cursing; I shall no more be with you, till that ye destroy him that is guilty of this trespass. (And so the men of Israel cannot stand before their enemies, and they shall flee from them, for they be defiled with curses; I shall no longer be with you, unless and until ye destroy him who is guilty of this trespass.)

13 Rise thou (up), hallow the people, and say thou to them, Be ye hallowed against tomorrow (Hallow thyselves for tomorrow); for the Lord God of Israel saith these things, O thou Israel! cursing is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not be able to stand before thine enemies, till he that is defouled by this trespass, be done away from thee.

14 And ye shall come (forth) early, all men by your lineages; and whatever lineage the lot shall find, it shall come by his families (it shall come by its families); and the family shall come by (its) houses, and the house shall come by (its) men.

15 And whoever shall be taken with this trespass, he shall be burnt with fire with all his chattel, for he brake the covenant of the Lord, and did unleaveful thing in Israel. (And whoever shall be taken with this trespass, he shall be burned with fire along with all his possessions, for he broke the covenant of the Lord, and did an unlawful thing in Israel.)

16 Therefore Joshua rose early, and setted in order Israel by his lineages; and the lineage of Judah was found; (And so Joshua rose up early, and put Israel in order, tribe by tribe; and the tribe of Judah was found;)

17 and when that lineage was brought forth by his families, the family of Zerah was found. And Joshua brought forth it by men, either houses, and found Zabdi; (and when that tribe was brought forth by its families, the family of Zerah was found. And Joshua brought forth that family by its men, or its households, and found Zabdi;)

18 whose house he parted into all men by themselves; and he found Achan, the son of Carmi, [the] son of Zabdi, [the] son of Zerah, of the lineage of Judah.

19 And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give thou glory to the Lord God of Israel, and acknowledge thou, and show to me what thou hast done; hide thou it not.

20 And Achan answered to Joshua, and said to him, Verily (Truly), I have sinned before the Lord God of Israel, and I have done thus and thus;

21 for among the spoils I saw a red mantle full good, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a golden rule of fifty shekels; and I coveted those, and took away, and I hid those in the earth, against the midst of my tabernacle; and I covered the silver with the earth delved. (for among the spoils I saw a fine red mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a gold bar weighing fifty shekels; and I coveted them, and took them away, and I hid them in a hole in the ground, in the middle of my tent; and I put the silver underneath it all.)

22 Then Joshua sent servants, the which ran to his tabernacle, and found all these things hid in the same place, and the silver together; (Then Joshua sent some servants, who ran to his tent, and found all these things hidden there, and the silver underneath it all;)

23 and they took these things away from the tent, and they brought them to Joshua, and to all the sons of Israel (and to all the Israelites); and they casted them forth before the Lord.

24 Then Joshua took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the golden rule, and his sons, and daughters, his oxen, asses, and sheep, and the tabernacle itself, and all the purtenance of his household; and all Israel with Joshua; and they led them to the valley of Achor; (Then Joshua took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the gold bar, and his sons, and daughters, and his oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and the tent itself, and all the purtenance of his household; and all Israel went with Joshua; and they led them to the valley of Achor;)

25 where Joshua said, For thou hast troubled us, the Lord shall full out trouble thee in this day. And all Israel stoned him; and all things that were his, were wasted by fire. (where Joshua said, For thou hast brought forth trouble upon us, the Lord shall now bring trouble upon thee. And then all Israel stoned him; and all his things were destroyed by fire.)

26 And they gathered upon him a great heap of stones, the which abide there still into this day. And the strong vengeance of the Lord was turned away from Israel; and the name of that place is called the valley of Achor unto this day.

Achan’s Sin

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a];(A) Achan(B) son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah,(C) of the tribe of Judah,(D) took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned(E) against Israel.(F)

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai,(G) which is near Beth Aven(H) to the east of Bethel,(I) and told them, “Go up and spy out(J) the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai,(K) who killed about thirty-six(L) of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear(M) and became like water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes(N) and fell facedown(O) to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening.(P) The elders of Israel(Q) did the same, and sprinkled dust(R) on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why(S) did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?(T) If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth.(U) What then will you do for your own great name?(V)

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned;(W) they have violated my covenant,(X) which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied,(Y) they have put them with their own possessions.(Z) 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies;(AA) they turn their backs(AB) and run(AC) because they have been made liable to destruction.(AD) I will not be with you anymore(AE) unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves(AF) in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

14 “‘In the morning, present(AG) yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses(AH) 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(AI) shall be destroyed by fire,(AJ) along with all that belongs to him.(AK) He has violated the covenant(AL) of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”(AM)

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.(AN) 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,(AO) was chosen.(AP)

19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory(AQ) to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell(AR) 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(AS) a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted(AT) 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(AU) and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.(AV) 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble(AW) on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”

Then all Israel stoned him,(AX) and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.(AY) 26 Over Achan they heaped(AZ) up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.(BA) Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger.(BB) Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor[f](BC) ever since.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 7:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 11, 12, 13 and 15.
  2. Joshua 7:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 2:6; Hebrew Zabdi; also in verses 17 and 18.
  3. Joshua 7:21 Hebrew Shinar
  4. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  5. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  6. Joshua 7:26 Achor means trouble.