Yehoshua 7-9

Orthodox Jewish Bible

7 But the Bnei Yisroel broke [covenant] faith in regard to the Cherem; for Achan ben Carmi ben Zavdi ben Zerach of the tribe of Yehudah, took of the Cherem (that which was devoted to destruction); and the Af Hashem was kindled against the Bnei Yisroel.

² And Yehoshua sent anashim from Yericho to Ai, which is near Beit-Aven, on the east of Beit-El, speaking unto them, saying, Go up and spy out HaAretz. And the anashim went up and spied out Ai.

³ And they returned to Yehoshua, and said unto him, Let not Kol HaAm go up; but let about two or three thousand Ish go up and attack Ai; and weary not kol HaAm there; for they are but few.

⁴ So there went up there of HaAm about three thousand Ish; and they fled before the anashim of Ai.

⁵ And the anashim of Ai struck down of them about thirty and six ish; for they chased them from before the sha’ar even unto Shevarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the levav HaAm melted, and became like mayim.

⁶ And Yehoshua tore his clothes, and fell to the ground upon his face before the Aron Hashem until erev, he and the Ziknei Yisroel, and they put dust upon their heads.

⁷ And Yehoshua said, Alas, Adonoi Hashem, why hast Thou at all brought HaAm Hazeh over the Yarden, to deliver us into the yad HaEmori, to destroy us? If only we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Yarden!

⁸ O Adonoi, what shall I say, when Yisroel turneth their backs before their enemies!

⁹ For the Kena’ani and all the inhabitants of HaAretz shall hear of it, and shall surround us, and cut off Shemeinu (our name) from HaAretz; and what wilt Thou do unto Thy Shem Hagadol?

¹⁰ And Hashem said unto Yehoshua, Stand up; why liest thou thus upon thy face?

¹¹ Yisroel hath sinned, and they have also violated My Brit which I commanded them; for they have even taken of the Cherem, and have also played the ganav, and lied also, and they have put it even among their own possessions.

¹² Therefore the Bnei Yisroel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they are for Cherem; neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the Cherem from among you.

¹³ Up, set HaAm apart as kodesh, and say, Set yourselves apart as kodesh against tomorrow: for thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel, There is Cherem among you, O Yisroel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the Cherem from among you.

¹⁴ In the boker therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes; and it shall be, that the shevet (tribe) which Hashem taketh shall come near according to the mishpekhot thereof; and the mishpakhah which Hashem shall take shall come near by batim; and the bais which Hashem shall take shall come near man by man.

¹⁵ And it shall be, that he that is taken with the Cherem shall be burned with eish, he and all that he hath; because he hath violated the Brit Hashem, and because he hath wrought shame in Yisroel.

¹⁶ So Yehoshua rose up early in the boker, and brought Yisroel near by their tribes; and the Shevet Yehudah was taken;

¹⁷ And he brought the Mishpakhat Yehudah; and the Mishpakhat Zarchi was taken; and he brought the Mishpakhat HaZarchi man by man; and Zavdi was taken;

¹⁸ And he brought near his Bais man by man; and Achan ben Carmi ben Zavdi ben Zerach, of the tribe of Yehudah, was taken.

¹⁹ And Yehoshua said unto Achan, Beni (my son), give, now, kavod to Hashem Elohei Yisroel, and give to Him todah; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.

²⁰ And Achan answered Yehoshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against Hashem Elohei Yisroel, and thus and thus have I done;

²¹ When I saw among the plunder a beautiful robe of Shinar (Babylon), and two hundred shekels of kesef, and a wedge of zahav of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, hinei, they are hid in ha’aretz in the midst of my ohel, and the kesef under it.

²² So Yehoshua sent malachim, and they ran unto the ohel; and, hinei, it was hid in his ohel, and the kesef under it!

²³ And they took them out of the midst of the ohel, and brought them unto Yehoshua, and unto all the Bnei Yisroel, and laid them out before Hashem.

²⁴ And Yehoshua, and kol Yisroel with him, took Achan ben Zerach, and the kesef, and the robe, and the wedge of zahav, and his banim, and his banot, and his oxen, and his donkeys, and his tzon, and his ohel, and all that he had; and they brought them unto the Emek Achor (Valley of Trouble).

²⁵ And Yehoshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? Hashem shall trouble thee yom hazeh. And kol Yisroel stoned him with even (stones), and burned them with eish, after they had stoned them with avanim (stones).

²⁶ And they raised over him a heap of avanim gadol unto this day. So Hashem turned from the fierceness of His Af (Anger). Therefore the shem of that place was called, Emek Achor, unto this day.

8 And Hashem said unto Yehoshua, Fear not, neither be thou discouraged; take kol Am HaMilchamah with thee, and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into thy yad the melech HaAi, and his people, and his city, and his land;

² And thou shalt do to Ai and her melech just as thou didst unto Yericho and her melech; only the plunder thereof, and the livestock thereof, shall ye carry off for yourselves. Behind it set thee an ambush for the Ir (city [of Ai]).

³ So Yehoshua arose, and kol Am HaMilchamah, to go up against Ai; and Yehoshua chose out shloshim elef ish gibborei hachayil, and sent them out by lailah.

⁴ And he commanded them, saying, See, ye shall set an ambush against the Ir, even behind the Ir; go not very far from the Ir, but be ye all nekhonim (ready, on alert, set, prepared);

⁵ And I, and Kol HaAm that are with me, will approach unto the Ir; and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the rishonah, that we will flee before them,

⁶ (For they will come out after us) until we have drawn them from the Ir; for they will say, They flee before us, just as at the rishonah; therefore we will flee before them.

⁷ Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the Ir; for Hashem Eloheichem will deliver it into your yad.

⁸ And it shall be, when ye have taken the Ir, that ye shall set eish to the Ir; according to the Davar Hashem shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

⁹ Yehoshua therefore sent them forth; and they went to the place of ambush, and waited between Beit-El and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Yehoshua spent that lailah among HaAm.

¹⁰ And Yehoshua rose up early in the boker, and mustered HaAm, and went up, he and the Ziknei Yisroel, before HaAm to Ai.

¹¹ And Kol HaAm HaMilchamah that were with him, went up, and drew near, and came before the Ir, and encamped on the north side of Ai; now there was the gey (valley) between them and Ai.

¹² And he took about chameshet alafim ish, and set them to lie in ambush between Beit-El and Ai, on the west side of the Ir.

¹³ And when they had set HaAm, even Kol HaMachaneh that was on the north of the Ir, and the ambush to the west of the Ir, Yehoshua went that lailah into the midst of the emek (valley).

¹⁴ And it came to pass, when the melech of Ai saw it, that they hastened and rose up early, and the anshei HaIr went out against Yisroel in the milchamah, he and all his people, at the place, before the Aravah; but he had no da’as that there was an ambush against him set up behind the Ir.

¹⁵ And Yehoshua and kol Yisroel let themselves be driven before them, and fled by the derech hamidbar.

¹⁶ And kol HaAm that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Yehoshua, and were lured from the Ir.

¹⁷ And there was not an ish left in Ai or Beit-El, that went not out after Yisroel; and they left the Ir open, and pursued after Yisroel.

¹⁸ And Hashem said unto Yehoshua, Stretch out the kidon (javelin) that is in thy yad toward Ai; for I will give it into thine yad. And Yehoshua stretched out the kidon that he had in his yad toward the Ir.

¹⁹ And the ambush arose quickly out of their makom, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his yad; and they entered into the Ir, and took it, and hastened and set eish to the Ir.

²⁰ And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, hinei, the ashan HaIr (smoke of the city) ascended up to Shomayim, and they had no way to flee here or there; and HaAm that fled to the midbar turned back upon the pursuers.

²¹ And when Yehoshua and kol Yisroel saw that the ambush had taken the Ir, and that the ashan HaIr ascended, then they turned again, and attacked the anshei HaAi.

²² Then these came out of the Ir against them; so they were in the midst of Yisroel, some on this side, and some on that side; and they struck them down, until they left none of them sarid (remnant, survivor) or palit (refugee, fugitive).

²³ And the melech HaAi (literally, the King of Ruin) they took alive, and brought him to Yehoshua.

²⁴ And it came to pass, when Yisroel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the sadeh, in the midbar wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the cherev, until they were consumed, that kol Yisroel returned unto Ai, and struck it with the edge of the cherev.

²⁵ And so it was, that all that fell that yom, both of ish and isha, were sheneym asar elef, even kol anshei HaAi.

²⁶ For Yehoshua drew not his yad back, wherewith he stretched out the kidon, until he had utterly destroyed kol yoshvei HaAi.

²⁷ Only the behemah and the plunder of that Ir Yisroel carried off for themselves, according to the Davar Hashem which He commanded Yehoshua.

²⁸ And Yehoshua burned Ai, and made it a tel olam (heap forever), even a desolation unto yom hazeh.

²⁹ And the melech HaAi he hanged on HaEtz until the time of erev; and as soon as the shemesh was down, Yehoshua commanded that they should take his nevelah (body) down from HaEtz, and cast it at the petach sha’ar HaIr, and raised thereon a pile of avanim, that remaineth unto Yom Hazeh.

³⁰ Then Yehoshua built a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem Elohei Yisroel in Har Eval,

³¹ Just as Moshe Eved Hashem commanded the Bnei Yisroel, as it is written in the Sefer Torah Moshe, a Mizbe’ach avanim shelemot, over which no man hath lift up any barzel (iron); and they offered thereon olot unto Hashem, and sacrificed shelamim.

³² And he wrote there upon the avanim a mishneh (copy) Torat Moshe, which he wrote in the presence of the Bnei Yisroel.

³³ And Kol Yisroel, and their Zekenim, and shoterim, and their shofetim, stood on this side the Aron and on that side facing the Kohanim the Levi’im, which bore the Aron Brit Hashem, as well the ger as the ezrach (he that was born among them); half of them over against Har Gerizim, and half of them over against Har Eval; just as Moshe Eved Hashem had commanded before, in connection with the blessing of HaAm Yisroel.

³⁴ And afterward he read kol divrei HaTorah, the brocha and kelalah, according to all that is written in the Sefer HaTorah.

³⁵ There was not a davar of all that Moshe commanded, which Yehoshua read not before kol Kehal Yisroel, with the nashim, and the little ones, and the ger that were living among them.

9 And it came to pass, when kol hamelachim which were beyond the Yarden, in the har, and in the Shefelah, and in all the coasts of the Yam Hagadol [i.e., the Mediterranean] over against the Levanon, the Chitti, and HaEmori, the Kena’ani, the Perizzi, the Chivi, and the Yevusi, heard thereof;

² That they gathered themselves together, to make war with Yehoshua and with Yisroel, with one peh (mouth, i.e., one accord).

³ And when the inhabitants of Giv’on heard what Yehoshua had done unto Yericho and to Ai,

⁴ They did work in a cunning, crafty manner [see Genesis 3:1], and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sakkim (sacks) upon their donkeys, and skins of yayin, old, and cracked, and mended;

⁵ And sandals old and patched upon their feet, and selamot ballot (old garments) upon them; and all the lechem of their food supply was dry and moldy.

⁶ And they went to Yehoshua unto the machaneh at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the Ish Yisroel, We are come from an eretz rechokah (far country); now therefore cut ye a brit with us.

⁷ And the Ish Yisroel said unto the Chivi (Hivites), Perhaps ye dwell among us; how then shall we cut a brit with you?

⁸ And they said unto Yehoshua, We are thy avadim. And Yehoshua said unto them, Who are ye? And from where do ye come?

⁹ And they said unto him, From an eretz rechokah me’od thy avadim are come because of the Shem of Hashem Eloheicha; for we have heard the report of Him, and all that He did in Mitzrayim,

¹⁰ And all that He did to the two melachim of HaEmori, that were beyond the Yarden, to Sichon Melech Cheshbon, and to Og Melech HaBashan, which was at Ashtarot.

¹¹ Therefore Zekeinenu and all the inhabitants of Artzeinu spoke to us, saying, Take food supplies with you for the derech, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your avadim; therefore now cut ye a brit with us.

¹² This our lechem we packed cham (hot) for our provision out of our batim (houses) on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, hinei, it is dry, and it is moldy;

¹³ And these skins of yayin, which we filled, were chadashim; and, hinei, they are cracked; and these our garments and our sandals are become worn out by reason of the derech me’od.

¹⁴ And the anashim took of their food supplies, and asked not counsel at the pi Hashem (mouth of Hashem).

¹⁵ And Yehoshua made shalom with them, and cut a brit with them, to let them live; and the Nasi’im of the Edah so ratified by oath unto them.

¹⁶ And it came to pass at the end of shloshet yamim after they had cut a brit with them, that they heard that they were their kerovim (neighbors), and that they dwelt near them.

¹⁷ And the Bnei Yisroel journeyed, and came unto their towns on the yom hashelishi. Now their towns were Giv’on, and Kephirah, and Be’erot, and Kiryat-Ye’arim.

¹⁸ And the Bnei Yisroel did not strike them down, because the Nasi’im of the Edah had sworn unto them by Hashem Elohei Yisroel. And Kol HaEdah murmured against the Nasi’im.

¹⁹ But all the Nasi’im said unto Kol HaEdah, We have sworn unto them by Hashem Elohei Yisroel; now therefore we may not touch them.

²⁰ This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest ketzef (wrath) be upon us, because of the shevu’ah (oath) which we swore unto them.

²¹ And the Nasi’im said unto them, Let them live; but let them be woodcutters and water carriers unto Kol HaEdah; as the Nasi’im had promised them.

²² And Yehoshua called for them, and he spoke unto them, saying, Why have ye beguiled us, saying, Rechokim anachnu from you when ye dwell near us?

²³ Now therefore ye are arurim, and there shall none of you be yikaret (be cut off) from being eved, and woodcutters and water carriers for the Bais Elohai.

²⁴ And they answered Yehoshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy avadim, how that Hashem Eloheicha commanded His Eved Moshe to give you kol HaAretz, and to destroy all the inhabitants of HaAretz from before you, therefore we were greatly afraid for nafshoteinu because of you, so we have done this thing.

²⁵ And now, behold, we are in thine yad; as it seemeth tov and yashar unto thee to do unto us, do.

²⁶ And so did he unto them, and saved them out of the yad of the Bnei Yisroel, that they slaughtered them not.

²⁷ And Yehoshua made them that day woodcutters and water carriers for the Edah, and for the Mizbe’ach of Hashem, even unto this day, in the makom which He would choose.