Old/New Testament
Israel is Defeated at Ai
7 Later, the Israelis broke their promise regarding the things that had been turned over to destruction. Carmi’s son Achan, grandson of Zabdi and great-grandson of Zerah from the tribe of Judah, appropriated some of the things that had been turned over to destruction. As a result, the Lord became angry with the Israelis.
2 Meanwhile, Joshua had sent some soldiers from Jericho to Ai, which was near Beth-aven, east of Bethel. He ordered them, “Go up and scout the land.” So the soldiers went up and scouted Ai and 3 returned to Joshua.
“Not all of the people need to go up,” they reported. “Only about two or three thousand men should attack Ai. Since they are so few, don’t make all of the army work hard up there.”
4 So about three thousand went up there, but they ran away from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai killed about 36 of them, pursuing them outside the city gates as far as Shebarim, killing them as they descended. As a result, the army became terrified and lost their confidence.[a] 6 At this, Joshua tore his clothes, fell down to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening—he and the leaders of Israel—and they covered their heads with dust. 7 “Lord God,” Joshua asked, “Why have you brought this people across the Jordan River? To hand us over to the Amorites so we’ll be destroyed? Wouldn’t it have been better for us to be content to settle on the other side of the Jordan? 8 Lord, what am I to say, now that Israel has run[b] away from its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of this, will surround us, and eliminate us[c] from the earth! Then what will you do about your great reputation?”[d]
The Lord Rebukes Joshua
10 “Get up!” the Lord replied to Joshua. “Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned. They broke my covenant that I commanded them by taking some of the things that had been turned over to destruction. They have stolen, have been deceitful, and have stored what they stole[e] among their own belongings. 12 The Israelis have been unable to stand before their enemies. They’re turning their backs and running from[f] their enemies because they themselves have been turned over to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy these things that have been turned over to destruction. 13 So get up and sanctify the people. Tell them, ‘Sanctify yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, because this is what the Lord God of Israel, says: “There are things turned over to destruction among you, Israel. You won’t be able to defeat your enemies until you remove what has been turned over to destruction. 14 Tomorrow morning you are to come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord selects[g] is to come forward by tribes, the tribe that the Lord selects is to come forward by households, and the household that the Lord selects is to come forward one by one. 15 The one selected as having taken what has been turned over to destruction is to be incinerated, along with everything that pertains to him, because he has transgressed against the covenant of the Lord and committed an outrageous thing in Israel.”’”
Achan’s Sin Revealed
16 So Joshua got up early that morning, brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected. 17 He brought near the tribes of Judah, and the Zerahite tribe was selected. Then he brought near the Zerahite tribe family by family, and the household of Zabdi was selected. 18 Next, he brought near his household one by one, and Carmi’s son Achan, grandson of Zabdi and great-grandson of Zerah, was selected from the tribe of Judah.
19 Joshua then spoke to Achan, “My son, give glory and praise[h] to the Lord God of Israel.[i] Tell me right now what you did. Don’t hide anything.”
20 Achan answered Joshua, “It’s true. I’m the one who sinned against the Lord God of Israel. 21 I noticed among the war spoils a beautiful mantle from Shinar,[j] 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. Because I wanted them, I took them, and they’re buried in the ground inside my tent. The silver is underneath.”
22 So Joshua sent some messengers, who ran to the tent. And there it was, hidden in the tent with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent that had been turned over to destruction,[k] brought them to Joshua and all of the Israelis, and laid them out in the presence of the Lord. 24 Then Joshua, with all Israel accompanying him, took Zerah’s son Achan, along with the silver, the mantle, the gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything that belonged to him to the Valley of Achor.
25 Joshua announced, “Why did you bring trouble to us? Today the Lord is bringing trouble to you!” So all Israel stoned him to death, incinerated them, and buried them with stones, 26 piling up a large mound of boulders that remains to this day. After this, the Lord turned his burning anger away, and that is why that place is called “the Valley of Achor”[l] to this day.
The Destruction of Ai
8 The Lord then told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid or lose heart! Take all the fighting men with you, and go up right now to Ai. Take note that I have handed over the king of Ai into your control, along with his people, his city, and his land. 2 Do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, but take its spoil and its livestock as war booty for yourselves. Set an ambush around the city.”
3 So Joshua and all of the fighting men prepared to go out against Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 valiant warriors and sent them out by night, 4 telling them, “Pay attention now! You are to set up an ambush around the city. Don’t go very far from the city, and all of you remain on alert. 5 I and all of the army with me will advance upon the city. When they come out after us like they did before, we’ll run away from them. 6 They’ll come after us until we’ve drawn them away from the city, because they’ll say, ‘They’re running away from us just like they did before.’ While we’re running away from them, 7 you get up from the ambush and seize the city, because the Lord your God will give it into your control. 8 When you’ve taken the city, set it on fire, just as the Lord ordered. Look! These are your orders!”[m] 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai.
Joshua spent that night in the camp[n] among the army. 10 In the morning, Joshua got up early, mustered his army, and set off for Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel in full view of the army. 11 The entire fighting force with him attacked, approaching the city, and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. 12 Taking about 5,000 men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai to the west of the city, 13 stationing their forces with its main encampment north of the city and its rear guard to the west. Joshua spent that night in the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw what had happened,[o] he and his army quickly got up early and went out to meet Israel in battle. He and all his people met at the place adjacent to the desert plain. But he didn’t know about the ambush that had been set for him on the other side of the city. 15 Because Joshua and the entire fighting force of[p] Israel pretended to lose the battle by running away in front of them toward the wilderness, 16 everyone in the city followed after them. As they pursued Joshua, they were drawn away from the town. 17 There wasn’t a single man left in Ai or Bethel who didn’t run out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord told Joshua, “Stretch out the battle lance[q] that’s in your hand toward Ai, because I will give it into your control.” So Joshua stretched out the battle lance[r] that was in his hand toward the city. 19 As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush quickly got up from their place of hiding[s] and attacked. They entered the city, seized it, and immediately set it[t] on fire.
20 Then the men of Ai looked back behind them—and all of a sudden!—smoke from the city was rising into the sky. They were unable to run in any direction, because the Israelis[u] who had fled toward the wilderness had turned around to attack their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and the entire fighting force of[v] Israel observed that the men who had been in ambush had seized the city and that the smoke from the city was rising, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Then the others came out from the city against them, so the men of Ai[w] were surrounded by the Israelis, some on one side and some on the other. Israel attacked them until no one was left to survive or escape. 23 But the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
24 When Israel had completed executing all of the residents of Ai in the open wilderness where they had chased them, and after all of them—to the very last of them—had been killed by swords, the entire fighting force of[x] Israel returned to Ai and attacked it with swords. 25 The total of all who fell that day, including men and women, was 12,000—the entire population of Ai. 26 Joshua did not cease his attack[y] until he had completely destroyed every inhabitant of Ai. 27 Israel took only the livestock and the spoil of that city as their war booty, in accordance with what the Lord had commanded to Joshua. 28 Joshua burned Ai, turning it into a permanent mound of ruins, and it remains so to this day. 29 He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until dusk, and at sunset Joshua ordered his body brought down from the tree and laid at the entrance to the gate of the town. There he raised over it a large mound of stones, which stands there to this day.[z]
Joshua Renews the Covenant
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just the way Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelis in the Book of the Law of Moses: “…an altar of uncut[aa] stones that hasn’t been worked with iron tools…”[ab] and they offered burnt offerings to the Lord on it, along with peace offerings.
32 There Joshua[ac] inscribed on stones a copy of the Law of Moses that Moses had presented to[ad] the Israelis. 33 All Israel, both foreigners and citizens, together with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on opposite sides of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Half stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half stood in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the Lord’s servant had commanded at the first, so that they could bless the people of Israel.[ae] 34 Afterwards, Joshua[af] read all the words of the Law—both the blessings and the curses—according to everything written in the Book of the Law.[ag] 35 There wasn’t one word of everything Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read in front of the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, their little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.
Trickery by the Gibeonites
9 Eventually all the kings who reigned in the hill country across the Jordan River and in the low-lying coastlands of the Mediterranean Sea facing Lebanon heard about this. So the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites 2 united together as one to fight against both Joshua and Israel.
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they took the initiative by preparing their provisions shrewdly: they took tattered sacks for their donkeys, worn-out, torn, and mended wineskins, 5 worn-out, patched sandals for their feet, and worn-out clothes. All of their food was dried out and covered in mold. 6 Then they approached Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and addressed him and the Israelis, “We’ve arrived from a distant country, so please make a treaty with us right now.”
7 But the Israelis responded to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live in our midst. If this is so,[ah] how can we make a treaty with you?”
8 So they responded to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
Joshua asked them, “Who are you? And where did you come from?”
9 They answered, “Your servants have arrived from a very distant land, because of the reputation[ai] of the Lord your God, because we’ve heard a report about all that he did in Egypt, 10 along with all of what he did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan River—that is, to King Sihon of Heshbon and to King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our leaders and all of the inhabitants of our country told us, ‘Take provisions along with you for your journey, go to meet them, and tell them, “We are your servants. Come now and make a treaty with us.”’ 12 Look at[aj] our bread: it was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for our journey on the very day we set out to come to you. But now, look how it’s dry and moldy. 13 And these wineskins were new when we filled them, but look—now they’re cracked. And our clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”
14 So the leaders of Israel[ak] sampled their provisions, but did not ask the Lord about it. 15 They made a treaty with them, guaranteeing their lives with a covenant, and the leaders of the congregation confirmed it with an oath to them.
16 But three days after they had made the treaty with them, they learned that they were their neighbors and were living in their midst. 17 So the Israelis set out for their cities and three days later they reached their cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 The Israelis did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had made an oath with them in the name of[al] the Lord, the God of Israel. Nevertheless, the entire congregation grumbled against their leaders.
19 Then all of the leaders spoke to the entire congregation, “We have sworn to them in the name of[am] the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them. 20 So this is what we’ll do to them: we’ll let them live, so that wrath won’t come upon us because of the oath that we swore to them.”
21 The leaders told them, “Let them live.” So they became wood cutters and water carriers for the entire congregation, which is what the leaders had decided concerning them.
22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites[an] and asked them, “Why did you deceive us by saying ‘We live far away from you,’ even though you were, in fact, living in our midst? 23 Now therefore you are under a curse. Some of you will always be slaves, wood cutters, and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 They replied to Joshua, “Because your servants had been informed that the Lord your God had certainly commanded his servant Moses to give you the entire land and to destroy all of the inhabitants of the land before you. So we were terrified for our lives because of you. That’s why we did this. 25 Now we’re under your control: do to us as it seems good and right in your opinion.”
26 So this is what Joshua[ao] did for them: he saved them from the Israelis, and they did not kill them. 27 However, on that very day Joshua made them become wood cutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the Lord’s altar in the place that he should choose, and this tradition continues[ap] to this day.
21 Meanwhile, the people kept waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed in the sanctuary so long. 22 But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them but remained unable to speak. 23 When the days of his service were over, he went home.
24 After this,[a] his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and remained in seclusion for five months. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord did for me when he looked favorably on me and took away my public disgrace.”
The Birth of Jesus is Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month of her pregnancy,[b] the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant[c] of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel[d] came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!”[e] 29 Startled by his statement, she tried to figure out what his greeting meant.
30 Then the angel told her, “Stop being afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. 31 Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen, since I have not had relations with[f] a man?”
35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God. 36 And listen! Elizabeth, your relative, has herself conceived a son in her old age, this woman who was rumored to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God’s promises.”
38 Then Mary said, “Truly I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you have said happen to me.” Then the angel left her.
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