Old/New Testament

The Sin of Achan

7 But the people of Israel did not obey the Lord. There was a man from the tribe of Judah named Achan. (He was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah.) Achan kept some of the things that were to be given to the Lord. So the Lord became very angry at the Israelites.

² Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai. (Ai was near Beth Aven, east of Bethel.) He told them, “Go to Ai and spy out the area.” So the men went to spy on Ai.

³ Later they came back to Joshua. They said, “There are only a few men in Ai to fight against us. So we will not need all our people to defeat them. Send 2,000 or 3,000 men to fight there. There is no need to send all of our people.” ⁴ So about 3,000 men went to Ai. But the people of Ai beat them badly. ⁵ The people of Ai chased the Israelites. They chased them from the city gate all the way to where stones were cut from the ground. They killed about 36 Israelites as they went down the hill. When the Israelites saw this, they became very afraid.

⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He bowed facedown on the ground before the Box of the Lord. And he stayed there until evening. The leaders of Israel did the same thing. They also threw dirt on their heads to show they were upset. ⁷ Then Joshua said, “Lord God, you brought our people across the Jordan River. Why did you bring us this far and then let the Amorites destroy us? We should have been happy to stay on the other side of the Jordan. ⁸ Lord, there is nothing I can say now. Israel has been beaten by the enemy. ⁹ The Canaanites and all the other people in this country will hear about this. They will surround and kill all of us! Then what will you do for your own great name?”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why are you down on your face? ¹¹ The Israelites have sinned. They have broken the agreement I commanded them to obey. They took some of the things I commanded them to destroy. They have stolen from me. They have lied. They have taken those things for themselves. ¹² That is why the Israelites cannot face their enemies. They turn away from the fight and run. I have commanded that they be destroyed. You must destroy everything I commanded you to destroy. I will not help you anymore unless you do this.

¹³ “Now go! Have the people make themselves holy for me. Tell them, ‘Set yourselves apart to the Lord for tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, says some of you are keeping things he commanded you to destroy. You will never defeat your enemies until you throw away those things.

¹⁴ “‘Tomorrow morning you must all stand before the Lord. All the tribes will stand before him. The Lord will choose one tribe. And that tribe must stand alone before him. Then the Lord will choose one family group from that tribe. And that family group must stand alone before him. Then the Lord will choose one family from that family group. And it must stand alone before him. Then the Lord will look at that family man by man. ¹⁵ The man who is keeping what should have been destroyed will himself be destroyed by fire. And everything he owns will be destroyed with him. He has broken the agreement with the Lord. He has done a disgraceful thing among the people of Israel!’”

¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua led all of Israel before the Lord. All of the tribes stood before him. And the Lord chose the tribe of Judah. ¹⁷ So all the family groups of Judah stood before the Lord. The Lord then chose the family group of Zerah. And all the families of Zerah stood before the Lord. Then the family of Zimri was chosen. ¹⁸ And Joshua told all the men in that family to come before the Lord. The Lord chose Achan son of Carmi. (Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah.)

¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, you should tell the truth. Confess to the Lord, the God of Israel. Tell me what you did. Don’t try to hide anything from me.”

²⁰ Achan answered, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: ²¹ Among the things I saw was a beautiful coat from Babylonia. And I saw about five pounds of silver and more than one and one-quarter pounds of gold. I wanted these things very much for myself. So I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent. The silver is under the coat.”

²² So Joshua sent some men to the tent. They ran to the tent and found the things hidden there. The silver was under the coat. ²³ The men brought them out of the tent. Then they took them to Joshua and all the Israelites. They spread them out on the ground before the Lord. ²⁴ Then Joshua and all the people led Achan son of Zerah to the Valley of Trouble. They also took the silver, the coat and the gold. They took Achan’s sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, tent and everything he owned. ²⁵ Joshua said, “I don’t know why you caused so much trouble for us. But now the Lord will bring trouble to you.” Then all the people threw stones at Achan until he died. They also killed his family with stones. Then the people burned them. ²⁶ They piled rocks over Achan’s body. And those rocks are still there today. That is why it is called the Valley of Trouble. After this the Lord was no longer angry.

Ai Is Destroyed

8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t give up. Lead all your fighting men to Ai. I will help you defeat the king of Ai. I am giving you his people, his city and his land. ² You will do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you may take all the wealth. You may keep it for yourselves. Now tell some of your soldiers to set up an ambush behind the city.”

³ So Joshua led his whole army toward Ai. Then he chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent these men out at night. ⁴ Joshua gave them these orders: “Listen carefully. You must set up an ambush behind the city. Don’t go far from it. Continue to watch and be ready. ⁵ I and the men who are with me will march toward the city. The men in the city will come out to fight us. Then we will turn and run away from them as we did before. ⁶ They will chase us away from the city. They will think we are running away from them as we did before. When we run away, ⁷ come out from your ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give you the power to win. ⁸ After you take the city, burn it. See to it! You have your orders.”

⁹ Then Joshua sent them to their place of ambush to wait. They went to a place between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua stayed the night with his people.

¹⁰ Early the next morning Joshua gathered his men together. He and the older leaders of Israel led them to Ai. ¹¹ All of the soldiers who were with Joshua marched to Ai. They stopped in front of the city and made camp north of Ai. There was a valley between them and the city. ¹² Then Joshua chose about 5,000 men. He set them in ambush in the area west of the city between Bethel and Ai. ¹³ So the people took their positions. The main camp was north of the city. The other men were hiding to the west. That night Joshua went down into the valley.

¹⁴ Now the king of Ai saw the army of Israel. So he and his people got up early the next morning and hurried out to fight them. They went out to a place east of the city. The king did not know soldiers were waiting in ambush behind the city. ¹⁵ Joshua and all the men of Israel let the army of Ai push them back. Then they ran east toward the desert. ¹⁶ The men in Ai were called to chase Joshua and his men. So they left the city and went after them. ¹⁷ All the men of Ai and Bethel chased the army of Israel. The city was left open. Not a man stayed to protect it.

¹⁸ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold your spear toward Ai. I will give you that city.” So Joshua held his spear toward the city of Ai. ¹⁹ The men of Israel who were in ambush saw this. They quickly came out of their hiding place and hurried toward the city. They entered the city and took control of it. Then they quickly set it on fire.

²⁰ When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from their city. At the same time the men of Israel stopped running. They turned against the men of Ai. The men of Ai could not escape in any direction. ²¹ Joshua and all his men saw that the army had taken control of the city. They saw the smoke rising from it. So they stopped running and turned to fight the men of Ai. ²² The men who were in ambush also came out of the city to help with the fight. The men of Ai were caught between the armies of Israel. The Israelites fought until not one of the men of Ai was left alive. None of the enemy escaped. ²³ But the king of Ai was left alive. And Joshua’s men brought him to Joshua.

A Review of the Fighting

²⁴ During the fighting the army of Israel chased the men of Ai into the fields and desert. So the Israelites killed all of them in the fields and desert. Then they went back to Ai and killed everyone there. ²⁵ All the people of Ai died that day, 12,000 men and women. ²⁶ Joshua had held his spear toward Ai. It was a sign to his people to destroy the city. And Joshua held out his spear until all the people of Ai were destroyed. ²⁷ The people of Israel kept the animals for themselves. They also kept the other things the people of Ai had owned. This is what the Lord told them to do when he gave Joshua the commands.

²⁸ Then Joshua burned the city of Ai. It became an empty pile of ruins. And it is still like that today. ²⁹ Joshua hung the king of Ai on a tree. He left him hanging there until evening. At sunset Joshua told his men to take the king’s body down from the tree. He told them to throw it down at the city gate. Then they covered it with rocks. That pile of rocks is still there today.

³⁰ Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord, the God of Israel. He built it on Mount Ebal, as ³¹ Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. Joshua built the altar as it was explained in the Book of the Teachings of Moses. The altar was made from stones that were not cut. No tool was ever used on them. The Israelites offered burnt offerings to the Lord on that altar. They also offered fellowship offerings. ³² There Joshua wrote the teachings of Moses on stones. He did this for all the people of Israel to see. ³³ The elders, officers, judges and all the Israelites were there. They were standing around the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. They stood before the priests, the Levites who had carried the Ark of the Covenant. Israelites and non-Israelites were all standing there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Ebal. The other half stood in front of Mount Gerizim. This was the way the Lord’s servant Moses had earlier commanded the people to be blessed.

³⁴ Then Joshua read all the words of the teachings. He read the blessings and the curses. He read it exactly as they were written in the Book of the Teachings. ³⁵ All the Israelites were gathered together. All the women and children were there. All the non-Israelites living with the Israelites were there. Joshua read every command that Moses had given.

The Gibeonite Trickery

9 All the kings west of the Jordan River heard about these things. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They lived in the mountains and on the western mountain slopes. They also lived along the whole Mediterranean Sea coast. ² All these kings gathered to fight Joshua and the Israelites.

³ The people of Gibeon heard how Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai. ⁴ So they decided to trick the Israelites. They gathered old leather wine bags that were cracked and mended. They put them on the backs of their donkeys. They also put old sacks on their donkeys. ⁵ The men put old sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. They took some dry, moldy bread. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp near Gilgal.

The men spoke to Joshua and the men of Israel. They said, “We have traveled from a faraway country. Make a peace agreement with us.”

⁷ The men of Israel said to these Hivites, “Maybe you live near us. How can we make a peace agreement with you?”

⁸ The Hivites said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”

But Joshua asked, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

⁹ The men answered, “We are your servants. We have come from a far country. We came because we heard of the fame of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done. We heard about everything he did in Egypt. ¹⁰ We heard that he defeated the two kings of the Amorites. They were from the east side of the Jordan River: Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan who was king in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and our people spoke to us. They said, ‘Take food for your journey. Go and meet the Israelites. Tell them, “We are your servants. Make a peace agreement with us.”’

¹² “Look at our bread. When we left home it was warm and fresh. But now it is dry and moldy. ¹³ Look at our leather winebags. When we left home they were new and filled with wine. Now they are cracked and old. Look at our clothes and sandals. The long journey has almost destroyed them.”

¹⁴ The men of Israel tasted the bread. But they did not ask the Lord what to do. ¹⁵ So Joshua agreed to make peace with the Gibeonites. He agreed to let them live. The leaders of the Israelites made a promise to keep the agreement.

¹⁶ Three days later the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites lived nearby. ¹⁷ So the Israelites went to where they lived. On the third day the Israelites came to their cities. The cities were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the Israelites did not attack those cities. They had made a promise to them before the Lord, the God of Israel.

All the Israelites grumbled against the leaders who had made the agreement. ¹⁹ But the leaders answered, “We have given our promise before the Lord, the God of Israel. We cannot attack them now. ²⁰ This is what we must do. We must let them live. We cannot hurt them, or God’s anger will be against us. We would be breaking the promise we made to them. ²¹ So let them live. But they will cut wood and carry water for our people.” So the leaders kept their promise of peace to them.

²² Joshua called for the Gibeonites. He said, “Why did you lie to us? Your land was near our camp. But you told us you were from a far country. ²³ Now, you will be placed under a curse. You will be our slaves. You will have to cut wood and carry water for the people of the house of God.”

²⁴ The Gibeonites answered Joshua, “We lied to you because we were afraid you would kill us. We heard that God commanded his servant Moses to give you all of this land. And God told you to kill all the people who lived in the land. That is why we did this. ²⁵ Now you can decide what to do with us. You can do anything to us that you think is right.”

²⁶ So Joshua saved their lives. He did not allow the Israelites to kill them. ²⁷ But Joshua made the Gibeonites slaves to the Israelites. They cut wood and carried water for the Israelites. And they did it for the altar of the Lord—wherever he chose it to be. They are still doing this today.

²¹ Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah. They were surprised that he was staying so long in the Temple. ²² Then Zechariah came outside, but he could not speak to them. So they knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Zechariah could not speak. He could only make signs to them. ²³ When his time of service as a priest was finished, he went home.

²⁴ Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant. She did not go out of her house for five months. Elizabeth said, ²⁵ “Look what the Lord has done for me! My people were ashamed^[a] of me, but now the Lord has taken away that shame.”

The Virgin Mary

^26-27 During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”

²⁹ But Mary was very confused by what the angel said. Mary wondered, “What does this mean?”

³⁰ The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is pleased with you. ³¹ Listen! You will become pregnant. You will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³² He will be great, and people will call him the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. ³³ He will rule over the people of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen? I am a virgin!”

³⁵ The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. The baby will be holy. He will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Now listen! Elizabeth, your relative, is very old. But she is also pregnant with a son. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. ³⁷ God can do everything!”

³⁸ Mary said, “I am the servant girl of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.