Joshua 7:2-26

2Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near aBeth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And bthey fled before the men of Ai, 5and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people cmelted and became as water.

6Then Joshua dtore his clothes and efell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put fdust on their heads. 7And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, gwhy have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and hcut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Sin of Achan

10The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11Israel has sinned; they have itransgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the jdevoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 kTherefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They lturn their backs before their enemies, because they have become mdevoted for destruction.
That is, set apart ( devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
I will be with you no more, unless you destroy othe devoted things from among you.
13Get up! Consecrate the people and say, pConsecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14In the morning therefore you shall be brought near qby your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 rAnd he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has stransgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done tan outrageous thing in Israel.’”

16So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the uZerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, vgive glory to the Lord God of Israel and wgive praise
Or  and make confession
to him. And ytell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
20And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly zI have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,
A  shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the abValley of Achor. 25And Joshua said, “Why did you acbring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel adstoned him with stones. aeThey burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26And they raised over him afa great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then agthe Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.
 Achor means trouble


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