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Joshua 7:1-26 — Achan's Sin

Josh.7.1-26

¹But the Israelites acted very unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. For Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the things devoted to destruction. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites. ²Joshua 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.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. ³They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.” ⁴So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled before the men of Ai. ⁵The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became like water. ⁶Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth 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. ⁷And Joshua said, "Alas, Lord GOD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content and settled beyond the Jordan! ⁸O Lord, what can I say, after Israel has turned its back before its enemies? ⁹For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?" ¹⁰The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? ¹¹Israel has sinned; they have even transgressed my covenant that I commanded them. They have even taken some of the things devoted to destruction; they have even stolen, and even deceived, and even put them among their own possessions. ¹²Therefore the Israelites cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted to destruction. I will not be with you anymore, unless you destroy the things devoted to destruction from among you. ¹³Get up, consecrate the people, and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: There are things devoted to destruction in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you remove the things devoted to destruction from your midst. ¹⁴In the morning you shall come forward by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward by clans, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward by families, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵And it shall be that the one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.'" ¹⁶So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel forward by its tribes, and the tribe of Judah was selected. ¹⁷He brought forward the clans of Judah, and he selected the clan of the Zerahites. He brought forward the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was selected. ¹⁸He brought forward his family man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected. ¹⁹Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to him. Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” ²⁰Achan answered Joshua and said, "Truly I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: ²¹when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and one bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, I coveted them and took them. And behold, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath it." ²²So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath it. ²³They took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the Israelites, and they laid them out before the LORD. ²⁴Then 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 his daughters, and his oxen, and his donkeys, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that belonged to him, and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵And Joshua said, “Why have you brought trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you this day.” And all Israel stoned him with stones; they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. ²⁶They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day . Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

Translation Notes

4/11/2026

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