Joshua 7
1 But the children of Israel committed
a great trespass, and purloined part of the accursed
thing; and Achar the son of Charmi, the son of Zambri, the son of Zara, of the
tribe of Juda, took of the accursed thing; and the Lord was very angry with
the children of Israel.
2 And Joshua sent men to Gai, which is
by Bæthel, saying, Spy out Gai: and the men went up and spied Gai.
3 And they returned to Joshua, and
said to him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand
men go up and take the city by siege: carry not up thither the whole people,
for the enemy are few.
4 And there went up about three
thousand men, and they fled from before the men of Gai.
5 And the men of Gai slew of them to
the number of thirty-six men, and they pursued them from the gate, and
destroyed them from the steep hill; and the heart of the people was alarmed
and became as water.
6 And Joshua tore his garments; and
Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the
elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads.
7 And Joshua said, I pray, Lord,
wherefore has thy servant brought this people over Jordan to deliver them to
the Amorite to destroy us?
aGr. and if we had.would we had remained and settled ourselves beyond Jordan.
8 And what shall I say since Israel
has turned his
bGr. neck. Heb. ערף the back of the neck.back before his enemy? 9 And when the
Chananite and all the inhabitants of the land hear it, they shall compass us
round and destroy us from off the land: and what wilt thou do
for thy great name?
10 And the Lord said to Joshua, Rise
up; why hast thou fallen upon thy face?
11 The people has sinned, and
transgressed the covenant which I made with them; they have stolen from the
cursed thing, and put it into their store.
12 And the children of Israel will
not be able to stand before their enemies; they will turn their
cGr. neck. Heb. ערף the back of the neck.back before their enemies, for they have become an accursed thing: I will not
any longer be with you, unless ye remove the cursed thing from yourselves.
13 Rise, sanctify the people and tell
them to sanctify themselves for the morrow: thus says the Lord God of Israel,
The accursed thing is among you; ye shall not be able to stand before your
enemies, until ye shall have removed the cursed thing from among you.
14 And ye shall all be gathered
together by your tribes in the morning, and it shall come to pass that the
tribe which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring by families; and the family
which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring by households; and the household
which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring man by man.
15 And the man who shall be pointed
out, shall be burnt with fire, and all that he has; because he has
transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and has wrought wickedness in Israel.
16 And Joshua rose up early, and
brought the people by their tribes; and the tribe of Juda was pointed out.
17 And it was brought by their
families, and the family of the Zaraites was pointed out.
18 And it was brought man by man, and
Achar the son of Zambri the son of Zara was pointed out.
19 And Joshua said to Achar, Give
glory this day to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession; and tell me
what thou hast done, and hide it not from me.
20 And Achar answered Joshua, and
said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel: thus and thus have
I done: 21 I saw in the spoil an
embroidered mantle, and two hundred didrachms of silver, and one golden wedge
of fifty didrachms, and I desired them and took them; and, behold, they are
hid in my tent, and the silver is hid under them.
22 And Joshua sent messengers, and
they ran to the tent into the camp; and these things were hidden in his tent,
and the silver under them. 23 And
they brought them out of the tent, and brought them to Joshua and the elders
of Israel, and they laid them before the Lord.
24 And Joshua took Achar the son of
Zara, and brought him to the valley of Achor, and his sons, and his daughters,
and his calves, and his asses, and all his sheep, and his tent, and all his
property, and all the people were with him; and he
brought them to
dHeb. עמק עכור valley of trouble.Emec Achor. 25 And Joshua said to
Achar, Why hast thou destroyed us? the Lord destroy thee
eGr. as also to-day.as at this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones.
26 And they set up over him a great
heap of stones; and the Lord ceased from his fierce anger. Therefore he called
fGr. it.the place Emecachor until this day.