^7:1But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches.¹ Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi,² son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches.³ The Lord was furious with the Israelites.⁴

^7:2Joshua sent men from Jericho⁵ to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel⁶) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. ^7:3They returned and reported to Joshua,⁷ “Don’t send the whole army.⁸ About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai.⁹ Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.”¹⁰

^7:4So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. ^7:5The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures¹¹ and defeated them on the steep slope.¹² The people’s¹³ courage melted away like water.¹⁴

^7:6Joshua tore his clothes;¹⁵ he and the leaders¹⁶ of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening¹⁷ and threw dirt on their heads.¹⁸^7:7Joshua prayed,¹⁹ “O, Master, Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us? ^7:8If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated²⁰ before its enemies? ^7:9When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us²¹ from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?”²²

^7:10The Lord responded²³ to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down?²⁴ ^7:11Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment!²⁵ They have taken some of the riches;²⁶ they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions.²⁷ ^7:12The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation.²⁸ I will no longer be with you,²⁹ unless you destroy what has contaminated you.³⁰ ^7:13Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, “You are contaminated,³¹ O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.”³² ^7:14In the morning you must approach in tribal order.³³ The tribe the Lord selects³⁴ must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families.³⁵ The family the Lord selects must approach man by man.³⁶ ^7:15The one caught with the riches³⁷ must be burned up³⁸ along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ ”

^7:16Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order³⁹ and the tribe of Judah was selected. ^7:17He then made the clans of Judah approach and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach and Zabdi⁴⁰ was selected.⁴¹^7:18He then made Zabdi’s⁴² family approach man by man⁴³ and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. ^7:19So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor⁴⁴ the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!” ^7:20Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way:⁴⁵ ^7:21I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon,⁴⁶ two hundred silver pieces,⁴⁷ and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

^7:22Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath.⁴⁸ ^7:23They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placed⁴⁹ it before the Lord. ^7:24Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster.⁵⁰^7:25Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster⁵¹ on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.)⁵² ^7:26Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day⁵³) and the Lord’s anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.

Israel Conquers Ai

^8:1The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic!¹ Take the whole army with you and march against Ai!² See, I am handing over to you³ the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land. ^8:2Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho⁴ and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city!”

^8:3Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai.⁵ Joshua selected thirty thousand brave warriors and sent them out at night. ^8:4He told⁶ them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! ^8:5I and all the troops⁷ who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. ^8:6They will attack⁸ us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. ^8:7Then you rise up from your hiding place⁹ and seize¹⁰ the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. ^8:8When you capture the city, set it¹¹ on fire. Do as the Lord says! See, I have given you orders.”¹²^8:9Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place¹³ west of Ai, between Bethel¹⁴ and Ai.¹⁵ Joshua spent that night with the army.¹⁶

^8:10Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered¹⁷ the army,¹⁸ and he and the leaders¹⁹ of Israel marched²⁰ at the head of it²¹ to Ai. ^8:11All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city.²² They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.²³^8:12He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel²⁴ and Ai. ^8:13The army was in position—the main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into²⁵ the middle of the valley.

^8:14When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah.²⁶ But he did not realize²⁷ men were hiding behind the city.²⁸^8:15Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them and they retreated along the way to the desert. ^8:16All the reinforcements²⁹ in Ai³⁰ were ordered³¹ to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. ^8:17No men were left in Ai or Bethel;³² they all went out after Israel.³³ They left the city wide open and chased Israel.

^8:18The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword in your hand, for I am handing the city³⁴ over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. ^8:19When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked.³⁵ They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. ^8:20When the men of Ai turned around, they saw³⁶ the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction.³⁷ In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers. ^8:21When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke,³⁸ they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. ^8:22At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle.³⁹ The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. ^8:23But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

^8:24When Israel had finished killing all the men⁴⁰ of Ai who had chased them toward the desert⁴¹ (they all fell by the sword),⁴² all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. ^8:25Twelve thousand men and women died⁴³ that day, including all the men of Ai. ^8:26Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai.⁴⁴ ^8:27But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the Lord’s orders to Joshua.⁴⁵^8:28Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day).⁴⁶^8:29He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening.⁴⁷ At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree.⁴⁸ They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day).⁴⁹

Covenant Renewal

^8:30Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal, ^8:31just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool.⁵⁰ They offered burnt sacrifices on it and sacrificed tokens of peace.⁵¹ ^8:32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses.⁵² ^8:33All the people,⁵³ rulers,⁵⁴ leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there.⁵⁵ Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony.⁵⁶ ^8:34Then⁵⁷ Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. ^8:35Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given⁵⁸ before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them.⁵⁹

The Gibeonites Deceive Israel

^9:1When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the…

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Footnotes

1 Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”
2 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).
3 Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”
4 Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.” This incident illustrates well the principle of corporate solidarity and corporate guilt. The sin of one man brought the Lord’s anger down upon the entire nation.
5 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
6 For the location of Bethel see ; ; ; ; .
7 Heb “and they returned to Joshua and said to him.”
8 Heb “Don’t let all the people go up.”
9 Heb “Let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up to defeat Ai.”
10 Heb “all the people for they are small.”
11 The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shévarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 (60:2 ), where it appears to refer to cracks in the earth caused by an earthquake. Perhaps deep ravines or gorges are in view, or the word is a proper noun (“all the way to Shebarim”).
12 The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.
13 Or “army’s.”
14 Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”
15 Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).
16 Or “elders.”
17 Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”
18 Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).
19 Heb “said.”
20 Heb “turned [the] back.”
21 Heb “and cut off our name.”
22 Heb “What will you do for your great name?”
23 Heb “said.”
24 Heb “Why are you falling on your face?”
25 Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”
26 Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”
27 Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”
28 Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”
29 The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.
30 Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”
31 Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] [is] in your midst.”
32 Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”
33 Heb “by your tribes.”
34 Heb “takes forcefully, seizes.”
35 Heb “houses.”
36 Heb “by men.”
37 Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”
38 Heb “burned with fire.”
39 Heb “by tribes.”
40 See the note on “Zabdi” in .
41 Heb “and he selected Zabdi.” The Lord is the apparent subject. The supports reading a passive (Niphal) form here, as does the immediate context.
42 Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43 Heb “by men.”
44 Heb “give glory to.”
45 Heb “like this and like this I did.”
46 Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. , ) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. , ).
47 Heb “shekels.”
48 Heb “Look, [it was] hidden in his tent, and the silver was beneath it.”
49 Heb “poured out,” probably referring to the way the silver pieces poured out of their container.
50 Or “Trouble” The name is “Achor” in Hebrew, which means “disaster” or “trouble” (also in v. 26).
51 Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).
52 Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the ; they may represent a later scribal addition.
53 Heb “to this day.” The phrase “to this day” is omitted in the and may represent a later scribal addition.
1 Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”
2 Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”
3 Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.
4 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
5 “And Joshua and all the people of war arose to go up [against] Ai.”
6 Or “commanded, ordered.”
7 Heb “the people.”
8 Heb “come out after.”
9 Heb “from the ambush.”
10 Heb “take possession of.”
11 Heb “the city.”
12 Heb “I have commanded you.”
13 Or “the place of ambush.”
14 For location see ; ; ; ; .
15 Heb “and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai.”
16 Heb “in the midst of the people.”
17 Or “summoned, mustered.”
18 Heb “the people.”
19 Or “elders.”
20 Heb “went up.”
21 Heb “them” (referring to “the people” in the previous clause, which requires a plural pronoun). Since the translation used “army” in the previous clause, a singular pronoun (“it”) is required in English.
22 Heb “All the people of war who were with him went up and approached and came opposite the city.”
23 Heb “and the valley [was] between them and Ai.”
24 For location see ; ; ; ; .
25 Some Hebrew read, “spent the night in.”
26 Heb “When the king of Ai saw, the men of Ai hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people at the meeting place before the Arabah.”
27 Or “know.”
28 Heb “that (there was) an ambush for him behind the city.”
29 Heb “All the people.”
30 Some textual witnesses read “the city.”
31 Or “were summoned”; or “were mustered.”
32 The omits the words “or Bethel.” For location see ; ; ; ; .
33 Heb “who did not go out after Israel.”
34 Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Ai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 Heb “and ran.”
36 Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.
37 Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”
38 Heb “and that the smoke of the city ascended.”
39 Heb “and these went out from the city to meet them and they were for Israel in the middle, some on this side, and others on the other side.”
40 Heb “residents.”
41 Heb “in the field, in the desert in which they chased them.”
42 Heb “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed.” The omits the words, “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword.” They may represent a later scribal addition.
43 Heb “fell.”
44 Heb “Joshua did not draw back his hand which held out the curved sword until he had annihilated all the residents of Ai.”
45 Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua.”
46 Heb “and made it a permanent mound, a desolation, to this day.”
47 Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
48 For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22–23.
49 Heb “to this day.”
50 Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones on which no one had wielded iron.” The expression “whole stones” refers to stones in their natural condition, i.e., not carved or shaped artificially with tools (“wielded iron”).
51 Or “peace offerings.”
52 Heb “and he wrote there on the stones a duplicate of the law of Moses which he wrote before the sons of Israel.”
53 Heb “All Israel.”
54 Or “elders.”
55 Heb “like the resident alien, like the citizen.” The language is idiomatic, meaning that both groups were treated the same, at least in this instance.
56 Heb “as Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded to bless the people, Israel, formerly.” Moses’ earlier instructions are found in Deut 11:29.
57 Or “afterward.”
58 Heb “There was not a word from all which Moses commanded that Joshua did not read aloud.”
59 Heb “walked in their midst.”