1 But the children of Israel committed unfaithfulness in that which had been brought under the curse: Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel. 2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, Go up and spy out the country. And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua, and said to him, Let not all the people go up; let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; make not all the people to toil thither, for they are few. 4 And there went up thither of the people about three thousand men, but they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty-six men; and they pursued them from before the gate to Shebarim, and smote them on the descent. Then the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. 6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and threw dust upon their heads. 7 And Joshua said, Alas, Lord Jehovah, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh that we had been content and had remained beyond the Jordan! 8 Ah Lord! what shall I say after Israel have turned their backs before their enemies? 9 When the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear [of it], they will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. And what wilt thou do unto thy great name? 10 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Rise up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them, and they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it among their stuff. 12 And the children of Israel shall not be able to stand before their enemies: they shall turn their backs before their enemies, for they have made themselves accursed. I will no more be with you, except ye destroy the accursed thing from your midst. 13 Rise up, hallow the people, and say, Hallow yourselves for to-morrow; for thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, Israel: thou shalt not be able to stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from your midst. 14 And ye shall be brought near in the morning according to your tribes; and it shall be, that the tribe which Jehovah taketh shall come forward by families, and the family which Jehovah taketh shall come forward by households; and the household which Jehovah taketh shall come forward man by man. 15 And it shall be, that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath wrought wickedness in Israel. 16 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and caused Israel to come forward by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he caused the families of Judah to come forward, and he took the family of the Zarhites. And he caused the family of the Zarhites to come forward man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he caused his household to come forward man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to Jehovah the God of Israel, and make confession to him: tell me now what thou hast done, keep it not back from me. 20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against Jehovah the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. 21 I saw among the spoils a beautiful mantle of Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a golden bar of fifty shekels weight, and I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 22 And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before Jehovah. 24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the bar of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up into the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, How hast thou troubled us! Jehovah will trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones, [which is there] to this day. And Jehovah turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore the name of that place was called, The Valley of Achor, to this day.
Joshua 7 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Achan
A man of Judah, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, who took a cloak, silver and gold devoted to destruction at Jericho, so that Israel was defeated at Ai until he was…
Cited in the guide: Joshua 7:1; Joshua 7:18; Joshua 7:24
Carmi
A man of Judah, son of Zabdi, named as the father of Achan, who troubled Israel.
Cited in the guide: Joshua 7:1; Joshua 7:18; 1 Chronicles 2:7
Zabdi
Head of the family of Zabdi in the Zerahite clan of Judah and grandfather of Achan; 'son of Zerah' in the text may mean descendant of Judah's son Zerah.
Cited in the guide: Joshua 7:1; Joshua 7:17; Joshua 7:18
Places
Ai
Ai's identification is disputed — the traditional site of et-Tell doesn't fit the conquest period neatly, so scholars debate its location (approximate). Achan's sin and the ambush belong here.
Cited in the guide: Joshua 7:2; Joshua 8:28
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Joshua 22:20; Ecclesiastes 9:18; 1 Chronicles 2:6–7; Joshua 7:20–21; 1 Chronicles 21:7
- 2 Joshua 18:12; 1 Samuel 14:23; Hosea 4:15; 1 Samuel 13:5; Genesis 12:8
- 3 Hebrews 6:11–12; Luke 13:24; 2 Peter 1:5; Hebrews 4:11; 2 Peter 1:10
- 4 Deuteronomy 28:25; Leviticus 26:17; Isaiah 59:2; Isaiah 30:17; Deuteronomy 32:30
- 5 Joshua 2:9; Joshua 2:11; Leviticus 26:36; Deuteronomy 1:44; Nahum 2:10
- 6 Genesis 37:29; Genesis 37:34; Numbers 14:6; Lamentations 2:10; Revelation 18:19
- 7 Hebrews 12:5; 2 Kings 3:10; Matthew 17:20; Exodus 5:22–23; Psalm 116:11
- 8 Romans 3:5–6; Ezra 9:10; Habakkuk 2:1
- 9 Exodus 32:12; Ezekiel 36:22–23; Psalm 83:4; John 12:28; Numbers 14:13
- 10 1 Samuel 16:1; Exodus 14:15; 1 Samuel 15:22; 1 Chronicles 22:16
- 11 Acts 5:1–2; Joshua 6:17–19; Hebrews 4:13; Acts 5:9; Joshua 7:20–21
- 12 Psalm 5:4–5; Isaiah 59:2; Joshua 6:18; Numbers 14:45; Judges 2:14
- 13 Lamentations 3:40–41; Joshua 3:5; Matthew 7:5; 1 Corinthians 5:11–13; Joshua 6:18
- 14 Proverbs 16:33; Joshua 7:17–18; Jonah 1:7; 1 Samuel 10:19–21; Acts 1:24–26
- 15 Genesis 34:7; Judges 20:6; 1 Samuel 14:38–39; Deuteronomy 13:15–16; Joshua 7:25–26
- 16 Psalm 119:60; Joshua 3:1; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Genesis 22:3
- 17 Numbers 26:20; Genesis 38:30; 1 Chronicles 2:4–7
- 18 Numbers 32:23; Acts 5:1–10; 1 Samuel 14:42; Jeremiah 2:26; Proverbs 13:21
- 19 1 Samuel 6:5; Jeremiah 13:16; John 9:24; Daniel 9:4; 2 Chronicles 30:22
- 20 Psalm 38:18; Numbers 22:34; Exodus 10:16; Genesis 42:21; Job 7:20
- 21 James 1:15; Psalm 119:37; Luke 12:15; 1 John 2:15–16; 2 Peter 2:15
- 24 Proverbs 15:27; 1 Timothy 6:9–10; Exodus 20:5; Joshua 7:26; Isaiah 65:10
- 25 Joshua 6:18; 1 Chronicles 2:7; Deuteronomy 17:5; Leviticus 24:14; Leviticus 20:2
- 26 Isaiah 65:10; Hosea 2:15; Deuteronomy 13:17; 2 Samuel 18:17; Joshua 7:24
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences