1 And the sons of Israel commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, taketh of the devoted thing, and the anger of Jehovah burneth against the sons of Israel. 2 And Joshua sendeth men from Jericho to Ai, which [is] near Beth-Aven, on the east of Bethel, and speaketh unto them, saying, 'Go up and spy the land;' and the men go up and spy Ai, 3 and they turn back unto Joshua, and say unto him, 'Let not all the people go up; let about two thousand men, or about three thousand men, go up, and they smite Ai; cause not all the people to labour thither; for they [are] few.' 4 And there go up of the people thither about three thousand men, and they flee before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai smite of them about thirty and six men, and pursue them before the gate unto Shebarim, and they smite them in Morad; and the heart of the people is melted, and becometh water. 6 And Joshua rendeth his garments, and falleth on his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah till the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they cause dust to go up on their head. 7 And Joshua saith, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, why hast Thou at all caused this people to pass over the Jordan, to give us into the hand of the Amorite to destroy us? — and oh that we had been willing — and we dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 Oh, Lord, what do I say, after that Israel hath turned the neck before its enemies? 9 and the Canaanite and all the inhabitants of the land do hear, and have come round against us, and cut off our name out of the earth; and what dost Thou do for Thy great name?' 10 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'Rise for thee, why [is] this? — thou [art] falling on thy face? 11 Israel hath sinned, and also they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them, and also taken of the devoted thing, and also stolen, and also deceived, and also put [it] among their vessels, 12 and the sons of Israel have not been able to stand before their enemies; the neck they turn before their enemies, for they have become a devoted thing; I add not to be with you — if ye destroy not the devoted thing out of your midst. 13 'Rise, sanctify the people, and thou hast said, Sanctify yourselves for to-morrow; for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, A devoted thing [is] in thy midst, O Israel, thou art not able to stand before thine enemies till your turning aside of the devoted thing out of your midst; 14 and ye have been brought near in the morning by your tribes, and it hath been, the tribe which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by families, and the family which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by households, and the household which Jehovah doth capture doth draw near by men; 15 and it hath been, he who is captured with the devoted thing is burnt with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath done folly in Israel.' 16 And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and bringeth Israel near by its tribes, and the tribe of Judah is captured; 17 and he bringeth near the family of Judah, and he captureth the family of the Zarhite; and he bringeth near the family of the Zarhite by men, and Zabdi is captured; 18 and he bringeth near his household by men, and Achan — son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah — is captured. 19 And Joshua saith unto Achan, 'My son, put, I pray thee, honour on Jehovah, God of Israel, and give to Him thanks, and declare, I pray thee, to me, what thou hast done — hide not from me.' 20 And Achan answereth Joshua, and saith, 'Truly I have sinned against Jehovah, God of Israel, and thus and thus I have done; 21 and I see among the spoil a goodly robe of Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and one wedge of gold, whose weight [is] fifty shekels, and I desire them, and take them; and lo, they [are] hid in the earth, in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.' 22 And Joshua sendeth messengers, and they run unto the tent, and lo, it is hidden in his tent, and the silver under it; 23 and they take them out of the midst of the tent, and bring them in unto Joshua, and unto all the sons of Israel, and pour them out before Jehovah. 24 And Joshua taketh Achan son of Zerah, and the silver, and the robe, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his ox, and his ass, and his flock, and his tent, and all that he hath, and all Israel with him, and they cause them to go up the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua saith, 'What! thou hast troubled us! — Jehovah doth trouble thee this day;' and all Israel cast stones at him, and they burn them with fire, and they stone them with stones, 26 and they raise up over him a great heap of stones unto this day, and Jehovah turneth back from the heat of His anger, therefore hath [one] called the name of that place 'Valley of Achor' till this day.
Joshua · Young's Literal Translation
Joshua 7 Young's Literal 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