Joshua 7

And the sons of Israel committed a great trespass and pilfered from the devoted thing; and Achar son of Charmi, son of Zambri, son of Zara, of the tribe of Judah, took from the devoted thing. And the Lord was kindled with anger against the sons of Israel.

And Joshua sent men to Ai, which is near Bethel, saying: Spy out Ai. And the men went up and spied out Ai.

And they returned to Joshua and said to him: Let not all the people go up, but let about two thousand or three thousand men go up and take the city by siege; do not lead all the people up there, for they are few.

And about three thousand men went up, and they fled before the men of Ai.

And the men of Ai killed about thirty-six men of them, and pursued them from the gate and crushed them on the slope. And the heart of the people was dismayed and became like water.

And Joshua tore his garments and fell to the ground on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust on their heads.

And Joshua said: I beg you, Lord, why did your servant bring this people across the Jordan, to hand it over to the Amorite, to destroy us? If only we had stayed and been settled beside the Jordan!

And what shall I say, since Israel has turned its neck before its enemy?

And when the Canaanite hears, and all who dwell in the land, they will surround us and wipe us off the land; and what will you do for your great name?

And the Lord said to Joshua: Arise! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?

The people has sinned and has transgressed the covenant which I made with them; and stealing from the devoted thing they have put it among their own goods.

The sons of Israel will not be able to stand before their enemies; they will turn their neck before their enemies, because they have become a devoted thing. I will not continue to be with you any longer unless you remove the devoted thing from among yourselves.

Arise, sanctify the people, and say that they be sanctified for tomorrow. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: The devoted thing is among you; you will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove the devoted thing from among you.

And you shall all be gathered in the morning by tribes; and the tribe which the Lord shall point out, you shall bring near by clans; and the clan which the Lord shall point out, you shall bring near by household; and the household which the Lord shall point out, you shall bring near man by man.

And whoever is pointed out shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he transgressed the covenant of the Lord and did a lawless thing in Israel.

And Joshua rose early and brought the people near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was pointed out.

And it was brought near by clans, and the clan of Zarai was pointed out; and it was brought near man by man.

And Achar son of Zambri, son of Zara, was pointed out.

And Joshua said to Achar: Give glory today to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make confession; and tell me what you have done, and do not hide it from me.

And Achar answered Joshua and said: Truly I have sinned before the Lord, the God of Israel; thus and thus I did.

I saw among the plunder a fine multicolored rug, and two hundred didrachmas of silver, and one tongue of gold weighing fifty didrachmas; and coveting them I took them. And behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver is hidden beneath them.

And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, into the camp; and these things were hidden in the tent, and the silver beneath them.

And they brought them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to the elders of Israel, and they laid them before the Lord.

And Joshua took Achar son of Zara and brought him up to the ravine of Achor, and his sons and his daughters and his calves and his beasts of burden and all his sheep and his tent and all his possessions, and all the people with him; and he brought them up to Emekachor.

And Joshua said to Achar: Why have you destroyed us? May the Lord destroy you as also today. And all Israel stoned him with stones.

And they raised over him a great heap of stones, and the Lord ceased from the fury of his anger. Therefore he named it Emekachor, until this day.