1   But the Israelites defied the ban: Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the forbidden things, and the Lord was angry with the Israelites.

2   Joshua sent men from Jericho with orders to go up to Ai, near Bethaven, east of Bethel, and see how the land lay; so the men went up and explored Ai. 3   They returned to Joshua and reported that there was no need for the whole army to move: ‘Let some two or three thousand men go forward to attack Ai. Do not make the whole army toil up there; the population is small.’ 4   And so about three thousand men went up, but they turned tail before the men of Ai, 5   who killed some thirty-six of them; they chased them all the way from the gate to the Quarries ^note and killed them on the pass. At this the courage of the people melted and flowed away like water. 6   Joshua and the elders of Israel rent their clothes and flung themselves face downwards to the ground; they lay before the Ark of the Lord till evening and threw dust on their heads. 7   Joshua said, ‘Alas, O Lord God, why didst thou bring this people across the Jordan only to hand us over to the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to settle on the other side of the Jordan! 8   I beseech thee, O Lord; what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by the enemy? 9   When the Canaanites and all the natives of the country hear of this, they will come swarming around us and wipe us off the face of the earth. What wilt thou do then for the honour of thy great name?’

10   The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up; why lie prostrate on your face? 11   Israel has sinned: they have broken the covenant which I laid upon them, by taking forbidden things for themselves. They have stolen them, and concealed it by mingling them with their own possessions. 12   That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies: they are put to flight because they have brought themselves under the ban. Unless they destroy every single thing among them that is forbidden under the ban, I will be with them no longer. 13   Stand up; you must hallow the people; tell them they must hallow themselves for tomorrow. Tell them, These are the words of the Lord the God of Israel: You have forbidden things among you, Israel; you cannot stand against your enemies until you have rid yourselves of them. 14   In the morning come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe which the Lord chooses shall

Israel's entry into the promised land come forward clan by clan; the clan which the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family which the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15   The man who is chosen as the harbourer of forbidden things shall be burnt, he and all that is his, because he has broken the covenant of the Lord and committed outrage in Israel.’ 16   Early in the morning Joshua rose and brought Israel forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was chosen. 17   He brought forward the clans of Judah, and the clan of Zerah was chosen; then the clan of Zerah family by family, ^note and the family of ^note Zabdi was chosen. 18   He brought that family forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. 19   Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, give honour to the Lord the God of Israel and make your confession to him: tell me what you have done, hide nothing from me.’ 20   Achan answered Joshua, ‘I confess, I have sinned against the Lord the God of Israel. 21   This is what I did: among the booty I caught sight of a fine mantle from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I coveted them and I took them. You will find them hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.’ 22   So Joshua sent messengers, who ran to the tent, and there was the stuff ^note hidden in the tent with the silver underneath. 23   They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the Lord. 24   Then Joshua took Achan son of Zerah, with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold, together with his sons and daughters, his oxen, his asses, and his sheep, his tent, and everything he had, and he and all Israel brought them up to the Vale of Achor. ^note 25   Joshua said, ‘What trouble you have brought on us! Now the Lord will bring trouble on you.’ Then all the Israelites stoned him to death; ^note 26   and they raised a great pile of stones over him, which remains to this day. So the Lord's anger was abated. That is why to this day that place is called the Vale of Achor.

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