Joshua 7:6-15

English Standard Version

⁶ Then Joshua ^(A)tore his clothes and ^(B)fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put ^(C)dust on their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, ^(D)why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! ⁸ O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! ⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and ^(E)cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Sin of Achan

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have ^(F)transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the ^(G)devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. ^12 (H)Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They ^(I)turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become ^(J)devoted for destruction.^[a] I will be with you no more, unless you destroy ^(K)the devoted things from among you. ¹³ Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ^(L)‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” ¹⁴ In the morning therefore you shall be brought near ^(M)by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. ^15 (N)And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has ^(O)transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done ^(P)an outrageous thing in Israel.’”