1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things; for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel.
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-a'ven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." 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, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai; do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are but few."
4 So about three thousand went up there from the people; and they fled before the men of Ai,
5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six men of them, and chased them before the gate as far as Sheb'arim, and slew them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6 Then Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.
7 And Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why hast thou 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 cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt thou do for thy great name?"
10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Arise, why have you thus fallen upon your face?
11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become a thing for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, `Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, "There are devoted things in the midst of you, 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 by your tribes; and the tribe which the LORD takes shall come near by families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man.
15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a shameful thing in Israel.'"
16 So Joshua rose early in the morning, and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken;
17 and he brought near the families of Judah, and the family of the Zer'ahites was taken; and he brought near the family of the Zer'ahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken;
18 and he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and render praise to him; and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
20 And Achan answered Joshua, "Of a truth I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did:
21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them, and took them; and behold, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath."
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath.
23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the people of Israel; and they laid them down before the LORD.
24 And 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 daughters, and his oxen and asses and sheep, and his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, "Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today." And all Israel stoned him with stones; they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones.
26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day; then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.
Versículos relacionados com Joshua, 7:
Joshua 7 addresses the episode in which Israel is defeated by the inhabitants of the city of Ai. This is because Achian, one of Israeli soldiers, had disobeyed God's orders not to take any of the spoils of the city of Jericho to himself. Because of this transgression, God removes his protection over the people of Israel, allowing them to be defeated. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in Joshua 7.
Genesis 3:11: "And God asked, 'Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat the tree from which I forbade you to eat?'" This verse speaks of the importance of obedience to God's orders. Just as God had forbidden Adam and Eve to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He had forbidden the Israelites to take the spoils of Jericho for himself.
Deuteronomy 7:26: "They do not bring abominable things to your home, or you will be cursed like her. They hate them completely and consider them filthy, for they are things dedicated to destruction." This verse speaks of the importance of avoiding the acquisition of cursed objects. Acin had disobeyed this order by taking some of the spoils of Jericho for himself.
Psalm 66:18: "If I had kept iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me." This verse speaks of the importance of confession and repentance of sins. Acã is only discovered and punished after confessing his sin.
Isaiah 59:2: "Your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins hid from you his face, and so he will not hear you." This verse speaks of the importance of obedience to God to maintain His protection. Acin's disobedience had led the removal of divine protection over the people of Israel.
1 Corinthians 15:33: "Don't be fooled: Bad company corrupts good morals." This verse speaks of the importance of staying away from those who practice evil. Acin was punished not only by his own sin, but also because his action affected the entire community of Israel.
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