Yosua 7:1

Achan Sins and is Punished

7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. ¹  Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, ²  son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. ³  The Lord was furious with the Israelites. ⁴ 

Yosua 7:11-13

7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! ⁵  They have taken some of the riches; ⁶  they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. ⁷  7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ⁸  I will no longer be with you, ⁹  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ¹⁰  7:13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, “You are contaminated, ¹¹  O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.” ¹² 

Yosua 7:20-21

7:20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way: ¹³  7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ¹⁴  two hundred silver pieces, ¹⁵  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

Yosua 7:25

7:25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster ¹⁶  on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.) ¹⁷ 

[7:1]  ¹ tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ² tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).

[7:1]  ³ tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.”

[7:1]  sn This incident illustrates well the principle of corporate solidarity and corporate guilt. The sin of one man brought the Lord’s anger down upon the entire nation.

[7:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”

[7:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”

[7:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”

[7:12]  ⁹ tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.

[7:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] [is] in your midst.”

[7:13]  ¹² tn Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “like this and like this I did.”

[7:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[7:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “shekels.”

[7:25]  ¹⁶ tn Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).

[7:25]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the LXX; they may represent a later scribal addition.