Chapter 7 – Chapter 8

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

1 Now the children of Israel transgressed with transgression (grievously) in the anathema, inasmuch as Achan, son of Charmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the anathema; and the wrath of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel.

2 Moreover, Joshua sent men from Jericho against Hai, which was near Bethaven to the east of Bethel, and he spoke with them, saying, Go up and explore the land. The men accordingly went up and explored Hai.

3 And having returned to Joshua, they said to him, Let not the whole people go up; let about two thousand men, or about three thousand men go up, and they shall smite Hai.

4 About three thousand men therefore went up from the people, and they fled before the men of Hai.

5 And they smote about thirty-six men of them, and pursued them from the gate even to Sebarim, and smote them in the descent; and thus the heart of the people was melted, and was like water.

6 Moreover, Joshua rent his clothes, and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah even till evening, himself and the elders of Israel, and they put dust upon their head.

7 And Joshua said, Ah, ah! Sovereign Jehovah, how is it that thou has brought this people across the Jordan, that thou might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite, who will destroy us? Would that it had pleased us to remain in the desert beyond the Jordan!

8 O Lord, what shall I say after Israel turns his back before his enemies?

9 And the Canaanite and all the inhabitants of the land will hear, and will turn against us, and will destroy our name from the earth; and what wilt thou do to thy great name?

10 Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Arise. Why is it that thou thus falls upon thy face?

11 Israel has sinned, and they have even transgressed my paction which I enjoined upon them, and they have also taken of the anathema, and they have also stolen, and they have also lied, and they have also deposited it among their vessels.

12 Therefore the children of Israel have not been able to stand before their enemies; they will turn their back before their enemies; because they are in anathema, I will not continue to be with you, unless you destroy the anathema from the midst of you.

13 Arise, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow; for thus says Jehovah, God of Israel, there is anathema in the midst of thee, Israel.

14 You shall therefore come near in the morning by your tribes; and the tribe which Jehovah shall detect will come near by families; and the family which Jehovah shall detect shall come near by houses; and the house which Jehovah shall detect will come near by men.

15 And the man who shall be detected in the anathema, will be burnt with fire, himself and all things which are his, because he has transgressed the paction of Jehovah, and has done iniquity in Israel.

16 Joshua accordingly rose early in the morning, and caused Israel to draw near by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.

17 Then he put in the kindreds of Judah, and took the kindred of Zera; then he put in the families of Zari by men, and the family of Zabdi was taken.

18 And he took his house by men, and Achan, son of Charmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zera, was taken.

19 Then said Joshua to Achan, My son, now give glory to Jehovah, God of Israel, and make confession to him, and discover to me what thou has done; do not conceal it from me.

20 Achan replied to Joshua and says, Truly I have sinned to Jehovah God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done.

21 I saw among the spoils a good Babylonish cloak, and two hundred shekels of silver, and one wedge of gold, whose weight was fifty shekels, which I coveted and carried off; and, behold, they are hidden in the ground, in the midst of my tent, and the silver beneath.

22 Joshua therefore sent messengers, who ran to the tent; behold it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.

23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, and they brought them to Joshua, and to all the children of Israel, and placed them before Jehovah.

24 Joshua, therefore, taking Achan, the son of Zera, and the silver, and the cloak, and the golden wedge, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his flocks, and his tent, and all things which were his, and at the same time all Israel with him, led them down into the valley of Achor.

25 And Joshua said, Why has thou troubled us? Jehovah trouble thee this day. And all Israel overwhelmed him with stones, and burnt them with fire after they stoned them with stones.

26 And they placed over him a great heap of stones, even to this day, and Jehovah was turned from his hot anger; therefore they called the name of that place The valley of Achor, even to this day.

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

1 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Fear not, dread not; take with thee all the men of war, and arise, go up to Hai. See, I have given into thy hand the king of Hai, and his people, his city, and his land.

2 And thou shall do to Hai and its king, as thou has done to Jericho and its king; yet its spoil and animals you shall take to yourselves as booty. But place an ambuscade for the city in its rear.

3 Joshua accordingly arose, and all the people of war, that they might go up against Hai; and Joshua selected thirty thousand men of strength and valor, and sent them by night.

4 And he commanded them, saying, Give heed, you shall lay an ambuscade for the city in its rear; do not remove far from it, but be all of you ready.

5 And I, and all the people who are with me, will draw near the city; and when they will come out to encounter us as formerly, we will flee before them.

6 Then they will come out after us, until we draw them away from the city; for they will say, They flee before us as before; and we will flee before them.

7 But you will rise from the ambush, and will drive out the inhabitants of the city, and Jehovah your God will deliver it into your hand.

8 When you shall have taken the city, you shall set it on fire; according to the word of Jehovah shall you do. See, I have commanded you.

9 Joshua accordingly sent them, and they proceeded to the ambush, and remained between Bethel and Hai, on the west of Hai. But Joshua remained that night in the midst of the people.

10 Afterwards Joshua rose up very early, and reviewed the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people toward Hai.

11 And all the men of war who were with him, went up and drew near, and came opposite to the city, and encamped on the north of Hai. And there was a valley between them and Hai.

12 And he brought besides about five thousand men, whom he placed in ambush between Bethel and Hai, on the west of the city.

13 And the people approached nearer to the whole camp which was on the north of the city, and their ambuscade was on the west of the city itself; and Joshua proceeded that night into the midst of the valley.

14 Moreover, when the king of Hai saw, the men of the city hastened, and rose up early, and came out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people, at the appointed time before the plains; but he knew not that there was an ambuscade for him behind the city.

15 And they routed Joshua and all Israel before them, who fled by the way of the desert.

16 And the whole people who were in the city mustered to pursue them. And they pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.

17 Nor did any one remain of Bethel and Hai who did not go out after Israel; and they left the city open, and pursued Israel.

18 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Lift up the spear which is in thy hand against Hai, for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua lifted up the spear which was in his hand against the city.

19 Then those in ambush rose suddenly from their place, and ran when he had lifted up his hand, and they came to the city, and took it, and hastened to set fire to the city.

20 And the men of Hai turning, saw, and lo, the smoke of the city was rising up to heaven, and they had no room to flee this way or that. And the people who had fled turned against their pursuers.

21 Joshua, therefore, and all Israel, when they saw that the ambuscade had taken the city, and the smoke of the city had ascended, returned and smote the men of Hai.

22 Those besides came out of the city to encounter them, and they were in the middle between Israel, part of whom were on this side and part on that. And they smote them, till not one remained who had survived and escaped.

23 They also took the king of Hai alive, and placed him before Joshua.

24 And when the men of Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Hai in the desert whither they had pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword till they were consumed, all Israel returned to Hai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.

25 And the number of all who fell on that day, male and female, was about twelve thousand, all people of Hai.

26 Moreover, Joshua did not draw back his hand which he had raised to the spear, until he slew all the inhabitants of Hai.

27 Only the animals and the spoils of that city the children of Israel took to themselves for booty, according to the word of Jehovah, which Joshua had commanded them.

28 Joshua therefore burnt Hai, and made it an eternal heap, a devastation even to this day.

29 And he hung the king of Hai on a gibbet even until the time of evening; and when the sun had gone down, Joshua commanded, and they took down his corpse from the gibbet, and cast it forth at the entrance of the gate of the city, and placed over it a great heap of stones, even to this day.

30 Then Joshua built an altar to Jehovah the God of Israel in mount Ebal,

31 According as Moses, the servant of Jehovah, had commanded the children of Israel; as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of entire stones, on which they had lifted an iron, and they sacrificed upon it holocausts to Jehovah, and they sacrificed victims of prosperity.

32 He also wrote there on stones a duplicate law of Moses, which he wrote in presence of the children of Israel.

33 And the whole of Israel, and their elders and prefects, and their judges, stood on this side and on that at the ark before the priests the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the stranger as the native, half of them against mount Garizin, and half of them against mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of Jehovah, had commanded, that he might first bless the people.

34 And after these things he read all the words of the law, blessing and cursing according to all that which is written in the book of the law.