Joshua 7

• 1. But Israel was unfaithful concerning the things set apart for the LORD. A man named Achan had stolen some of these things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, of the family of Zimri, of the clan of Zerah, and of the tribe of Judah.
• 2. Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the city of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven.
• 3. When they returned, they told Joshua, "It's a small town, and it won't take more than two or three thousand of us to destroy it. There's no need for all of us to go there."
• 4. So approximately three thousand warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai
• 5. chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away.
• 6. Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed down facing the Ark of the LORD until evening.
• 7. Then Joshua cried out, "Sovereign LORD, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side!
• 8. Lord, what am I to say, now that Israel has fled from its enemies?
• 9. For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe us off the face of the earth. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?"
• 10. But the LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?
• 11. Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen the things that I commanded to be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them; they have also lied about it and hidden the things among their belongings.
• 12. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.
• 13. "Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the LORD. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things.
• 14. In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes, and the LORD will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. That tribe must come forward with its clans, and the LORD will point out the guilty clan. That clan will then come forward, and the LORD will point out the guilty family. Finally, each member of the guilty family must come one by one.
• 15. The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the LORD and has done a horrible thing in Israel."
• 16. Early the next morning Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before the LORD, and the tribe of Judah was singled out.
• 17. Then the clans of Judah came forward, and the clan of Zerah was singled out. Then the families of Zerah came before the LORD, and the family of Zimri was singled out.
• 18. Every member of Zimri's family was brought forward person by person, and Achan was singled out.
• 19. Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don't hide it from me."
• 20. Achan replied, "I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel.
• 21. For I saw a beautiful robe imported from Babylon, two hundred silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest."
• 22. So Joshua sent some men to make a search. They ran to the tent and found the stolen goods hidden there, just as Achan had said, with the silver buried beneath the rest.
• 23. They took the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites. Then they laid them on the ground in the presence of the LORD.
• 24. Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor.
• 25. Then Joshua said to Achan, "Why have you brought trouble on us? The LORD will now bring trouble on you." And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies.
• 26. They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble ever since. So the LORD was no longer angry.

Joshua 8

• 1. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the entire army and attack Ai, for I have given to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
• 2. You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the captured goods and the cattle for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."
• 3. So Joshua and the army of Israel set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand fighting men and sent them out at night
• 4. with these orders: "Hide in ambush close behind the city and be ready for action.
• 5. When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away from them.
• 6. We will let them chase us until they have all left the city. For they will say, `The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.'
• 7. Then you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the LORD your God will give it to you.
• 8. Set the city on fire, as the LORD has commanded. You have your orders."
• 9. So they left that night and lay in ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai. But Joshua remained among the people in the camp that night.
• 10. Early the next morning Joshua roused his men and started toward Ai, accompanied by the leaders of Israel.
• 11. They camped on the north side of Ai, with a valley between them and the city.
• 12. That night Joshua sent five thousand men to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
• 13. So they stationed the main army north of the city and the ambush west of the city. Joshua himself spent that night in the valley.
• 14. When the king of Ai saw the Israelites across the valley, he and all his army hurriedly went out early the next morning and attacked the Israelites at a place overlooking the Jordan Valley. But he didn't realize there was an ambush behind the city.
• 15. Joshua and the Israelite army fled toward the wilderness as though they were badly beaten,
• 16. and all the men in the city were called out to chase after them. In this way, they were lured away from the city.
• 17. There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not chase after the Israelites, and the city was left wide open.
• 18. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Point your spear toward Ai, for I will give you the city." Joshua did as he was commanded.
• 19. As soon as Joshua gave the signal, the men in ambush jumped up and poured into the city. They quickly captured it and set it on fire.
• 20. When the men of Ai looked behind them, smoke from the city was filling the sky, and they had nowhere to go. For the Israelites who had fled in the direction of the wilderness now turned on their pursuers.
• 21. When Joshua and the other Israelites saw that the ambush had succeeded and that smoke was rising from the city, they turned and attacked the men of Ai.
• 22. Then the Israelites who were inside the city came out and started killing the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in a trap, and all of them died. Not a single person survived or escaped.
• 23. Only the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
• 24. When the Israelite army finished killing all the men outside the city, they went back and finished off everyone inside.
• 25. So the entire population of Ai was wiped out that day--twelve thousand in all.
• 26. For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who had lived in Ai was completely destroyed.
• 27. Only the cattle and the treasures of the city were not destroyed, for the Israelites kept these for themselves, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.
• 28. So Ai became a permanent mound of ruins, desolate to this very day.
• 29. Joshua hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body and threw it in front of the city gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.
• 30. Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.
• 31. He followed the instructions that Moses the LORD's servant had written in the Book of the Law: "Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools." Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
• 32. And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied the law of Moses onto the stones of the altar.
• 33. Then all the Israelites--foreigners and citizens alike--along with the leaders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood at the foot of Mount Gerizim, the other at the foot of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the LORD's covenant. This was all done according to the instructions Moses, the servant of the LORD, had given for blessing the people of Israel.
• 34. Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of the Law.
• 35. Every command Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among the Israelites.

Joshua 9

• 1. Now all the kings west of the Jordan heard about what had happened. (These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who lived in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as the Lebanon mountains.)
• 2. These kings quickly combined their armies to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.
• 3. But when the people of Gibeon heard what had happened to Jericho and Ai,
• 4. they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old patched wineskins.
• 5. They put on ragged clothes and worn-out, patched sandals. And they took along dry, moldy bread for provisions.
• 6. When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us."
• 7. The Israelites replied to these Hivites, "How do we know you don't live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you."
• 8. They replied, "We will be your servants.But who are you?" Joshua demanded. "Where do you come from?"
• 9. They answered, "We are from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the LORD your God and of all he did in Egypt.
• 10. We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River--King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth).
• 11. So our leaders and our people instructed us, `Prepare for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and declare our people to be their servants, and ask for peace.'
• 12. "This bread was hot from the ovens when we left. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy.
• 13. These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and cracked. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our long, hard trip."
• 14. So the Israelite leaders examined their bread, but they did not consult the LORD.
• 15. Then Joshua went ahead and signed a peace treaty with them, and the leaders of Israel ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
• 16. Three days later, the facts came out--these people of Gibeon lived nearby!
• 17. The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
• 18. But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for their leaders had made a vow to the LORD, the God of Israel. The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty.
• 19. But the leaders replied, "We have sworn an oath in the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel. We cannot touch them.
• 20. We must let them live, for God would be angry with us if we broke our oath.
• 21. Let them live. But we will make them chop the wood and carry the water for the entire community." So the Israelites kept their promise to the Gibeonites.
• 22. But Joshua called together the Gibeonite leaders and said, "Why did you lie to us? Why did you say that you live in a distant land when you live right here among us?
• 23. May you be cursed! From now on you will chop wood and carry water for the house of my God."
• 24. They replied, "We did it because we were told that the LORD your God instructed his servant Moses to conquer this entire land and destroy all the people living in it. So we feared for our lives because of you. That is why we have done it.
• 25. Now we are at your mercy--do whatever you think is right."
• 26. Joshua did not allow the people of Israel to kill them.
• 27. But that day he made the Gibeonites the woodchoppers and water carriers for the people of Israel and for the altar of the LORD--wherever the LORD would choose to build it. That arrangement continues to this day.

New Living Translation: 67 of 324 days.