¹But the children of Israel committed treachery in the devoted thing: Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted thing; and the anger of Yahweh burned against the children of Israel.

²And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, east of Beth-el, and said to them: Go up and spy out the land. And the men went up and spied out Ai.

³And they returned to Joshua and said to him: Let not all the people go up; let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for they are few.

⁴So some of the people went up there, about three thousand men, and they fled before the face of the men of Ai.

⁵And the men of Ai struck down from among them about thirty-six men, and pursued them before the face of the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; and the heart of the people melted and became water.

⁶And Joshua tore his garments, and fell on his face to the land before the face of the ark of Yahweh until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they raised dust upon their heads.

⁷And Joshua said: Alas, Adonai Yahweh, why have you indeed brought this people across the Jordan, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to make us perish. If only we had been willing and dwelled on the other side of the Jordan!

⁸Pardon me, Lord, what will I say after Israel has turned the back of the neck before the face of its enemies?

⁹For the Canaanites and all the dwellers of the land will hear, and they will encircle us and cut off our name from the land; and what will you do for your great name?

¹⁰And Yahweh said to Joshua: Rise up! Why is it that you are falling on your face?

¹¹Israel has sinned, and also they have passed over my covenant, which I commanded them; and also they have taken some of the devoted thing, and also stolen, and also lied, and also put it among their own gear.

¹²And the children of Israel will not be able to stand before the face of their enemies; they will turn the back of the neck before the face of their enemies, for they have become a devoted thing. I will not continue to be with you unless you destroy the devoted thing from your midst.

¹³Rise, set apart the people, and you shall say: Set yourselves apart for tomorrow; for thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: A devoted thing is in your midst, Israel; you will not be able to stand before the face of your enemies until you remove the devoted thing from your midst.

¹⁴And you shall draw near in the morning by your tribes; and it shall be that the tribe that Yahweh takes shall draw near by families; and the family that Yahweh takes shall draw near by households; and the household that Yahweh takes shall draw near man by man.

¹⁵And it shall be that the one taken by lot with the devoted thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that is his, for he has stepped beyond the covenant of Yahweh and has done an outrage in Israel.

¹⁶And Joshua rose early in the morning and brought near Israel by its tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken by lot.

¹⁷And he brought near the family of Judah, and took the family of the Zerahites; and he brought the family of the Zerahites near man by man, and Zabdi was taken by lot.

¹⁸And he brought his household near man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken by lot.

¹⁹And Joshua said to Achan: My son, set weightiness on Yahweh, the God of Israel, and give him thanksgiving; and tell me, please, what you have done. Do not hide it from me.

²⁰And Achan answered Joshua and said: Truly I have sinned against Yahweh, the God of Israel, and like this and like this I have done.

²¹And I saw among the plunder one good mantle of Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and one tongue-shaped wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels; and I desired them and took them; and look, they are buried in the land, in the middle of my tent, with the silver beneath it.

²²And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and look, it was buried in his tent, and the silver beneath it.

²³And they took them from the middle of the tent, and brought them to Joshua, and to all the children of Israel, and poured them out before the face of Yahweh.

²⁴And Joshua took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the bar of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his ox, and his donkey, and his flock, and his tent, and all that belonged to him; and all Israel was with him; and they brought up them to the vale of Achor.

²⁵And Joshua said: Why have you troubled us? Yahweh will trouble you on this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, and pelted them with stones.

²⁶And they raised over him a great heap of stones, which is there until this day; and Yahweh turned back from the burning of his anger. Therefore one called the name of that place the vale of Achor until this day.