Joshua Chapter 7
Showing all 26 verses for Joshua Chapter 7.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. "
"But the Israelites broke faith over the things set apart for destruction: Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of what was devoted, and the LORD's anger burned against the Israelites."
One man's hidden sin brought consequences on the whole community, showing how deeply our lives are connected to those around us. Live with integrity not only for your own sake, but because your choices ripple out to affect people you love.
"And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. "
"Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, near Bethaven, east of Bethel, telling them, 'Go up and scout the land.' So the men went up and scouted Ai."
Sending spies to scout Ai was sensible on its own, but it was about to be paired with a dangerous overconfidence born of the previous victory. Even wise preparation needs to be held alongside humble dependence on God, not treated as a substitute for it.
"And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. "
"They returned to Joshua and reported, 'Don't send the whole army - about two or three thousand men are enough to attack Ai. There's no need to tire out everyone, because the town is small.'"
The spies assessed Ai by human calculation alone - too small to need many men - forgetting that Israel's strength had always come from the LORD, not their numbers. Success in the past can quietly breed the kind of pride that forgets where our real strength lies.
"So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. "
"So about three thousand men went up, but they fled before the men of Ai."
The very men who had just crossed the Jordan and seen Jericho fall now fled before a small city. When hidden sin has broken our fellowship with God, even a seemingly small challenge can suddenly overwhelm us.
"And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. "
"The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as Shebarim and cutting them down on the slope, and the hearts of the people melted and became like water."
The same melting hearts that once terrified Jericho's kings now describe Israel's own fear - a striking reversal that should prompt honest self-examination rather than blaming bad luck. Take unexpected setbacks as an invitation to look honestly within, not just at circumstances.
"And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. "
"Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD until evening, along with the elders of Israel, and they put dust on their heads."
Joshua tore his clothes, fell before the ark, and put dust on his head - grief and confusion brought honestly straight into God's presence. You never need to hide your pain or bewilderment from God; bring it fully to Him, exactly as it is.
"And Joshua said, Alas, O LORD God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and on the other side Jordan! "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"Joshua said, 'Oh, Lord GOD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan, just to hand us over to the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!'"
Joshua's raw prayer edges close to complaint, almost wishing they'd never crossed the Jordan at all - yet God doesn't rebuke him for the honesty of it. Honest wrestling with God in the middle of confusion is still real relationship with Him, not a failure of faith.
"O LORD, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! "
"'Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?'"
Joshua's speechless grief - "what shall I say" - shows a leader genuinely undone by defeat rather than putting on a brave face for others. There's no shame in admitting you don't have the words; God can meet you in that honest silence too.
"For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name? "
"'The Canaanites and everyone living in the land will hear about this, surround us, and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your own great name?'"
Joshua's deepest worry wasn't really for his own reputation but for God's great name among the nations. When we're troubled, it's worth asking whether our concern is ultimately for ourselves or for how God's character is represented through us.
"And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? "
"The LORD said to Joshua, 'Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?'"
God's response is direct: "Get thee up." There's a time for lament, but also a time when God calls us to rise and act once the real problem has been named, rather than staying paralysed in grief.
"Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. "
"'Israel has sinned - they have broken my covenant, which I commanded them. They have taken some of what was devoted to destruction, they have stolen, they have lied about it, and they have hidden it among their own belongings.'"
God names the sin precisely - taken, stolen, dissembled, hidden - refusing to let it stay vague or excused. Real restoration starts with letting God call sin exactly what it is, rather than softening it into something more comfortable.
"Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. "
"'That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies - they turned their backs because they have become subject to destruction themselves. I will not be with you any more unless you remove what is devoted to destruction from among you.'"
God states plainly that His presence won't return until the hidden sin is dealt with - not because He's distant or unwilling, but because unaddressed sin genuinely blocks fellowship. Facing what's hidden honestly is the doorway back into closeness with Him.
"Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. "
"'Get up! Consecrate the people and tell them, sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: there is something devoted to destruction among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.'"
God calls the whole people to sanctify themselves, not just the guilty individual, because sin's effects and its remedy both touch the whole community. Corporate honesty and preparation before God matters, not just private confession alone.
"In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. "
"'In the morning you will present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the LORD selects will come forward family by family, the family the LORD selects will come forward household by household, and the household the LORD selects will come forward man by man.'"
God patiently worked through a careful, step-by-step process - tribe, family, household, man - rather than punishing at random. He is always fair and precise in how He deals with responsibility, never careless or arbitrary.
"And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. "
"'Whoever is caught with the devoted thing will be burned with fire, along with everything he has, because he has broken the covenant of the LORD and done a disgraceful thing in Israel.'"
The severity of this warning shows how seriously God took a deliberate breach of covenant at this pivotal moment for the whole nation. It's sobering rather than a model for personal vengeance today, since under the new covenant Jesus bore sin's punishment himself.
"So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: "
"So Joshua got up early the next morning and brought Israel forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected."
Joshua rose early to begin the process without delay once he knew what needed to be done. When God shows us what must be addressed, prompt obedience - rather than putting it off - is the faithful response.
"And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: "
"He brought forward the clans of Judah, and the Zerahite clan was selected. He brought forward the Zerahite clan man by man, and Zabdi was selected."
The process narrows steadily and specifically, family by family, showing God's precise knowledge of exactly where the problem lies. Nothing about your own situation is too obscure or hidden for God to see clearly.
"And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. "
"He brought forward his household man by man, and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected."
The search finally lands on one man, Achan, named in full with his whole family line. God's justice is never a vague, collective blur - it reaches the actual person responsible, precisely and fairly.
"And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. "
"Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make your confession to him. Tell me now what you have done - don't hide it from me.'"
Joshua calls Achan "my son" even in the moment of judgement, gently inviting an honest confession rather than shaming him into silence. Confession should always be invited with compassion, not just demanded harshly.
"And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: "
"Achan answered Joshua, 'It's true - I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is exactly what I did:'"
Achan's simple, direct admission - "I have sinned" - models the kind of honest confession God always welcomes rather than excuses or blame-shifting. True confession names the sin plainly, without softening it.
"When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. "
"'When I saw among the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylon, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I wanted them, and I took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.'"
Achan's own account traces the exact anatomy of temptation - he saw, he coveted, he took, he hid - a pattern that still describes how sin operates in any life today. Recognise this pattern early, at the seeing-and-wanting stage, before it grows into something you can't undo.
"So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. "
"So Joshua sent messengers, who ran to the tent, and there it was - hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath."
Joshua sent messengers to verify Achan's confession, and it matched exactly what he'd said. Genuine confession holds up under scrutiny because it isn't hiding anything further behind it.
"And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. "
"They took the things out of the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and laid them out before the LORD."
The stolen items were laid out openly before the LORD and all Israel, with nothing left concealed. Full, public honesty about what's gone wrong is part of how a community is genuinely restored.
"And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. "
"Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything he had, and brought them to the Valley of Achor."
This harsh judgement reflects the seriousness of a deliberate, hidden breach of covenant at a pivotal moment for the whole nation, not a template for how we treat wrongdoers today. It's a sober reminder of how seriously God once dealt with sin that threatened His people's whole future.
"And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. "
"Joshua said, 'Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today.' Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned them, they burned them with fire."
Joshua's words to Achan - "why hast thou troubled us?" - and the judgement that followed reflect a specific, unrepeated moment of covenant discipline, sobering rather than a call to personal vengeance today. Under the new covenant, Jesus took sin's punishment upon himself so that honest confession leads to mercy.
"And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day. "
"They piled a great heap of stones over him, which remains there to this day, and the LORD turned from his fierce anger. That is why the place is called the Valley of Achor to this day."
After sin was honestly dealt with, God's anger genuinely turned away and Israel could move forward - the valley's name, Achor, marked the past trouble but didn't define the future. Remarkably, this same valley later becomes a symbol of hope, showing that God's turning away from anger opens the door to a real fresh start.