15The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”

The Sin of Achan

16So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.17He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward, and the family of Zabdi was selected.18And he had the family of Zabdi come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.19So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

20“It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:21When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.23They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD.24Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.25“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.26And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

The Conquest of Ai

1Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.2And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind the city.”

3So Joshua and the whole army set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out at night4with these orders: “Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready.5Then I and all the troops with me will advance on the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them.6They will pursue us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ So as we flee from them,7you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.8And when you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD has commanded! See, I have given you orders.”

9So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people.10Joshua got up early the next morning and mobilized his men, and he and the elders of Israel marched before them up to Ai.11Then all the troops who were with him marched up and approached the city. They arrived in front of Ai and camped to the north of it, with the valley between them and the city.12Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.13So the forces were stationed with the main camp to the north of the city and the rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley.14When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city.15Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.16Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city.17Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.

18Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai,19and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.20When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.21When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai.22Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained.23But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

24When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had pursued them into the field and wilderness, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and put it to the sword as well.25A total of twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai.26Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai.27Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day.29He hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.

Joshua Renews the Covenant

30At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel,31just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used.” And on it they offered burnt offerings to the LORD, and they sacrificed peace offerings.32And there in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.33All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.34Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.35There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to read before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.

The Deceit of the Gibeonites

1Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)—2they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.3But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,4acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.5They put worn, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies, and their whole supply of bread was dry and moldy.6They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; please make a treaty with us.”

7But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell near us. How can we make a treaty with you?”

8“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?”

9“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt,10and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.11So the elders and inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go to meet them and say to them: We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.’12This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But take a look, it is now dry and moldy.13These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”

14Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.15And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.16Three days after they had made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites learned that they were neighbors, living among them.17So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.18But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.19All the leaders answered, “We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.20This is how we will treat them: We will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.”21They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.

22Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?23Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

24The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.25Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”

26So Joshua did this and delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill the Gibeonites.27On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.

The Day the Sun Stood Still

1Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction —doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.2So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty.3Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying,4“Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”5So the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and advanced with all their armies. They camped before Gibeon and made war against it.