Joshua 7:6-16

6 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.
7 And Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why hast Thou at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? Would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!
8 O LORD, what shall I say when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
9 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?"
10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, "Get thee up. Why liest thou thus upon thy face?
11 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.
12 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, unless ye destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people and say, `Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, 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.
14 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.
15 And it shall be that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned 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.'"
16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken;

Joshua 7:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 7

For the trespass of Achan the children of Israel were smitten and put to flight by the men of Ai, Jos 7:1-5; which gave him and the elders of the people great concern, both for Israel and for the name of the Lord, which was expressed by Joshua in prayer to God, Jos 7:6-9; when the Lord informed him of the reason of it, and gave him directions for finding out the guilty person, and for the punishment of him, Jos 7:10-15; which directions Joshua followed, and the person was found out, who being urged to a confession made one, Jos 7:16-21; upon which he and all he had, with the things he had taken, were burnt with fire, Jos 7:22-26.

Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.