Joshua 7:1-6

¹However, the Israelites had not been faithful regarding those things set apart for the Lord. Achan had taken some of them which made the Lord very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.

²Joshua sent men from the camp near Jericho to the town of Ai, which is near Bethaven, east of Bethel. “Go and explore the land,” he told them. So they went and explored around Ai.

³When they returned they told Joshua, “The whole army isn't needed. Two or three thousand men is enough to go and attack Ai. Don't bother sending everyone—there's only a few of them.”

⁴So around three thousand men went to fight, but they were beaten by the men of Ai and they ran away.

⁵The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing the Israelites from the town gate until they were defeated, killing them on their way down. At this the Israelites became afraid, losing all their courage.

⁶Joshua ripped his clothes and fell down with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord until the evening. The elders did likewise, and he and the elders threw dust on their heads.