የአካን ኀጢአት
1እስራኤላውያን ግን ዕርም የሆነውን ነገር7፥1 በዚህም ሆነ በቍጥር 11፡12፡13 እና 15 ላይ የዕብራይስጡ ቃል አንድን ሰው ወይም ነገር ሙሉ በሙሉ በማጥፋት ለእግዚአብሔር መስጠት ማለት ነው። ለራሳቸው በመውሰድ በደሉ፤ ይህም ከይሁዳ ነገድ የሆነው አካን የከርሚ ልጅ፣ የዘንበሪ7፥1 1ዜና 2፥6 እና የሰብዓ ሊቃናት ትርጉም ይመ፤ በዚህም ሆነ በቍጥር 17 እና 18 ላይ ዕብራይስጡ “ዘብዴ” ይላል። ልጅ፣ የዛራ ልጅ ዕርም ከሆነው ነገር ስለ ወሰደ የእግዚአብሔር ቍጣ በእስራኤል ልጆች ላይ ነደደ።
2ኢያሱ ከቤቴል በስተ ምሥራቅ ካለችው ከቤት አዌን አጠገብ ወደምትገኘው ወደ ጋይ ከኢያሪኮ ሰዎችን ልኮ፣ “ወደዚያ ውጡ፤ አገሪቱንም ሰልሉ” አላቸው፤ ሰዎቹም ወጥተው ጋይን ሰለሉ።
3ወደ ኢያሱም ተመልሰው፣ “ጋይን ለመውጋት ሕዝቡ ሁሉ መሄድ አያስፈልገውም፤ በዚያ ያለው ሕዝብ ጥቂት ስለሆነ፣ ከተማዪቱን ለመውጋት ሁለት ወይም ሦስት ሺሕ ሰው ስለሚበቃ ሕዝቡ ሁሉ ወደዚያ በመሄድ አይድከም” አሉት። 4ስለዚህ ሦስት ሺሕ ያህል ሰው ወጣ፤ ከጋይም ሰዎች ፊት ሸሸ፤ 5የጋይም ሰዎች እስራኤላውያንንም ከከተማዪቱ ቅጥር በር ጀምሮ እስከ ሽባሪም7፥5 ወይም እስከ “ድንጋይ መፍለጫው” ተብሎ መተርጐም ይችላል። ድረስ በማባረር ቍልቍለቱ ላይ መቷቸው፤ ከእነርሱም ሠላሳ ስድስት ያህል ሰው ገደሉባቸው። ከዚህ የተነሣም የሕዝቡ ልብ ቀለጠ፤ እንደ ውሃም ፈሰሰ።
6በዚህ ጊዜ ኢያሱ ልብሱን ቀደደ፤ በእግዚአብሔርም ታቦት ፊት በግንባሩ ተደፋ፤ የእስራኤል ሽማግሌዎችም እንደዚሁ አደረጉ፤ በራሳቸውም ላይ ትቢያ ነሰነሱ። 7ኢያሱም እንዲህ አለ፤ “ወዮ! ልዑል እግዚአብሔር ሆይ፤ ዮርዳኖስን አሻግረህ ይህን ሕዝብ ወደዚህ ያመጣኸው ለአሞራውያን አሳልፈህ በመስጠት እንዲያጠፉን ነውን? ምነው ሳንሻገር እዚያው ማዶ በቀረን ኖሮ! 8ጌታ ሆይ፤ እስራኤል በጠላቱ ፊት ሲሸሽ እኔ ምን ልበል? 9ከነዓናውያንና ሌሎቹ የምድሪቱ ነዋሪዎች ሁሉ ይህን ሲሰሙ ይከቡናል፤ ስማችንንም ከምድር ገጽ ያጠፉታል፤ እንግዲህ ስለ ታላቁ ስምህ ስትል የምታደርገው ምንድን ነው?”
10እግዚአብሔር ኢያሱን እንዲህ አለው፤ “ተነሥ! ለምን በግንባርህ ተደፋህ? 11እስራኤል በድሏል፤ እንዲጠብቁ ያዘዝኋቸውን ቃል ኪዳኔን ጥሰዋል፤ ዕርም የሆነውን ነገር ወስደዋል፤ ሰርቀዋል፤ ዋሽተዋል፤ የወሰዱትንም ከራሳቸው ንብረት ጋር ደባልቀዋል። 12እንግዲህ እስራኤላውያን ጠላቶቻቸውን ለመቋቋም ያልቻሉት በዚህ ምክንያት ነው። ጀርባቸውን አዙረው የሸሹትም ለጥፋት በመዳረጋቸው ነው። ዕርም የሆነውን ነገር ከመካከላችሁ ካላጠፋችሁ፣ ከዚህ በኋላ ከእናንተ ጋር አልሆንም።
13“ተነሣ፤ ሕዝቡን ቀድስ፤ እንዲህም በላቸው፤ ‘እስራኤል ሆይ፤ እርም የሆነ ነገር በመካከላችሁ ስላለ፣ ይህን ካላስወገዳችሁ ጠላቶቻችሁን ለመቋቋም እንደማትችሉ የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር ተናግሯልና ለነገ ራሳችሁን ለማዘጋጀት ሰውነታችሁን ቀድሱ።
14“ ‘ማለዳ በየነገድ በየነገዳችሁ ሆናችሁ ቅረቡ፤ እግዚአብሔር የሚለየው ነገድ በየጐሣ በየጐሣው ሆኖ ከሕዝቡ መካከል ወደ ፊት ይወጣል፤ እንዲሁም እግዚአብሔር የሚለየው ጐሣ በየቤተ ሰቡ ሆኖ ወደ ፊት ይወጣል፤ እግዚአብሔር የሚለየው ቤተ ሰብ ደግሞ በግለ ሰብ በግለ ሰብ ሆኖ ወደ ፊት ይወጣል። 15ዕርሙ የተገኘበት ሰው፣ እርሱና ያለው ሁሉ በእሳት ይቃጠላል፤ የእግዚአብሔርን ቃል ኪዳን አፍርሷል፤ በእስራኤልም ዘንድ አሳፋሪ ተግባር ፈጽሟልና።’ ”
16በማግስቱም ጧት ኢያሱ ማልዶ ተነሣ፤ እስራኤልንም በየነገድ በየነገዳቸው ሆነው እንዲቀርቡ አደረገ፤ ከዚያም የይሁዳ ነገድ ተለየ። 17የይሁዳንም ጐሣዎች ወደ ፊት አቀረበ፤ ከእነዚህም የዛራን ጐሣ ለየ፤ እነዚህን ደግሞ በየቤተ ሰባቸው እንዲወጡ አደረገ፤ ከእነዚህም ዘንበሪ ተለየ። 18ኢያሱ የዘንበሪን ቤተ ሰብ አባላት አንድ በአንድ ወደ ፊት እንዲቀርቡ አደረገ፤ ከዚያም ከይሁዳ ነገድ የሆነውም የዛራ ልጅ፣ የዘንበሪ ልጅ፣ የከርሚ ልጅ አካን ለብቻው ተለየ።
19ኢያሱም አካንን፣ “ልጄ ሆይ፤ ለእስራኤል አምላክ ለእግዚአብሔር ክብርን ስጥ7፥19 እውነትን ለመናገር የሚደረግ መሐላ ነው።፤ ለእርሱም ተናዘዝ፤ ያደረግኸውን ሳትደብቅ ንገረኝ” አለው።
20አካንም መልሶ ኢያሱን እንዲህ አለው፤ “እውነት ነው! የእስራኤልን አምላክ እግዚአብሔርን በድያለሁ፤ ያደረግሁትም ይህ ነው፤ 21ከምርኮው ዕቃ መካከል ከሰናዖር7፥21 አንዳንድ ቅጆች “ባቢሎን” ይላሉ። የመጣ አንድ የሚያምር ካባ፣ ሁለት መቶ ሰቅል7፥21 2.3 ኪሎ ግራም ያህል ነው። ብርና7፥21 0.6 ኪሎ ግራም ያህል ነው። ክብደቱ አምሳ ሰቅል የሚሆን የወርቅ ቡችላ አይቼ ጐመጀሁ፤ ወሰድኋቸውም፤ ዕቃውም ብሩ ከታች ሆኖ፣ በድንኳኔ ውስጥ መሬት ተቀብሯል።”
22በዚህ ጊዜ ኢያሱ መልእክተኞች ላከ፤ እነርሱም ወደ ድንኳኑ ሮጡ፤ በዚያም ብሩ ከታች ሆኖ ዕቃው እንደ ተቀበረ አገኙ። 23ከድንኳኑም አውጥተው፣ ኢያሱና እስራኤላውያን ሁሉ ወዳሉበት አምጥተው በእግዚአብሔር ፊት አኖሩ።
24ኢያሱም ከመላው እስራኤል ጋር ሆኖ፣ የዛራን ልጅ አካንን፣ ብሩን፣ ካባውን፣ የወርቁን ቡችላ፣ ወንዶችና ሴቶች ልጆቹን፣ የከብቱን መንጋ፣ አህዮቹንና በጎቹን እንዲሁም ድንኳኑንና የእርሱ የሆነውን ሁሉ ወደ አኮር ሸለቆ አስወሰደ። 25ኢያሱም፣ “እንዲህ ያለውን መከራ ለምን አመጣብህን? እነሆ፤ ዛሬ በአንተም ላይ እግዚአብሔር መከራ ያመጣብሃል” አለው።
ከዚያም እስራኤል በሙሉ በድንጋይ ወገሩት፤ የቀሩትንም እንደዚሁ ከወገሩ በኋላ በእሳት አቃጠሏቸው። 26በአካንም ላይ እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ የሚታየውን ታላቅ የድንጋይ ቍልል ከመሩበት፤ ከዚያም እግዚአብሔር ከአስፈሪ ቍጣው ተመለሰ። ስለዚህ ከዚያን ጊዜ ጀምሮ ያ ስፍራ የአኮር7፥26 “አኮር” ማለት ችግር ወይም መከራ ማለት ነው። ሸለቆ ተባለ።
1But 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.7.1 Achan: also called, Achar7.1 Zabdi: also called, Zimri 2And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. 3And 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.7.3 about…: Heb. about two thousand men, or, about three thousand men 4So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 5And 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.7.5 in…: or, in Morad
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. 7And 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 dwelt on the other side Jordan! 8O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!7.8 backs: Heb. necks 9For 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; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?7.10 liest: Heb. fallest 11Israel 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. 12Therefore 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. 13Up, 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. 14In 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. 15And 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.7.15 folly: or, wickedness
16¶ So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: 17And 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: 18And 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. 19And 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. 20And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: 21When 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.7.21 wedge: Heb. tongue
22¶ So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 23And 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.7.23 laid: Heb. poured 24And 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. 25And 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. 26And 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.7.26 Achor: that is, Trouble
