5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore athe hearts of the people melted and became like water.
6 Then Joshua atore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they bput dust on their heads.
7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord1God, awhy have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!
8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its1 back before its enemies?
9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and acut off our name from the earth. Then bwhat will You do for Your great name?”
The Sin of Achan
10 So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?
11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. aFor they have even taken some of the1 accursed things, and have both stolen and bdeceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.
12aTherefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because bthey have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Get up, asanctify the people, and say, b‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Thereis an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”
14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which athe Lord takes shall come according to families; and the family which the Lord takes shall come by households; and the household which the Lord takes shall come man by man.
Alas , O Lord God - Particles of exclamations and distress, or what are called interjections, are nearly the same in all languages: and the reason is because they are the simple voice of nature. The Hebrew word which we translate alas is ahah . The complaint of Joshua in this and the following verses seems principally to have arisen from his deep concern for the glory of God, and the affecting interest he took in behalf of the people: he felt for the thousands of Israel, whom he considered as abandoned to destruction: and he felt for the glory of God, for he knew should Israel be destroyed God' s name would be blasphemed among the heathen; and his expostulations with his Maker, which have been too hastily blamed by some, as savouring of too great freedom and impatience are founded on God' s own words, Deuteronomy 32:26, Deuteronomy 32:27, and on the practice of Moses himself, who had used similar expressions on a similar occasion; see Exodus 5:22, Exodus 5:23; Numbers 14:13-18.
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