For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and gained relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder.
When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon, two and a half kilograms of silver, and a bar of gold weighing half a kilogram, I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under the cloak.’
‘Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are things that are set apart among you, Israel. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove what is set apart.
The Israelites, however, were unfaithful regarding the things set apart for destruction. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart, and the Lord’s anger burned against the Israelites.
‘Who made you a commander and judge over us? ’ the man replied. ‘Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? ’ Then Moses became afraid and thought, ‘What I did is certainly known.’
They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it down from the forests, for they will use the weapons to make fires. They will take the loot from those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them. This is the declaration of the Lord God.