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Joshua 8
Lexham English Bible

Ai Is Destroyed

8 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the fighting men[a] with you and go up immediately to Ai.[b] Look, I am giving into your hand the king of Ai, his city, and his land. 2 You will do to Ai and its king that which you did to Jericho and its king; you may take only its spoils[c] and livestock as booty for yourself. Set for yourself an ambush against the city from behind it.”

3 So Joshua and all the fighting men[d] went up immediately to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand of the best fighting men and sent them by night. 4 And he commanded them, saying, “Look, you are to lay an ambush against the city from behind. Do not go very far from the city and be ready. 5 Then I and all of the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they go out to meet us as before,[e] we will flee from them.[f] 6 They will come out after us until we draw them away from the city, because they will think, ‘They are fleeing from us[g] as before.’[h] So we will flee from them.[i] 7 Then you will rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city, for Yahweh your God will give it into your hand. 8 And when you capture the city you will set it on fire as Yahweh commanded. Look, I have commanded you.” 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of the ambush, and they sat between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai; but Joshua spent the night with the people.[j]

10 Joshua rose early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people of Ai.[k] 11 All the fighting men[l] who were with him went up and drew near before the city[m] and camped north of Ai; there was a valley between him and Ai. 12 And he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So they stationed the forces; all the army was north of the city while the rear guard was west.[n] But Joshua went that night to the middle of the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw this, the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle—he[o] and all his army—to the meeting place before the Arabah.[p] He did not know that there was an ambush for him behind the city. 15 Then Joshua and all Israel acted like they were beaten before them, and they fled in the direction of the wilderness.[q] 16 All of the people who were in the city were called to pursue after them. As they pursued after Joshua, they were drawn away from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel; they left the city open and pursued after Israel.

18 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stretch out the sword[r] that is in your hand to Ai, because I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand to the city. 19 The moment he stretched out his hand, those in the ambush stood up quickly from their place and ran. And they went into the city and captured it, quickly setting the city ablaze with fire. 20 Then the men of Ai looked behind them, and they saw smoke from the city rising to the sky; they had no power to flee this way or that,[s] and the people fleeing the wilderness turned around to the pursuers.[t] 21 And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city was rising; they returned and struck down the men of Ai. 22 Then the others from the city came out to meet them, and they found themselves surrounded by Israel,[u] some on one side, and others on the other side.[v] And they[w] struck them down until no survivor or fugitive was left. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive, and they brought him to Joshua.

24 When Israel finished slaughtering all the inhabitants of Ai in the open field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword[x] until they all had perished, all Israel returned to Ai and attacked it with the edge of the sword.[y] 25 All the people that fell on that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the inhabitants of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand that was stretched out with the sword until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of Yahweh that Joshua commanded. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it an everlasting heap of rubbish, a desolate place until this day. 29 The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the time of evening, and as the sun went down Joshua commanded them, and they brought down his dead body from the tree. Then they threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and they raised over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.

Israel Renews the Covenant

30 Then Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal for Yahweh the God of Israel, 31 as Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded the Israelites,[z] as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses: “an altar of unhewn[aa] stones on which no one has wielded[ab] an iron implement.”[ac] And they offered burnt offerings on it and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 And there Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he[ad] had written, in the presence of the Israelites.[ae] 33 Then all Israel, foreigner as well as native,[af] with the elders, officials, and judges stood on either side[ag] of the ark before the priests and the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim, and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses Yahweh’s servant had commanded before to bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings[ah] and the curses,[ai] according to all that was written in the scroll of the law. 35 There was not a word from all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before the assembly of all Israel, and the women, the little children, and the traveling foreigners[aj] among them.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 8:1 Literally “all the people of war”
  2. Joshua 8:1 Literally “get up and go up to Ai”
  3. Joshua 8:2 Hebrew “spoil”
  4. Joshua 8:3 Literally “all the people of war”
  5. Joshua 8:5 Literally “as that at the first occasion”
  6. Joshua 8:5 Or “before their presence”
  7. Joshua 8:6 Or “before our presence”
  8. Joshua 8:6 Literally “as that at the first occasion”
  9. Joshua 8:6 Or “before their presence”
  10. Joshua 8:9 Literally “in the middle of the people”
  11. Joshua 8:10 Or “before the presence of the people of Ai”
  12. Joshua 8:11 Literally “All the people of war”
  13. Joshua 8:11 Literally “went up, drew near, and came before the city”
  14. Joshua 8:13 Literally “while its rear guard was west of the city”
  15. Joshua 8:14 That is, the king
  16. Joshua 8:14 A dry region that runs south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan Valley
  17. Joshua 8:15 Literally “the way of the wilderness”
  18. Joshua 8:18 Or “spear”
  19. Joshua 8:20 Literally “it was not in their hands to flee here and here”
  20. Joshua 8:20 Hebrew “pursuer”
  21. Joshua 8:22 Literally “they were in the middle of Israel”
  22. Joshua 8:22 Literally “these from these, and these from this”
  23. Joshua 8:22 That is, Israel
  24. Joshua 8:24 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
  25. Joshua 8:24 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
  26. Joshua 8:31 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  27. Joshua 8:31 Or “whole”
  28. Joshua 8:31 Literally “waved over them”
  29. Joshua 8:31 See Exod 20:25
  30. Joshua 8:32 That is, Moses
  31. Joshua 8:32 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  32. Joshua 8:33 Literally “as the alien as the native”
  33. Joshua 8:33 Literally “from this and from this”
  34. Joshua 8:34 Hebrew “blessing”
  35. Joshua 8:34 Hebrew “curse”
  36. Joshua 8:35 Hebrew “foreigner”
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Joshua 8
King James Version

8 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:

2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.

3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night.

4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:

5 And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,

6 (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.

7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.

8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

9 Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.

11 And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai.

12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.

13 And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.

14 And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.

15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

16 And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.

17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

18 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city.

19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.

20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.

21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.

22 And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.

23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.

25 And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

26 For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua.

28 And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.

29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.

30 Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal,

31 As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.

32 And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

33 And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.

34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.

35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.

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Joshua 8
New English Translation

Israel Conquers Ai

8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic![a] Take the whole army with you and march against Ai![b] See, I am handing over to you[c] the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land. 2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city.”

3 Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai.[d] Joshua selected 30,000 brave warriors and sent them out at night. 4 He ordered them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! 5 I and all the troops[e] who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. 6 They will attack[f] us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. 7 Then you rise up from your hiding place[g] and seize[h] the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 When you capture the city, set it[i] on fire in keeping with the Lord’s message. See, I have given you orders.”[j] 9 Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place[k] west of Ai, between Bethel and Ai.[l] Joshua spent that night with the army.[m]

10 Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered[n] the army,[o] and he and the leaders[p] of Israel marched[q] at the head of it[r] to Ai. 11 All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city.[s] They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.[t] 12 He took 5,000 men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai. 13 The army was in position—the main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into[u] the middle of the valley.

14 When the king of Ai and all his people saw Israel, they rushed to get up early. Then the king and the men of the city went out to meet Israel in battle, at the meeting place near the rift valley.[v] But he did not realize an ambush was waiting for him behind the city.[w] 15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them, and they retreated along the way to the wilderness. 16 All the reinforcements[x] in Ai[y] were ordered[z] to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 No men were left in Ai or Bethel;[aa] they all went out after Israel.[ab] They left the city wide open and chased Israel.

18 The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword[ac] in your hand, for I am handing the city[ad] over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. 19 When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked.[ae] They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. 20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw[af] the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction.[ag] In the meantime the men who were retreating to the wilderness turned against their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke,[ah] they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. 22 At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle.[ai] The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the men[aj] of Ai who had chased them toward the wilderness[ak] (they all fell by the sword),[al] all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. 25 So 12,000 men and women died[am] that day, including all the men of Ai. 26 Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai.[an] 27 But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in keeping with the Lord’s orders[ao] to Joshua. 28 Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day).[ap] 29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening.[aq] At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree.[ar] They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day).[as]

Covenant Renewal

30 Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool.[at] On it they offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord and sacrificed tokens of peace.[au] 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses.[av] 33 All the people,[aw] rulers,[ax] leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there.[ay] Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had previously instructed them to do for the formal blessing ceremony.[az] 34 Then[ba] Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. 35 Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given[bb] before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them.[bc]

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 8:1 tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”
  2. Joshua 8:1 tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”
  3. Joshua 8:1 tn Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.
  4. Joshua 8:3 tn “And Joshua and all the people of war arose to go up [against] Ai.”
  5. Joshua 8:5 tn Heb “the people.”
  6. Joshua 8:6 tn Heb “come out after.”
  7. Joshua 8:7 tn Heb “from the ambush.”
  8. Joshua 8:7 tn Heb “take possession of.”
  9. Joshua 8:8 tn Heb “the city.”
  10. Joshua 8:8 tn Heb “I have commanded you.”
  11. Joshua 8:9 tn Or “the place of ambush.”
  12. Joshua 8:9 tn Heb “and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai.”
  13. Joshua 8:9 tn Heb “in the midst of the people.”
  14. Joshua 8:10 tn Or “summoned, mustered.”
  15. Joshua 8:10 tn Heb “the people.”
  16. Joshua 8:10 tn Or “elders.”
  17. Joshua 8:10 tn Heb “went up.”
  18. Joshua 8:10 tn Heb “them” (referring to “the people” in the previous clause, which requires a plural pronoun). Since the translation used “army” in the previous clause, a singular pronoun (“it”) is required in English.
  19. Joshua 8:11 tn Heb “All the people of war who were with him went up and approached and came opposite the city.”
  20. Joshua 8:11 tn Heb “and the valley [was] between them and Ai.”
  21. Joshua 8:13 tn Some Hebrew mss read, “spent the night in.”
  22. Joshua 8:14 sn This probably refers to the hill country at the edge of the rift valley between Ai and Jericho. This part of the battle was probably engaged where Israel would have come up to the hill country out of the rift valley from Jericho, an ascent of about 4000 feet (with ups and downs) over ten miles.
  23. Joshua 8:14 tn Heb “did not know that an ambush for him was behind the city.”
  24. Joshua 8:16 tn Heb “All the people.”
  25. Joshua 8:16 tc Some textual witnesses read “the city.”
  26. Joshua 8:16 tn Or “were summoned”; or “were mustered.”
  27. Joshua 8:17 tc The LXX omits the words “or Bethel.”
  28. Joshua 8:17 tn Heb “who did not go out after Israel.”
  29. Joshua 8:18 tn Traditionally “spear,” but see HALOT 472 s.v. כִּידוֹן, which argues based upon evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls that this term refers to a curved sword of some type; note the definition “scimitar” given there.
  30. Joshua 8:18 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Ai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  31. Joshua 8:19 tn Heb “and ran.”
  32. Joshua 8:20 tn Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.
  33. Joshua 8:20 tn Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”
  34. Joshua 8:21 tn Heb “and that the smoke of the city ascended.”
  35. Joshua 8:22 tn Heb “and these went out from the city to meet them and they were for Israel in the middle, some on this side, and others on the other side.”
  36. Joshua 8:24 tn Heb “residents.”
  37. Joshua 8:24 tn Heb “in the field, in the wilderness in which they chased them.”
  38. Joshua 8:24 tc Heb “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed.” The LXX omits the words, “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword.” They may represent a later scribal addition.
  39. Joshua 8:25 tn Heb “fell.”
  40. Joshua 8:26 tn Heb “Joshua did not draw back his hand which held out the curved sword until he had annihilated all the residents of Ai.”
  41. Joshua 8:27 tn Heb “message, word.”
  42. Joshua 8:28 tn Heb “and made it a permanent mound, a desolation, to this day.”
  43. Joshua 8:29 tn Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  44. Joshua 8:29 sn For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22-23.
  45. Joshua 8:29 tn Heb “to this day.”
  46. Joshua 8:31 tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones on which no one had wielded iron.” The expression “whole stones” refers to stones in their natural condition, i.e., not carved or shaped artificially with tools (“wielded iron”).
  47. Joshua 8:31 tn Or “peace offerings.”
  48. Joshua 8:32 tn Heb “and he wrote there on the stones a duplicate of the law of Moses which he wrote before the sons of Israel.”
  49. Joshua 8:33 tn Heb “All Israel.”
  50. Joshua 8:33 tn Or “elders.”
  51. Joshua 8:33 tn Heb “like the resident foreigner, like the citizen.” The language is idiomatic, meaning that both groups were treated the same, at least in this instance.
  52. Joshua 8:33 tn Heb “as Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded to bless the people, Israel, formerly.”sn Moses’ earlier instructions are found in Deut 11:29.
  53. Joshua 8:34 tn Or “afterward.”
  54. Joshua 8:35 tn Heb “There was not a word from all which Moses commanded that Joshua did not read aloud.”
  55. Joshua 8:35 tn Heb “walked in their midst.”
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Joshua 8
New King James Version

The Fall of Ai

8 Now the Lord said to Joshua: (A)“Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, (B)I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to (C)Jericho and its king. Only (D)its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”

3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. 4 And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, (E)you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that (F)we shall flee before them. 6 For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ Therefore we will flee before them. 7 Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand. 8 And it will be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire. According to the commandment of the Lord you shall do. (G)See, I have commanded you.”

9 Joshua therefore sent them out; and they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua lodged that night among the people. 10 Then Joshua rose up early in the morning and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11 (H)And all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near; and they came before the city and camped on the north side of Ai. Now a valley lay between them and Ai. 12 So he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of [a]the city. 13 And when they had set the people, all the army that was on the north of the city, and its rear guard on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.

14 Now it happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at an appointed place before the plain. But he (I)did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel (J)made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. 16 So all the people who were in Ai were called together to pursue them. And they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel.

18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city. 19 So those in ambush arose quickly out of their place; they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and hurried to set the city on fire. 20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven. So they had no power to flee this way or that way, and the people who had fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.

21 Now when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 Then the others came out of the city against them; so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them down, so that they (K)let none of them remain or escape. 23 But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

24 And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had (L)utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 (M)Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had (N)commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it (O)a heap forever, a desolation to this day. 29 (P)And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. (Q)And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and (R)raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.

Joshua Renews the Covenant(S)

30 Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel (T)in Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: (U)“an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And (V)they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, (W)he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, (X)who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, (Y)the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, (Z)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward (AA)he read all the words of the law, (AB)the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the (AC)Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, (AD)with the women, the little ones, (AE)and the strangers who were living among them.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 8:12 Ai
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