Joshua 8
Young's Literal Translation
8 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `Fear not, nor be affrighted, take with thee all the people of war, and rise, 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 hast done to Ai and to her king as thou hast done to Jericho and to her king; only, its spoil and its cattle ye spoil for yourselves; set for thee an ambush for the city at its rear.'
3 And Joshua riseth, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai, and Joshua chooseth thirty thousand men, mighty ones of valour, and sendeth them away by night,
4 and commandeth them, saying, `See, ye are liers in wait against the city, at the rear of the city, ye go not very far off from the city, and all of you have been prepared,
5 and I and all the people who [are] with me draw near unto the city, and it hath come to pass when they come out to meet us as at the first, and we have fled before them,
6 and they have come out after us till we have drawn them out of the city, for they say, They are fleeing before us as at the first, and we have fled before them,
7 and ye rise from the ambush, and have occupied the city, and Jehovah your God hath given it into your hand;
8 and it hath been, when ye capture the city, ye burn the city with fire, according to the word of Jehovah ye do, see, I have commanded you.'
9 And Joshua sendeth them away, and they go unto the ambush, and abide between Bethel and Ai, on the west of Ai; and Joshua lodgeth on that night in the midst of the people.
10 And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and inspecteth the people, and goeth up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai;
11 and all the people of war who [are] with him have gone up, and draw nigh and come in over-against the city, and encamp on the north of Ai; and the valley [is] between him and Ai.
12 And he taketh about five thousand men, and setteth them an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city;
13 and they set the people, all the camp which [is] on the north of the city, and its rear on the west of the city, and Joshua goeth on that night into the midst of the valley.
14 And it cometh to pass, when the king of Ai seeth [it], that hasten, and rise early, and go out do the men of the city to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people, at the appointed season, at the front of the plain, and he hath not known that an ambush [is] against him, on the rear of the city.
15 And Joshua and all Israel [seem] stricken before them, and flee the way of the wilderness,
16 and all the people who [are] in the city are called to pursue after them, and they pursue after Joshua, and are drawn away out of the city,
17 and there hath not been left a man in Ai and Bethel who hath not gone out after Israel, and they leave the city open, and pursue after Israel.
18 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `Stretch out with the javelin which [is] in thy hand towards Ai, for into thy hand I give it;' and Joshua stretcheth out with the javelin which [is] in his hand toward the city,
19 and the ambush hath risen [with] haste, out of its place, and they run at the stretching out of his hand, and go into the city, and capture it, and hasten, and burn the city with fire.
20 And the men of Ai look behind them, and see, and lo, the smoke of the city hath gone up unto the heavens, and there hath not been in them power to flee hither and thither -- and the people who are fleeing to the wilderness have turned against the pursuer, --
21 and Joshua and all Israel have seen that the ambush hath captured the city, and that the smoke of the city hath gone up, and they turn back and smite the men of Ai;
22 and these have come out from the city to meet them, and they are in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that, and they smite them till he hath not left to them a remnant and escaped one;
23 and the king of Ai they caught alive, and bring him near unto Joshua.
24 And it cometh to pass, at Israel's finishing to slay all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them (and they fall all of them by the mouth of the sword till their consumption), that all Israel turn back to Ai, and smite it by the mouth of the sword;
25 and all who fall during the day, of men and of women, are twelve thousand -- all men of Ai.
26 And Joshua hath not brought back his hand which he stretched out with the javelin till that he hath devoted all the inhabitants of Ai;
27 only, the cattle and the spoil of that city have Israel spoiled for themselves, according to the word of Jehovah which He commanded Joshua.
28 And Joshua burneth Ai, and maketh it a heap age-during -- a desolation unto this day;
29 and the king of Ai he hath hanged on the tree till even-time, and at the going in of the sun hath Joshua commanded, and they take down his carcase from the tree, and cast it unto the opening of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones till this day.
30 Then doth Joshua build an altar to Jehovah, God of Israel, in mount Ebal,
31 as Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses -- an altar of whole stones, over which he hath not waved iron -- and they cause to go up upon it burnt-offerings to Jehovah, and sacrifice peace-offerings;
32 and he writeth there on the stones the copy of the law of Moses, which he hath written in the presence of the sons of Israel.
33 And all Israel, and its elders, and authorities, and its judges, are standing on this side and on that of the ark, over-against the priests, the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the sojourner as the native, half of them over-against mount Gerizim, and the half of them over-against mount Ebal, as Moses servant of Jehovah commanded to bless the people of Israel at the first.
34 And afterwards he hath proclaimed all the words of the law, the blessing and the reviling, according to all that is written in the book of the law;
35 there hath not been a thing of all that Moses commanded which Joshua hath not proclaimed before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the infants, and the sojourner who is going in their midst.
Joshua 8
New American Standard Bible
The Conquest of Ai
8 Now the Lord said to Joshua, “(A)Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you. Arise, go up to Ai; see, (B)I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall (C)take only its spoils and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. [a]Set an ambush for the city behind it.”
3 So Joshua rose up with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night. 4 He commanded them, saying, “See, you are (D)going to ambush the city from behind [b]it. 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 when they come out to meet us as they did the first time, (E)we will flee before them. 6 They will come out after us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us just as they did the first time.’ So we will flee before them. 7 Then you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it (F)in accordance with the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.” 9 So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people.
10 Now Joshua (G)got up early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai. 11 Then all the people of war who were with him went up and approached, and arrived in front of the city; and they camped on the north side of Ai. And there was a valley between him and Ai. 12 Then he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between (H)Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the [c]city. 13 So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley. 14 And it came about, when the king of Ai saw them, that the men of the city hurried and got up early, and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 Then Joshua and all Israel [d]pretended to be defeated before them, and fled (I)by the way of the wilderness. 16 And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and (J)were lured away from the city. 17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel, [e]but they had all gone out after Israel, and they left the city [f]unguarded and pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “(K)Reach out with the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand it over to you.” So Joshua reached out with the sword that was in his hand toward the city. 19 Then the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had reached out with his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire. 20 When the men of Ai turned [g]back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and [h]killed the men of Ai. 22 [i]The others came out from the city to confront them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, [j]some on this side and some on that side; and they [k]killed them until there was not (L)one [l]left who escaped or survived. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 So (M)all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the [m]people of Ai. 26 For Joshua (N)did not withdraw his hand with which he reached out with the sword until he had [n]utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 (O)Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of that city as plunder for themselves, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it (P)a refuse heap forever, a desolation until this day. 29 And (Q)he hanged the king of Ai on [o]a tree until evening; but at sunset Joshua gave the command and they took his body down from [p]the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and erected over it a large heap of stones that stands to this day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on (R)Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, (S)an altar of uncut stones on which no one had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And he (T)wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which [q]he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. 33 (U)And all Israel with their elders, officers, and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of (V)Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel. 34 Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing and the curse, according to everything that is written in (W)the 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 (X)with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were [r]living among them.
Footnotes
- Joshua 8:2 Lit Set for yourself
- Joshua 8:4 Lit the city
- Joshua 8:12 I.e., Ai
- Joshua 8:15 Lit reversed before
- Joshua 8:17 Lit who had not gone
- Joshua 8:17 Lit open
- Joshua 8:20 Lit behind them
- Joshua 8:21 Lit struck
- Joshua 8:22 Lit These came
- Joshua 8:22 Lit these...these
- Joshua 8:22 Lit struck
- Joshua 8:22 Lit left to it one
- Joshua 8:25 Lit men
- Joshua 8:26 Lit put under the ban
- Joshua 8:29 Lit the wood
- Joshua 8:29 Lit the wood
- Joshua 8:32 I.e., Moses
- Joshua 8:35 Lit walking
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
