^9 (A)the king of Jericho, one; ^(B)the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;

^29 (A)And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. ^(B)And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and ^(C)raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.

Joshua Renews the Covenant

³⁰ At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(D)on Mount Ebal, ³¹ just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. ³² And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on ^(E)the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. ³³ And all Israel, ^(F)sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests ^(G)who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, ^(H)just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. ³⁴ And afterward ^(I)he read all the words of the law, ^(J)the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, ^(K)and the women, and the little ones, and ^(L)the sojourners who lived^[a] among them.

¹⁷ Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.

The Fall of Ai

8 And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(A)“Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, ^(B)I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land.

² And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, ^(A)I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. ⁴ Seven priests shall bear seven ^(B)trumpets of ^(C)rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and ^(D)the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat,^[a] and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” ⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let ^(E)the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. ⁹ The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the ^(F)rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” ¹¹ So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

¹² Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and ^(G)the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷ And the city and all that is within it shall be ^(H)devoted to the Lord for destruction.^[b] Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she ^(I)hid the messengers whom we sent. ¹⁸ But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel ^(J)a thing for destruction and ^(K)bring trouble upon it. ¹⁹ But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” ²⁰ So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and ^(L)the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. ²¹ Then they ^(M)devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.