Joshua 8:14-34

New King James Version

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 ^(A)did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. ¹⁵ And Joshua and all Israel ^(B)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 ^(C)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 ^(D)utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ^27 (E)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 ^(F)commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it ^(G)a heap forever, a desolation to this day. ^29 (H)And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. ^(I)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 ^(J)raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.

Joshua Renews the Covenant^(K)

³⁰ Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel ^(L)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: ^(M)“an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And ^(N)they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. ³² And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, ^(O)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, ^(P)who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, ^(Q)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, ^(R)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. ³⁴ And afterward ^(S)he read all the words of the law, ^(T)the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the ^(U)Book of the Law.