² You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder^(A) and livestock for yourselves.^(B) Set an ambush^(C) behind the city.”

³ So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night ⁴ with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert.