Add parallel Print Page Options

Ai Is Destroyed

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. 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.”

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. 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. 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] 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] Then you will rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city, for Yahweh your God will give it into your hand. And when you capture the city you will set it on fire as Yahweh commanded. Look, I have commanded you.” 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.

Read full chapter

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”

Yahweh said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed. Take all the warriors with you, and arise, go up to Ai. Behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, with his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king, except you shall take its goods and its livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it.”

So Joshua arose, with all the warriors, to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them out by night. He commanded them, saying, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. It shall happen, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them. They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, ‘They flee before us, like the first time.’ So we will flee before them, and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city; for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand. It shall be, when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do this according to Yahweh’s word. Behold, I have commanded you.”

Joshua sent them out; and they went to set up the ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai on the west side of Ai; but Joshua stayed among the people that night. 10 Joshua rose up early in the morning, mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11 All the people, even the men of war who were with him, went up and came near, and came before the city and encamped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai. 12 He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. 13 So they set the people, even all the army who was on the north of the city, and their ambush on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night into the middle of the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw it, they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah; but he didn’t know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. 16 All the people who were in the city were called together to pursue after them. They pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. 17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who didn’t go out after Israel. They left the city open, and pursued Israel.

18 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.”

Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. 19 The ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand and entered into the city and took it. They hurried and set the city on fire. 20 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. The people who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned back and killed the men of Ai. 22 The others came out of the city against them, so they were in the middle of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. They struck them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. 23 They captured the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 All that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua didn’t draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 Israel took for themselves only the livestock and the goods of that city, according to Yahweh’s word which he commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, even a desolation, to this day. 29 He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening. At sundown, Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised a great heap of stones on it that remains to this day.

Read full chapter