約書亞記 8
1 耶和華對約書亞說：「不要懼怕，也不要驚惶。你起來，率領一切兵丁上艾城去，我已經把艾城的王和他的民、他的城，並他的地，都交在你手裏。
Then the Lord said to Joshua, Have no fear and do not be troubled: take with you all the fighting-men and go up against Ai: for I have given into your hands the king of Ai and his people and his town and his land:
2 你怎樣待耶利哥和耶利哥的王，也當照樣待艾城和艾城的王。只是城內所奪的財物和牲畜，你們可以取為自己的掠物。你要在城後設下伏兵。」
And you are to do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king: but their goods and their cattle you may take for yourselves: let a secret force be stationed to make a surprise attack on the town from the back.
3 於是，約書亞和一切兵丁都起來，要上艾城去。約書亞選了三萬大能的勇士，夜間打發他們前往，
So Joshua and the fighting-men got ready to go up against Ai; and Joshua took thirty thousand men of war, and sent them out by night.
4 吩咐他們說：「你們要在城後埋伏，不可離城太遠，都要各自準備。
And he gave them their orders, saying, Go and take up your position secretly at the back of the town: do not go very far away, and let all of you be ready:
5 我與我所帶領的眾民要向城前往。城裏的人像初次出來攻擊我們的時候，我們就在他們面前逃跑，
And I and all the people with me will come near the town, and when they come out against us as they did before, we will go in flight from them;
6 他們必出來追趕我們，直到我們引誘他們離開城；因為他們必說：『這些人像初次在我們面前逃跑。』所以我們要在他們面前逃跑，
And they will come out after us, till we have got them away from the town; for they will say, They have gone in flight from us as before; so we will go in flight before them;
7 你們就從埋伏的地方起來，奪取那城，因為耶和華－你們的上帝必把城交在你們手裏。
Then you will get up from your secret position and take the town, for the Lord your God will give it up into your hands.
8 你們奪了城以後，就放火燒城，要照耶和華的話行。這是我吩咐你們的。」
And when you have taken the town, put fire to it, as the Lord has said: see, I have given you your orders.
9 約書亞打發他們前往，他們就上埋伏的地方去，住在伯特利和艾城的中間，就是在艾城的西邊。這夜約書亞卻在民中住宿。
So Joshua sent them out: and they took up a secret position between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua kept with the people that night.
10 約書亞清早起來，點齊百姓，他和以色列的長老在百姓前面上艾城去。
And early in the morning Joshua got up, and put the people in order, and he and the chiefs of Israel went up before the people to Ai.
11 眾民，就是他所帶領的兵丁，都上去，向前直往，來到城前，在艾城北邊安營。在約書亞和艾城中間有一山谷。
And all the fighting-men who were with him went up and came near the town, and took up a position on the north side of Ai facing the town, with a valley between him and the town.
12 他挑了約有五千人，使他們埋伏在伯特利和艾城的中間，就是在艾城的西邊，
And taking about five thousand men, he put them in position for a surprise attack on the west side of Ai, between Beth-el and Ai.
13 於是安置了百姓，就是城北的全軍和城西的伏兵。這夜約書亞進入山谷之中。
So all the people were in their places, the army on the north side of the town and the secret force on the west; and that night Joshua went down into the valley.
14 艾城的王看見這景況，就和全城的人，清早急忙起來，按所定的時候，出到亞拉巴前，要與以色列人交戰；王卻不知道在城後有伏兵。
Now when the king of Ai saw it, he got up quickly and went out to war against Israel, he and all his people, to the slope going down to the valley; but he had no idea that a secret force was waiting at the back of the town.
15 約書亞和以色列眾人在他們面前裝敗，往那通曠野的路逃跑。
Then Joshua and all Israel, acting as if they were overcome before them, went in flight by way of the waste land.
16 城內的眾民都被招聚，追趕他們；艾城人追趕的時候，就被引誘離開城。
And all the people in Ai came together to go after them; and they went after Joshua, moving away from the town.
17 艾城和伯特利城沒有一人不出來追趕以色列人的，撇了敞開的城門，去追趕以色列人。
There was not a man in Ai and Beth-el who did not go out after Israel; and the town was open and unwatched while they went after Israel.
18 耶和華吩咐約書亞說：「你向艾城伸出手裏的短槍，因為我要將城交在你手裏。」約書亞就向城伸出手裏的短槍。
And the Lord said to Joshua, Let your spear be stretched out against Ai; for I will give it into your hands. So Joshua took up his spear, stretching it out in the direction of the town.
19 他一伸手，伏兵就從埋伏的地方急忙起來，奪了城，跑進城去，放火焚燒。
Then the secret force came quickly from their place, and running forward when they saw his hand stretched out, went into the town and took it, and put fire to it straight away.
20 艾城的人回頭一看，不料，城中煙氣沖天，他們就無力向左向右逃跑。那往曠野逃跑的百姓便轉身攻擊追趕他們的人。
Then the men of Ai, looking back, saw the smoke of the town going up to heaven, and were unable to go this way or that: and the people who had gone in flight to the waste land were turned back on those who were coming after them.
21 約書亞和以色列眾人見伏兵已經奪了城，城中煙氣飛騰，就轉身回去，擊殺艾城的人。
And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the town had been taken by the surprise attack, and that the smoke of the town had gone up, turning round they overcame the men of Ai.
22 伏兵也出城迎擊艾城人，艾城人就困在以色列人中間，前後都是以色列人。於是以色列人擊殺他們，沒有留下一個，也沒有一個逃脫的，
Then the other force came out of the town against them, so that they were being attacked on this side and on that: and Israel overcame them and let not one of them get away with his life.
23 生擒了艾城的王，將他解到約書亞那裏。
But the king of Ai they made prisoner, and took him to Joshua.
24 以色列人在田間和曠野殺盡所追趕一切艾城的居民。艾城人倒在刀下，直到滅盡；以色列眾人就回到艾城，用刀殺了城中的人。
Then, after the destruction of all the people of Ai in the field and in the waste land where they went after them, and when all the people had been put to death without mercy, all Israel went back to Ai, and put to death all who were in it without mercy.
25 當日殺斃的人，連男帶女共有一萬二千，就是艾城所有的人。
On that day twelve thousand were put to death, men and women, all the people of Ai.
26 約書亞沒有收回手裏所伸出來的短槍，直到把艾城的一切居民盡行殺滅。
For Joshua did not take back his hand with the outstretched spear till the destruction of the people of Ai was complete.
27 惟獨城中的牲畜和財物，以色列人都取為自己的掠物，是照耶和華所吩咐約書亞的話。
But the cattle and the goods from that town, Israel took for themselves, as the Lord had given orders to Joshua.
28 約書亞將艾城焚燒，使城永為高堆、荒場，直到今日；
So Joshua gave Ai to the flames, and made it a waste mass of stones for ever, as it is to this day.
29 又將艾城王掛在樹上，直到晚上。日落的時候，約書亞吩咐人把屍首從樹上取下來，丟在城門口，在屍首上堆成一大堆石頭，直存到今日。
And he put the king of Ai to death, hanging him on a tree till evening: and when the sun went down, Joshua gave them orders to take his body down from the tree, and put it in the public place of the town, covering it with a great mass of stones, which is there to this day.
30 那時，約書亞在以巴路山上為耶和華－以色列的上帝築一座壇，
Then Joshua put up an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,
31 是用沒有動過鐵器的整石頭築的，照着耶和華僕人摩西所吩咐以色列人的話，正如摩西律法書上所寫的。眾人在這壇上給耶和華奉獻燔祭和平安祭。
In the way ordered by Moses, the servant of the Lord, as it is recorded in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, untouched by any iron instrument: and on it they made burned offerings and peace-offerings to the Lord.
32 約書亞在那裏，當着以色列人面前，將摩西所寫的律法抄寫在石頭上。
And he made there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, writing it before the eyes of the children of Israel.
33 以色列眾人，無論是本地人、是寄居的，和長老、官長，並審判官，都站在約櫃兩旁，在抬耶和華約櫃的祭司利未人面前，一半對着基利心山，一半對着以巴路山，為以色列民祝福，正如耶和華僕人摩西先前所吩咐的。
And all Israel, those who were Israelites by birth, as well as the men from other lands living with them, and their responsible men and their overseers and judges, took their places round the ark, in front of the priests, the Levites, whose work it was to take up the ark of the Lord's agreement; half of them were stationed in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, in agreement with the orders for the blessing of the children of Israel which Moses, the servant of the Lord, had given.
34 隨後，約書亞將律法上祝福、咒詛的話，照着律法書上一切所寫的，都宣讀了一遍。
And after, he gave them all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, as it is all recorded in the book of the law;
35 摩西所吩咐的一切話，約書亞在以色列全會眾和婦女、孩子，並他們中間寄居的外人面前，沒有一句不宣讀的。
Reading to all the meeting of Israel, with the women and the children and the men from other lands who were living among them, every word of the orders which Moses had given.
