Joshua 8
1 And the Lord said to Joshua, Fear not, nor be timorous: take with you all the men of war, and arise, go up to Gai; behold, I have given into your hands the king of Gai, and his land.
Then said Yahweh unto Joshua—Do not fear nor be dismayed, take with thee all the army, and arise, go up to Ai, —see! I have given into thy hand, the king of Ai and his people, and his city, and his land;
2 And you shall do to Gai, as you did to Jericho and its king; and you shall take to yourself the spoil of its cattle; set now for yourself an ambush for the city behind.
so shalt thou do unto Ai and to her king, as thou didst unto Jericho unto her king, save only, the spoil thereof and the cattle thereof, shall ye take as your own prey, —set thee an ambush for the city, behind it.
3 And Joshua and all the men of war rose to go up to Gai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men, and he sent them away by night.
So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai, —and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valour, and sent them forth by night.
4 And he charged them, saying, Do you lie in ambush behind the city: do not go far from the city, and you shall all be ready.
And he commanded them, saying—See! ye, shall be lying in ambush against the city, behind the city, do not go very far from the city, —so shall ye all be ready.
5 Land I and all with me will draw near to the city: and it shall come to pass when the inhabitants of Gai shall come forth to meet us, as before, that we will flee from before them.
But, I, and all the people who are with me, will draw near unto the city, —and it shall be, when they come out to meet us, as at the first, then will we flee before them;
6 And when they shall come out after us, we will draw them away from the city; and they will say, These men flee from before us, as also before.
so will they come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, Fleeing before us, as at the first! therefore will we flee before them.
7 And you shall rise up out of the ambuscade, and go into the city.
Then, ye, shall rise up out of the ambush, and take possession of the city, —and Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.
8 You shall do according to this word, behold! I have commanded you.
And it shall be, when ye have seized the city, then shall ye burn the city with fire, according to the word of Yahweh, shall ye do, —see! I have commanded you.
9 And Joshua sent them, and they went to lie in ambush; and they lay between Baethel and Gai, westward of Gai.
So Joshua sent them forth, and they went into ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west of Ai, —but Joshua lodged that night in the midst of the people.
10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people; and he went up, he and the elders before the people to Gai.
And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and mustered the people, —and went up—he and the elders of Israel, before the people, to Ai.
11 And all the men of war went up with him, and they went forward and came over against the city eastward.
And, all the people of war who were with him, went up, and drew near, and came in, right before the city, —and pitched on the north of Ai, with, a valley, between them and Ai.
12 And the ambuscade [was] on the west side of the city.
And he took about five thousand men, —and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city.
And, when the people had set all the host that was on the north of the city, with the rear thereof on the west of the city, then went Joshua, during the night, into the midst of the valley.
14 And it came to pass when the king of Gai saw [it], he hasted and went out to meet them direct to the battle, he and all the people [that were] with him: and he knew not that there was an ambuscade [formed] against him behind the city.
And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted, and rose up early, and the men of the city came out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people, at an appointed time, before the waste plain, —he not knowing that there was an ambush lying in wait for him, behind the city.
15 And Joshua and Israel saw, and retreated from before them.
So then Joshua and all Israel suffered themselves to be smitten before them, —and fled, by the way of the wilderness;
16 And they pursued after the children of Israel, and they themselves went to a distance from the city.
and all the people who were in the city were called out to pursue them, —and they pursued Joshua, and so were drawn out away from the city.
17 There was no one left in Gai who did not pursue after Israel; and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
And there remained not a man, in Ai or Bethel, who had not gone out after Israel, —and they left the city, open, and pursued Israel.
18 And the Lord said to Joshua, Stretch forth your hand with the spear that is in your hand towards the city, for I have delivered it into your hands; and the liers in wait shall rise up quickly out of their place.
Then said Yahweh unto Joshua—Stretch out with the javelin which is in thy hand, towards Ai, for, into thy hand, will I deliver it. So Joshua stretched out with the javelin which was in his hand, towards the city.
19 And Joshua stretched out his hand [and] his spear towards the city, and the ambuscade rose up quickly out of their place; and they came forth when he stretched out his hand; and they entered into the city, and took it; and they hasted and burnt the city with fire.
And, the ambush, rose up quickly, out of their place, and ran, when he stretched out his hand, and entered the city, and captured it, —and hasted, and set the city on fire.
20 And when the inhabitants of Gai looked round behind them, then they saw the smoke going up out of the city to heaven, and they were no longer able to flee this way or that way.
And the men of Ai turned behind them, and looked, and lo! the smoke of the city had risen up towards the heavens, and there was in them no strength, to flee this way or that way, —moreover, the people that were fleeing to the wilderness, turned back upon the pursuers.
21 And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambuscade had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city went up to heaven; and they turned and struck the men of Gai.
Yea, when, Joshua and all Israel, saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city had risen up, then returned they, and smote the men of Ai.
22 And these came forth out of the city to meet them; and they were in the midst of the army, some [being] on this side, and some on that; and they struck them until there was not left of them one who survived and escaped.
And, the others, came forth out of the city to meet them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side, —and they smote them, until there was left them none to remain or to escape.
23 And they took the king of Gai alive, and brought him to Joshua.
And, the king of Ai, they caught alive, —and brought him near unto Joshua.
24 And when the children of Israel had ceased slaying all that were in Gai, and in the fields, and in the mountain on the descent, from whence they pursued them [even] to the end, then Joshua returned to Gai, and struck it with the edge of the sword.
And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness whither they had pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, then all Israel returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
25 And they that fell in that day, men and women, were twelve thousand: [they killed] all the inhabitants of Gai.
And so it was, that all who fell that day, both of men and of women, were twelve thousand, —all people of Ai.
Now, Joshua, drew not back his hand which he had stretched out with the javelin, —until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27 Beside the spoils that were in the city, all things which the children of Israel took as spoil for themselves according to the command of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Joshua.
Nevertheless, the cattle and the spoil of that city, Israel took as their own prey, —according to the word of Yahweh, which he commanded Joshua.
28 And Joshua burnt the city with fire: he made it an uninhabited heap for ever, [even] to this day.
So then Joshua burned Ai, —and made of it an age-abiding heap—a desolation, [as it remaineth] until this day.
29 And he hanged the king of Gai on a gallows; and he remained on the tree till evening: and when the sun went down, Joshua gave charge, and they took down his body from the tree, and cast it into a pit, and they set over him a heap of stones until this day.
And, the king of Ai, hanged he on a tree until eventide, —but, at the going in of the sun, Joshua gave command and they took down his dead body from the tree, and cast it in at the opening of the gate of the city, and raised up over it a great heap of stones—[which remaineth] until this day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in mount Gaebal,
Than, built Joshua, an altar, unto Yahweh, God of Israel, —in Mount Ebal:
31 as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, on which iron had not been lifted up; and he offered there whole burnt offerings to the Lord, and a peace-offering.
as Moses, the servant of Yahweh, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, whereon had not been wielded any tool of iron, —and they caused to go up thereon, ascending-sacrifices unto Yahweh, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
32 And Joshua wrote upon the stones a copy of the law, even the law of Moses, before the children of Israel.
Then wrote he there, upon the stones, a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote, in the presence of the sons of Israel.
33 And all Israel, and their elders, and their judges, and their scribes, passed on one side and on the other before the ark; and the priests and the Levites took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and the stranger and the native were there, who were half of them near mount Garizin, and half near mount Gaebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded at first, to bless the people.
And, all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, were standing on this side and on that side of the ark, before the priests the Levites, who were bearing the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, as well the sojourner as the home-born, half of them over against Mount Gerizim, and half of them over against Mount Ebal, —as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded to bless the sons of Israel, first of all.
34 And afterwards Joshua read accordingly all the words of this law, the blessings and the curses, according to all things written in the law of Moses.
And, after that, read he all the words of the law, the blessing and the cursing, —according to all that was written in the scroll of the law.
35 There was not a word of all that Moses charged Joshua, which Joshua read not in the ears of all the assembly of the children of Israel, the men, and the women, and the children, and the strangers that joined themselves to Israel.
Them was not a word of all that Moses commanded, —which Joshua read not before all the convocation of Israel, with the women and the little ones, and the sojourner who was going on in their midst.
