Joshua 8
1 Then the Lord said to Joshua: “You should not fear, and you should not dread. Take with you the entire multitude of fighters, and rising up, ascend to the town of Ai. Behold, I have delivered into your hand its king and people, and the city and the land.
Forsothe the Lord seide to Josue, Nether drede thou `withoutforth, `nether drede thou withynne; take with thee al the multitude of fiyteris, and rise thou, and stie in to the citee of Hay; lo, Y haue bitake in thin hond the king therof, and the puple, and the citee, and the lond.
2 And you shall do to the city of Ai, and to its king, just as you did to Jericho, and to its king. Yet truly, the spoils, and all the living things, you shall plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city behind it.”
And thou schalt do to the citee of Hay, and to the king therof, as thou didist to Gerico, and to the king therof; sotheli ye schulen take to you the prey, and alle lyuynge beestis; sette thou `aspies, ethir buyschementis, to the citee bihynde it.
3 And Joshua rose up, and the entire army of warriors with him, so that they might ascend against Ai. And he sent thirty thousand elect strong men in the night.
And Josue roos, and al the oost of fiyteris with hym, to stie in to Hay; and bi nyyte he sente thretti chosen thousynde of stronge men;
4 And he instructed them, saying: “Set an ambush behind the city. You shall withdraw not far away, and let everyone be prepared.
and comaundide to hem, and seide, Sette ye buyschementis bihynde the citee, and go ye not ferthere; and alle ye schulen be redi;
5 But I and the remainder of the multitude that is with me will approach from the opposite side of the city. And when they come out against us, we will flee and turn our backs, just as we did before,
forsothe Y, and the tothir multitude which is with me, schulen come on the contrarie side ayens the citee; and whanne thei schulen go out ayens vs, as we diden bifore, we schulen fle, and turne the backis,
6 until, pursuing us, they are drawn away from the city. For they will think that we are fleeing as before.
til thei pursuen, and ben drawun away ferthir fro the citee; for thei schulen gesse, that we schulen fle as bifore.
7 Then, while we are fleeing and they are pursuing, you shall rise up from the ambush, and you shall lay waste to the city. And the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands.
Therfor while we schulen fle, and thei pursue, ye schulen ryse fro the buyschementis, and schulen waste the citee; and youre Lord God schal bitake it in to youre hondis.
8 And when you have seized it, set it on fire. And you shall do all that I have ordered.”
And whanne ye han take it, `brenne ye it; `so ye schulen do alle thingis, as Y comaundide.
9 And he sent them away, and they traveled to the place of the ambush, and they settled between Bethel and Ai, toward the western region of the city of Ai. But Joshua remained for that night in the midst of the people.
And Josue lefte hem, and thei yeden to the place of buyschementis, and saten bitwixe Bethel and Hay, at the west coost of the citee of Hay. Forsothe Josue dwellide `in that nyyt in the myddis of the puple.
10 And rising at first light, he reviewed his troops, and he went up, with the elders at the front of the army, surrounded by an auxiliary of fighters.
And he roos eerli, and noumbride felowis, and stiede with the eldere in the frount of the oost, and was cumpassid with the helpe of fiyteris.
11 And when they had arrived, and had ascended from the opposite side of the city, they stood toward the northern region of the city. And there was a valley in the middle, between them and the city.
And whanne thei hadden come, and hadden stied ayens the citee, thei stoden at the north coost of the citee, bitwixe which citee and hem the valei was in the myddis.
12 Now he had chosen five thousand men, and he had positioned them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, at the western part of the same city.
`Sotheli he hadde chose fyue thousynde men, and hadde sette in buyschementis bitwixe Bethauen and Hay, in the west part of the same citee.
13 Yet truly, all the remainder of the army was arranged in a line to the north, so that the very end of that multitude reached to the western region of the city. Then Joshua went out that night, and he stood in the middle of the valley.
Sotheli al the tothir oost dresside scheltroun to the north, so that the laste men of the multitude touchiden the west coost of the citee. Therfor Josue yede in that nyyt, and stood in the myddis of the valei;
14 And when the king of Ai had seen this, he hurried in the morning, and he went out with the entire army of the city. And he arranged them in a line opposite the desert, not knowing that an ambush lay hidden behind his back.
and whanne the kyng of Hai had seyn that, he hastide eerli, and yede out with al the oost of the citee, and he dresside scheltrun ayens the deseert; and wiste not that buyschementis weren hid bihinde the bak.
15 Yet truly, Joshua, and all of Israel, withdrew from the place, pretending to be afraid, and fleeing along the way of the wilderness.
Forsothe Josue and al the multitude `of Israel yauen place, feynynge drede, and fleynge bi the weie of wildirnesse; and thei crieden togidere,
16 And they pursued them, shouting together and encouraging one another. And when they had withdrawn from the city,
and excitiden hem silf togidere, and pursueden hem. And whanne thei hadden go awey fro the citee,
17 and indeed not one remained in the city of Ai and of Bethel who did not pursue after Israel, (leaving the towns open after they had rushed out, )
and sothely not oon hadde left in the citee of Hai and Bethauen, that `pursuede not Israel, and thei leften the citees opyn, as thei hadden broke out,
18 the Lord said to Joshua: “Lift up the shield that is in your hand, toward the city of Ai. For I will deliver it to you.”
the Lord seide to Josue, `Reise thou the scheeld which is in thin hond, ayens the citee of Hay; for Y schal yyue it to thee.
19 And when he had lifted up the shield toward the city, the ambush, which lay hidden, rose up quickly. And advancing to the city, they seized it, and set it on fire.
And whanne he hadde reisid the scheld ayens the citee, buyschementis, that weren hid, riseden anoon; and thei yeden to the citee, and token, and brenten it.
20 Now the men of the city who were pursuing Joshua, looking back and seeing the smoke of the city rising up even to heaven, were no longer able to flee in one direction or another, especially since those who had pretended to flee, and who were heading toward the wilderness, had turned back very strongly against those who were pursuing them.
Forsothe the men of the citee, that pursueden Josue, bihelden, and siyen the smoke of the citee stie `til to heuene; and thei myyten no more fle hidur and thidur; most sithen thei that hadden feyned fliyt, and yeden to wildirnesse, withstoden stronglieste `ayens the pursueris.
21 And Joshua, and all of Israel, seeing that the city had been captured, and that the smoke of the city was ascending, returned and struck down the men of Ai.
And Josue siy, and al Israel, that the citee was takun, and the smoke of the citee stiede; and he turnede ayen, and smoot the men of Hay.
22 Then too, those who had seized and set the city on fire, departing from the city toward their own men, began to strike the enemies in the middle. Therefore, since the adversaries were cut off from both sides, none of so great a multitude was saved.
Sotheli also thei that hadden take and brent the citee, yeden out of the cytee ayens her men, and bigunnen to smyte the myddil men of enemyes; and whanne aduersaries weren slayn `on euer ethir part, so that no man of so greet multitude was sauyd,
23 Also, they apprehended the king of the city of Ai, alive, and they brought him before Joshua.
thei tokun also the kyng of Hay lyuynge, and brouyten to Josue.
24 And so, after all were slain who had pursued Israel fleeing toward the wilderness, and after they fell by the sword in the same place, the sons of Israel returned and struck the city.
Therfor, whanne alle men weren slayn, that pursueden Israel goynge to deseert, and felden bi swerd in the same place, the sones of Israel turneden ayen, and smytiden the citee.
25 Now there were twelve thousand persons who had fallen on the same day, from man even to woman, the entire city of Ai.
Forsothe thei that `felden doun in the same dai, fro man `til to womman, weren twelue thousynde of men, alle men of the citee of Hay.
26 Truly Joshua did not draw back his hand, which he had stretched out on high, keeping hold of the shield until all the inhabitants of Ai were put to death.
Sotheli Josue withdrow not the hond, which he hadde dressid an hiy holdynge `the scheld, til alle the dwelleris of Hay weren slayn.
27 Then the sons of Israel divided among themselves the cattle and the plunder of the city, just as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
Forsothe the sones of Israel departiden to hem silf the werk beestis, and the preye of the citee, as the Lord comaundide to Josue;
28 And he set fire to the city, and he caused it to be a perpetual tomb.
which brente the citee, and made it an euerlastynge biriel.
29 Also, he suspended the king on a gallows, until evening and the setting of the sun. And Joshua instructed, and they took down his dead body from the hanging tree. And they cast it at the very entrance of the city, gathering a great pile of stones upon it, which remains even to the present day.
And he hangide the king therof in a iebat, `til to the euentid and the goynge doun of the sunne. And Josue comaundide, and thei puttiden doun his deed bodi fro the cros; and thei `castiden forth him in thilke entryng of the citee, and gaderiden on hym a greet heep of stoonus, which heep dwellith `til in to present dai.
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
Thanne Josue bildide an auter to the Lord God of Israel in the hil of Hebal,
31 just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed to the sons of Israel, and this was written in the book of the law of Moses: truly, an altar of uncut stones, which iron has not touched. And he offered holocausts upon it to the Lord, and he immolated victims as peace-offerings.
as Moises, the `seruaunt of the Lord, comaundide to the sones of Israel, and it is writun in the book of Moises lawe, an auter of stoonys vnpolischid, whiche yrun touchide not. And he offride theron brent sacrifice to the Lord, and he offride pesible sacrifices;
32 And he wrote on the stones, the Deuteronomy of the law of Moses, which he had set in order before the sons of Israel.
and he wroot on the stoonys the Deutronomye of Moises lawe, `which he hadde declarid bifor the sones of Israel.
33 Then all the people, and those greater by birth, and the commanders and judges were standing on both sides of the ark, in the sight of the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with both the new arrival and the native born, one half part of them beside Mount Gerizim, and one half beside Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed. And first, certainly, he blessed the people of Israel.
Sotheli al the puple, and the grettere men in birthe, and the duykis, and iugis stoden on `euer either side of the arke, in the siyt of preestis and dekenes, that baren the arke of boond of pees of the Lord; as a comeling, so and a man borun in the lond; the mydil part of hem stood bisidis the hil Garasym, and the myddil part stood bisidis the hil Hebal, as Moises, the `seruaunt of the Lord, comaundide. And first `sotheli he blesside the puple of Israel.
34 After this, he read all the words of the blessing and the cursing, and all the things that were written in the book of the law.
Aftir these thingis he redde alle the wordis of blessyng and of cursyng, and alle thingis that weren writun in the book of lawe.
35 He left nothing untouched out of those things that Moses had ordered, and he repeated everything before the entire multitude of Israel, with the women and the little ones, and the new arrivals who were staying among them.
He lefte no thing vntouchid of these thingis that Moises comaundide; but he declaride alle thingis bifor al the multitude of Israel, to wymmen, and litle children, and to comelyngis that dwelliden among hem.
