< Joshua 8 >
1 The Lord said to Joshua, “Don't be afraid or downhearted! Take all the fighting men with you and attack Ai, for I'm handing over to you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land.
Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not fear; do not be discouraged. Take with you all the people of war. Go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
2 You will do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king. However, this time you may keep for yourselves the plunder and the livestock. Set up an ambush behind the town.”
You will do to Ai and her king as you have done to Jericho and her king, except that you will take the plunder and the cattle for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and all the people got ready to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night.
So Joshua got up and took all the men of war up to Ai. Then Joshua chose thirty thousand men—strong, courageous men—and he sent them out at night.
4 He ordered them, “You lie in ambush behind the town, not far away. All of you need to be ready.
He commanded them, “Look, you will lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
5 When I and the rest of the men with me approach the town, the defenders will run out to attack us just like before, and we'll run away from them.
I and all the men with me will approach the city, and when they come out to attack us, we will run away from them just as before.
6 They'll chase after us as we draw them away from the town, because they'll say to each other, ‘They're running away from us just like before.’
They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city. They will say, 'They are running away from us as they did the last time.' So we will run away from them.
7 While we're running away from them, you will get up from your ambush positions and take the town for the Lord God will hand it over to you.
Then you come up out of your place of hiding, and you will capture the city. Yahweh your God will give it into your hand.
8 Once you've captured the town, set it on fire, as the Lord has instructed. Now follow your orders.”
When you capture the city, you will set it on fire. You will do this when you obey the command given in the word of Yahweh. See, I have commanded you.”
9 Joshua sent them out, and they went to lie in ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai. But that night Joshua stayed with the people in the camp.
Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush, and they hid between Bethel and Ai to the west of Ai. But Joshua slept that night among the people.
10 Early the next morning Joshua got up early and gathered the people and went up to attack Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel.
Joshua got up early in the morning and got his soldiers ready, Joshua and the elders of Israel, and they attacked the people of Ai.
11 All the fighting men who were with him approached the front of the town, and camped there on the north side, with a valley between them and Ai.
All the fighting men who were with him went up and approached the city. They came near the city and camped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between them and Ai.
12 He took about five thousand men and had them lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the town.
He took about five thousand men and set them in ambush on the west side of the city between Bethel and Ai.
13 So the army took up their positions—the main army to the north of the town, and the ambush to the west. Joshua went that night to the valley.
They positioned all the soldiers, the main army on the north side of the city, and the rear guard on the west side of the city. Joshua spent that night in the valley.
14 As soon as the king of Ai saw the situation, he and all his men rushed out early in the morning to attack the Israelites where they had before, at a place overlooking the Jordan valley. He didn't know about the ambush waiting on the other side of the town.
It came about when the king of Ai saw it, he and his army got up early and rushed out to attack Israel at a certain place that was overlooking the Jordan River valley. He did not know that an ambush was waiting to attack from behind the city.
15 Joshua and the Israelites allowed themselves to be driven back, and ran away in the direction of the wilderness.
Joshua and all Israel let themselves be defeated before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.
16 All the men of the town were called out to chase after them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn father from the town.
All the people who were in the city were called together to go after them, and they went after Joshua and they were drawn away from the city.
17 There wasn't a man left in Ai and Bethel who didn't go out to chase the Israelites. They left the town wide open as they pursued the Israelites.
There was not a man left in Ai and Bethel who had not gone out to pursue Israel. They abandoned the city and left it open as they pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord told Joshua, “Hold up the spear in your hand and point it at Ai, because I'm giving it to you.” So Joshua held up the spear in his hand and pointed it at the town.
Yahweh said to Joshua, “Point that spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will give Ai into your hand.” Joshua held out the spear that was in his hand toward the city.
19 As soon as they saw this signal the men lying in ambush got up and rushed into the town. They captured it, and quickly set it on fire.
The soldiers hiding in ambush quickly rushed out of their place as he reached out with his hand. They ran and entered the city and captured it. They quickly set the city on fire.
20 When the men of Ai looked back they saw the smoke rising up into the sky from the town. They had nowhere to run to, because the Israelites who had been running away towards the wilderness now turned on their pursuers.
The men of Ai turned and looked back. They saw the smoke from the city rising into the sky, and they could not escape this way or that. For the Israelite soldiers who had fled into the wilderness now turned back to face those who were pursuing them.
21 For when Joshua and the Israelites saw that the ambush group had captured the town, and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.
When Joshua and all Israel saw the ambush had captured the city with the smoke rising, they turned around and killed the men of Ai.
22 The men from the ambush also came from the town and attacked them, so they were caught on the middle, with the Israelites on both sides. The Israelites cut them down—not a single man survived or got away.
The other soldiers of Israel, those who had gone in the city, came out to attack them. So the men of Ai were caught between the armies of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. Israel attacked the men of Ai; none of them survived or escaped.
23 Only the king of Ai was captured alive, and he was brought before Joshua.
They kept the king of Ai, whom they captured alive, and they brought him to Joshua.
24 When the Israelites had finished killing the men of Ai who had chased them towards the wilderness—once they had all been cut down by the sword—the whole Israelite army returned to the town and killed everyone living there.
It came about when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field near the wilderness where they pursued them, and when all of them, to the very last one, had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai. They attacked it with the edge of the sword.
25 Those who were killed that day numbered twelve thousand, men and women—all the inhabitants of Ai.
All those who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand, all the people of Ai.
26 For Joshua had continued to hold up his spear until all the people of Ai had been destroyed.
Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he had reached out while holding his spear, until he had completely destroyed all the people of Ai.
27 Only the livestock and plunder were taken from the town by the Israelites, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
Israel took only the livestock and the plunder from the city for themselves, just as Yahweh had commanded Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned the town of Ai, making it permanently into a heap of ruins where no one lives to this very day.
Joshua burned Ai and turned it into a heap of ruins forever. It is an abandoned place to this day.
29 He killed the king of Ai and hung his body on a tree until evening. When the sun went down Joshua ordered the body taken down. They threw it down in front of the entrance to the town gate and piled a heap of rocks over it which is still there today.
He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. When the sun was going down, Joshua gave the command and they took the king's body down from the tree and threw it in front of the city gates. There they set up a great heap of stones on top of it. That heap remains there to this day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal for the Lord, the God of Israel.
Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
31 He did what Moses, the servant of the Lord, had told the Israelites to do, as recorded in the book of the Law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones which no one has worked with iron tools. On the altar they made burnt offerings and friendship offerings to the Lord.
just as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded the people of Israel, as it was written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “An altar from uncut stones, on which no one has wielded an iron tool.” He offered on the altar burnt offerings to Yahweh, and they sacrificed peace offerings.
32 There in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses.
There, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses.
33 All the Israelites, the elders, the officers, and the judges stood in two groups facing each other with the priests, the Levites, and the Ark of the Lord's Agreement between them. (Included were the foreigners as well as the native born.) Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim, and half in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses had ordered, for the blessing of the people this first time.
All Israel, their elders, officers, and their judges stood on both sides of the ark before the priests and Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh—the foreigner as well as the native born—half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half stood in front of Mount Ebal. They blessed the people of Israel, just as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded them at first.
34 Then Joshua read out the whole Law—all the blessings and curses recorded in the book of the Law.
Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law, the blessings and the curses, just as they had been written in the book of the law.
35 Joshua read out every word of Moses' instruction to the whole Israelite assembly, including the women, the children, and the foreigners who lived among them.
There was not one word from all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read in front of the assembly of Israel, including the women, the little children, and the foreigners who lived among them.