< Joshua 8 >

1 After, the Lord saide vnto Ioshua, Feare not, neither bee thou faint hearted: take all the men of warre with thee and arise, go vp to Ai: beholde, I haue giuen into thine hand the King of Ai, and his people, and his citie, and his 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 thou shalt doe to Ai and to the King thereof, as thou didst vnto Iericho and to the King thereof: neuerthelesse the spoyle thereof and the cattell thereof shall ye take vnto you for a praye: thou shalt lye in wait against the citie on the backside thereof.
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 Then Ioshua arose, and all the men of warre to goe vp against Ai: and Ioshua chose out thirtie thousand strong men, and valiant, and sent them away by 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 commanded them, saying, Behold, yee shall lye in waite against the citie on the backeside of the citie: goe not very farre from the citie, but be ye all in a readinesse.
and comaundide to hem, and seide, Sette ye buyschementis bihynde the citee, and go ye not ferthere; and alle ye schulen be redi;
5 And I and all the people that are with me, will approche vnto the citie: and when they shall come out against vs, as they did at the first time, then will we flee before them.
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 For they wil come out after vs, till we haue brought them out of the citie: for they will say, They flee before vs as at the first time: so we will flee before them.
til thei pursuen, and ben drawun away ferthir fro the citee; for thei schulen gesse, that we schulen fle as bifore.
7 Then you shall rise vp from lying in waite and destroy the citie: for the Lord your God wil deliuer it into your hand.
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 ye haue taken the citie, ye shall set it on fire: according to the commandement of the Lord shall ye do: behold, I haue charged you.
And whanne ye han take it, `brenne ye it; `so ye schulen do alle thingis, as Y comaundide.
9 Ioshua then sent them foorth, and they went to lye in waite, and abode betweene Beth-el and Ai, on the Westside of Ai: but Ioshua lodged that night among 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 Ioshua rose vp early in the morning, and nombred the people: and he and the Elders of Israel went vp before the people against Ai.
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 Also all the men of warre that were with him went vp and drewe neere, and came against the citie, and pitched on the Northside of Ai: and there was a valley betweene them and Ai.
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 And hee tooke about fiue thousande men, and set them to lye in waite betweene Beth-el and Ai, on the Westside of the citie.
`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 And the people set all the hoste that was on the Northside against the citie, and the liers in waite on the West, against the citie: and Ioshua went the same night into the mids 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 sawe it, then the men of the citie hasted and rose vp earely, and went out against Israel to battell, hee and all his people at the time appointed, before the plaine: for he knew not that any lay in waite against him on the backeside of the citie.
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 Then Ioshua and all Israel as beaten before them, fled by the way of the wildernes.
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 all the people of the citie were called together, to pursue after them: and they pursued after Ioshua, and were drawen away out of the city,
and excitiden hem silf togidere, and pursueden hem. And whanne thei hadden go awey fro the citee,
17 So that there was not a man left in Ai, nor in Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the citie open, and pursued after Israel.
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 Then the Lord said vnto Ioshua, Stretch out the speare that is in thine hande, towarde Ai: for I wil giue it into thine hand: and Ioshua stretched out the speare that hee had in his hand, toward the citie.
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 they that lay in wait, arose quickly out of their place, and ranne as soone as he had stretched out his hand, and they entred into the citie, and tooke it, and hasted, and set the citie 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 And the men of Ai looked behinde them, and sawe it: for loe, the smoke of the citie ascended vp to heauen, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: for the people that fled to the wildernesse, turned backe vpon the pursuers.
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 When Ioshua and all Israel sawe that they that lay in waite, had taken the citie, and that the smoke of the citie mounted vp, then they turned againe and slewe 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 Also the other issued out of the citie against them: so were they in the middes of Israel, these being on the one side, and the rest on the other side: and they slewe them, so that they let none of them remaine nor escape.
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 And the King of Ai they tooke aliue, and brought him to Ioshua.
thei tokun also the kyng of Hay lyuynge, and brouyten to Josue.
24 And when Israel had made an ende of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the fielde, that is, in the wildernesse, where they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sworde, vntill they were consumed, all the Israelites returned vnto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sworde.
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 And all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelue thousande, euen all the men 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 For Ioshua drewe not his hande backe againe which he had stretched out with the speare, vntill hee had vtterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
Sotheli Josue withdrow not the hond, which he hadde dressid an hiy holdynge `the scheld, til alle the dwelleris of Hay weren slayn.
27 Onely the cattell and the spoyle of this citie, Israel tooke for a praye vnto themselues, according vnto the worde of the Lord, which hee commanded Ioshua.
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 Ioshua burnt Ai, and made it an heape for euer, and a wildernes vnto this day.
which brente the citee, and made it an euerlastynge biriel.
29 And the King of Ai hee hanged on a tree, vnto the euening. And as soone as the sunne was down, Ioshua commanded that they should take his carkeis downe from the tree, and cast it at the entring of ye gate of the city, and lay thereon a great heape of stones, that remaineth vnto this 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 Ioshua built an altar vnto the Lord God of Israel, in mount Ebal,
Thanne Josue bildide an auter to the Lord God of Israel in the hil of Hebal,
31 As Moses the seruant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the booke of the Lawe of Moses, an altar of whole stone, ouer which no man had lift an yron: and they offered thereon burnt offrings vnto the Lord, and sacrificed 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 Also he wrote there vpon the stones, a rehearsall of the Lawe of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.
and he wroot on the stoonys the Deutronomye of Moises lawe, `which he hadde declarid bifor the sones of Israel.
33 And all Israel (and their Elders, and officers and their iudges stoode on this side of the Arke, and on that side, before the Priestes of the Leuites, which bare the Arke of the couenant of the Lord) as well the stranger, as he that is borne in the countrey: halfe of them were ouer against mount Gerizim, and halfe of them ouer against mount Ebal, as Moses the seruant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should blesse 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 Then afterwarde hee read all the wordes of the Lawe, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the booke of the Lawe.
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 There was not a worde of all that Moses had commanded, which Ioshua read not before all the Congregation of Israel, as well before the women and the children, as the stranger that was conuersant 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.

< Joshua 8 >