Joshua 8
1 And YHWH says to Joshua, “Do not fear, nor be frightened, take with you all the people of war, and rise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land,
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.
2 and you have done to Ai and to her king as you have done to Jericho and to her king; only spoil its spoil and its livestock for yourselves; for you set an ambush for the city at its rear.”
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.”
3 And Joshua rises, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai, and Joshua chooses thirty thousand men, mighty men of valor, and sends them away by night,
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.
4 and commands them, saying, “See, you are ones lying in wait against the city, at the rear of the city, you do not go very far off from the city, and all of you have been prepared,
He ordered them, “You lie in ambush behind the town, not far away. All of you need to be ready.
5 and I and all the people who [are] with me draw near to the city, and it has come to pass, when they come out to meet us as at the first, and we have fled before them,
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.
6 and they have come out after us until we have drawn them out of the city, for they say, They are fleeing before us as at the first, and we have fled before them,
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.’
7 and you rise from the ambush, and have occupied the city, and your God YHWH has given it into your hand;
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.
8 and it has been, when you capture the city, you burn the city with fire, you do according to the word of YHWH, see, I have commanded you.”
Once you've captured the town, set it on fire, as the Lord has instructed. Now follow your orders.”
9 And Joshua sends them away, and they go to the ambush, and abide between Bethel and Ai, on the west of Ai; and Joshua lodges on that night in the midst of the people.
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.
10 And Joshua rises early in the morning, and inspects the people, and goes up, he and [the] elderly of Israel, before the people to Ai;
Early the next morning Joshua got up early and gathered the people and went up to attack Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel.
11 and all the people of war who [are] with him have gone up, and draw near and come in before the city, and encamp on the north of Ai; and the valley [is] between him and Ai.
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.
12 And he takes about five thousand men, and sets them [for] an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city;
He took about five thousand men and had them lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the town.
13 and they set the people, all the camp which [is] on the north of the city, and its rear on the west of the city, and that night Joshua goes on into the midst of the valley.
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.
14 And it comes to pass, when the king of Ai sees [it], that he hurries, and rises early, and the men of the city go out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people, at the appointed time, at the front of the plain, and he has not known that an ambush [is] against him, on the rear of the city.
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.
15 And Joshua and all Israel [seem] struck before them, and flee the way of the wilderness,
Joshua and the Israelites allowed themselves to be driven back, and ran away in the direction of the wilderness.
16 and all the people who [are] in the city are called to pursue after them, and they pursue after Joshua, and are drawn away out of the city,
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.
17 and there has not been a man left in Ai and Bethel who has not gone out after Israel, and they leave the city open, and pursue after Israel.
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.
18 And YHWH says to Joshua, “Stretch out with the javelin which [is] in your hand toward Ai, for I give it into your hand”; and Joshua stretches out with the javelin which [is] in his hand toward the city,
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.
19 and the ambush has risen [with] haste, out of its place, and they run at the stretching out of his hand, and go into the city, and capture it, and hurry, and burn the city with fire.
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.
20 And the men of Ai look behind them, and see, and behold, the smoke of the city has gone up to the heavens, and there has not been power in them to flee here and there—and the people who are fleeing to the wilderness have turned against the pursuer—
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.
21 and Joshua and all Israel have seen that the ambush has captured the city, and that the smoke of the city has gone up, and they turn back and strike the men of Ai;
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.
22 and these have come out from the city to meet them, and they are in the midst of Israel, some on this [side], and some on that [side], and they strike them until he has not left a remnant and escaped one to them;
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.
23 and they have caught the king of Ai alive, and bring him near to Joshua.
Only the king of Ai was captured alive, and he was brought before Joshua.
24 And it comes to pass, at Israel’s finishing to slay all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them (and all of them fall by the mouth of the sword until their consumption), that all of Israel turns back to Ai, and strikes it by the mouth of the sword;
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.
25 and all who fall during the day, of men and of women, are twelve thousand—all men of Ai.
Those who were killed that day numbered twelve thousand, men and women—all the inhabitants of Ai.
26 And Joshua has not brought back his hand which he stretched out with the javelin until he has devoted all the inhabitants of Ai;
For Joshua had continued to hold up his spear until all the people of Ai had been destroyed.
27 only the livestock and the spoil of that city has Israel spoiled for themselves, according to the word of YHWH which He commanded Joshua.
Only the livestock and plunder were taken from the town by the Israelites, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 And Joshua burns Ai, and makes it a continuous heap—a desolation to this day;
So Joshua burned the town of Ai, making it permanently into a heap of ruins where no one lives to this very day.
29 and he has hanged the king of Ai on the tree until evening, and at the going in of the sun Joshua has commanded, and they take down his carcass from the tree, and cast it to the opening of the gate of the city, and raise a great heap of stones over it until this day.
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.
30 Then Joshua builds an altar to YHWH, God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,
Then Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal for the Lord, the God of Israel.
31 as Moses, servant of YHWH, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Scroll of the Law of Moses—an altar of whole stones, over which he has not waved iron—and they cause burnt-offerings to go up on it to YHWH, and sacrifice peace-offerings;
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.
32 and he writes there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which he has written in the presence of the sons of Israel.
There in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses.
33 And all Israel, and its elderly, and authorities, and his judges, are standing on this [side] and on that [side] of the Ark, before the priests, the Levites, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, the sojourner as well as the native, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and the half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses servant of YHWH had commanded to bless the people of Israel at the first.
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.
34 And afterward he has proclaimed all the words of the Law, the blessing and the reviling, according to all that is written in the Scroll of the Law;
Then Joshua read out the whole Law—all the blessings and curses recorded in the book of the Law.
35 there has not been a thing of all that Moses commanded which Joshua has not proclaimed before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the infants, and the sojourner who is going in their midst.
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.
