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,
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 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.”
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 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 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 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,
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 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,
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 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,
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 rise from the ambush, and have occupied the city, and your God YHWH has given it into your hand;
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 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.”
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 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.
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 rises early in the morning, and inspects the people, and goes up, he and [the] elderly of Israel, before the people to Ai;
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 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.
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 he takes about five thousand men, and sets them [for] an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west 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.
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.
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 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.
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 all Israel [seem] struck before them, and flee the way of the wilderness,
So then Joshua and all Israel suffered themselves to be smitten before them, —and fled, by the way 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,
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 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.
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 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 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 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.
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 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—
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 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;
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 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;
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 have caught the king of Ai alive, and bring him near to Joshua.
And, the king of Ai, they caught alive, —and brought him near unto 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;
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 all who fall during the day, of men and of women, are twelve thousand—all men of Ai.
And so it was, that all who fell that day, both of men and of women, were twelve thousand, —all people 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;
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 only the livestock and the spoil of that city has Israel spoiled for themselves, according to the word of YHWH which He 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 burns Ai, and makes it a continuous heap—a desolation 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 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.
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 builds an altar to YHWH, God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,
Than, built Joshua, an altar, unto Yahweh, God of Israel, —in Mount Ebal:
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;
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 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.
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 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.
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 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;
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 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.
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.
