Joshua 8
1 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged [because of what happened at] Ai. Lead all of your soldiers and go there again. I will help you to defeat the king of Ai, his people, and his city, and [enable you to take] his land.
Yehowa gblɔ na Yosua be, “Mègavɔ̃ o, eye dzi megaɖe le ƒowò o. Kplɔ aʋakɔ blibo la yi Ai, elabena ɣeyiɣi la de na mi azɔ be miaɖu Ai dzi. Metsɔ Ai fia kple eƒe ameawo katã de asi na mi.
2 Your army will do to the people of Ai and their king like what you did to the people of Jericho and their king. But this time [I will permit you to] take all their possessions and keep them for yourselves. But first, tell some of your soldiers to [hide behind] the city [and] prepare to suddenly attack it.”
Miatsrɔ̃ wo abe ale si mietsrɔ̃ Yeriko kple woƒe fia ene. Ke azɔ ya la, miate ŋu atsɔ woƒe nuwo kple woƒe nyi siwo mieha la woazu mia tɔ. Na ameawo nade xa ɖe dua godo.”
3 So Joshua led all his army toward Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighters/warriors and prepared to send them out during the night.
Ale Yosua dzra ɖo hena aʋahoho ɖe Ai ŋu kple eƒe aʋawɔlawo katã. Etia eƒe asrafo nyuitɔwo akpe blaetɔ̃ ɖo ɖa le zã me;
4 He said to them, “Listen carefully. Some of you must hide on the other side of the city. Do not go far from the city. Just be ready [to attack].
egblɔ na wo do ŋgɔ be, “Mide xa ɖe dua ƒe akpa kemɛ, migade megbe tso dua ŋu fũu o, eye minɔ ŋudzɔ na wo dzi dzedze.”
5 I and the men who are with me will march toward the city [in the morning]. The men in the city will come out to fight us, like they did before. Then we will turn around and start to run away from them.
Egagblɔ na wo be, “Ne míaƒe aʋakɔ blibo la ho aʋa ɖe Aitɔwo ŋu la, Aitɔwo ado go ava kpe mí na aʋawɔwɔ abe ale si wowɔ zi gbãtɔ ene.
6 They will think that we are running away from them like we did before. So they will chase us away from the city. While we are running away,
Ekema míade asi sisi me, eye woakplɔ mí ɖo va se ɖe esi woƒe aʋawɔlawo katã ado go le dua me. Woagblɔ be, ‘Israelviwo gale sisim abe ale si wowɔ zi gbãtɔ ene!’
7 [those of you who are hiding come out and] rush into the city and capture it. Yahweh your God will enable you to conquer it.
Ekema miado tso afi si miede xa ɖo, age ɖe dua me, elabena Yehowa miaƒe Mawu atsɔe na mí.
8 After you capture the city, burn it. Do what Yahweh has commanded us to do. Those are the orders I am giving to you.”
Mitɔ dzo dua abe ale si Yehowa ɖo na mí ene. Esiawoe nye nye ɖoɖowo na mi.”
9 Then Joshua [prepared to] send some of them to [hide and] wait between Ai and Bethel, which was west of Ai. But Joshua stayed with his other soldiers that night.
Ale wodze mɔ zã ma me yi ɖade xa ɖe Betel kple Ai ƒe ɣetoɖoƒe gome, le esime Yosua kple aʋawɔla bubuawo tsi asaɖa la me le Yeriko.
10 Early the next morning, Joshua gathered his soldiers together. Then he and the other Israeli leaders led them up to Ai.
Esi ŋu ke ŋdi kanya la, Yosua yɔ aʋawɔlawo, eye woawo kple Israel ƒe ametsitsiwo ɖo ta Ai.
11 They all set up their tents close to Ai, just to the north of the city, where all the people of the city could see them. There was a valley between them and the city.
Yosua kple aʋawɔla siwo nɔ eŋu la yi ɖe dua ƒe agbo gãtɔ gbɔ, woƒu asaɖa anyi ɖe anyiehe lɔƒo, eye balime aɖe nɔ asaɖa la kple Ai du la dome.
12 Then Joshua chose about 5,000 men and told them to go and hide just west of the city, between Ai and Bethel.
Eɣla ame abe akpe atɔ̃ ene ɖe dua ƒe ɣetoɖoƒe lɔƒo, le Betel kple Ai dome.
13 So those men did that. The main group of soldiers was north of the city, and the others were hiding west of the city. That night Joshua went down into the valley.
Woɖo asrafoawo ɖe aʋawɔwɔ ŋu, ame geɖewo nɔ dua ƒe anyiehe lɔƒo, eye mamlɛawo nɔ dua ƒe ɣetoɖoƒe lɔƒo. Yosua tsi balime la le zã ma me.
14 When the king of Ai saw the Israeli army, he and his soldiers got up early the next morning and quickly went out of the city to fight them. They went to a place east of the city, but they did not know that some Israeli soldiers were hiding behind the city.
Ai fia kpɔ Israelviwo ɖa le balime la godo, eye wòkpe aʋa kpli wo le Araba gbedzi ŋdi kanya, ke menya be futɔwo de xa ɖe dua godo o.
15 Joshua and the Israeli soldiers [who were with him] allowed the army of Ai to push them back. They ran toward the desert.
Yosua kple eƒe Israelviwo si to gbegbe la abe ɖe nugbe menyo na wo o ene.
16 The men in Ai were ordered to chase after Joshua and his men. So they left the city and started to pursue the Israelis.
Ale Ai fia ɖe gbe na eƒe asrafo siwo katã nɔ dua me la be woati Israelviwo yome. Ale dutaʋlilawo vɔ le dua me;
17 All the men of Ai and the men of Bethel pursued the Israeli army. They did not leave even one man in Ai to defend it. The [gates of the] city were left wide open.
asrafo aɖeke kura meganɔ Ai alo Betel o. Gawu la, woʋu Ai ƒe agbowo da ɖi siãa.
18 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “[Lift up] your spear [and] point it toward Ai, because I am going to enable your soldiers to capture it!” So Joshua pointed [his spear] toward Ai.
Yehowa gblɔ na Yosua be, “Tsɔ wò akplɔ do ɖe Ai lɔƒo, elabena matsɔ du la ana wò.” Yosua wɔ nenema.
19 When the Israeli men who were hiding saw that, they rushed out from the places where they were hiding and ran into the city. They quickly captured it and set it on fire.
Esi xadelawo kpɔ Yosua ƒe dzesia ko la, wolũ ɖe dua dzi, ge ɖe eme eye wotɔ dzoe.
20 When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from their city. But they could not escape, because the Israeli troops stopped running away.
Aitɔwo ƒe aʋawɔlawo nye kɔ kpɔ megbe, kasia wokpɔ dzudzɔ la wòyi ɖatɔ keke dziŋgɔli. Mɔ aɖeke meganɔ anyi na sisi o, elabena Israelviwo, ame siwo si ɖo ta gbegbe la, trɔ hena aʋawɔwɔ kpli wo azɔ.
21 Joshua and his men saw that the men who had been hiding had captured the city and were burning it, and they saw the smoke rising. So they turned around and started to attack the men of Ai.
Yosua kple Israelviwo katã kpɔ be yewoƒe amewo xɔ dua, eye wotɔ dzoe, eya ta wotrɔ hede asi Aitɔwo wuwu me.
22 Meanwhile, the soldiers who had captured the city came out [and attacked them from the rear]. So the men of Ai were caught between the two groups of Israeli soldiers. None of the men of Ai escaped. The Israelis fought until they killed all of them. Only the king of Ai was still alive.
Israelvi siwo nɔ Ai dua me la do go tso dua me, eye wode asi Aitɔwo wuwu me tso megbe. Ale Aitɔwo tsi Israelviwo dome, eye wowu wo katã, ame ɖeka pɛ gɔ̃ hã metsi agbe alo si o,
23 Then they seized the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua.
negbe Ai fia, ame si wolé kplɔ vɛ na Yosua.
24 While they were fighting, the Israeli army pursued the men of Ai into the fields and into the desert, and killed all of them. Then they went to Ai and killed everyone who was there.
Esi Israelviwo wu Aitɔ siwo nɔ dua godo vɔ la, wotrɔ yi dua me, eye wowu ame siwo katã ganɔ dua me.
25 They killed 12,000 men and women.
Ale wowu ame akpe wuieve siwo nye Aitɔwo katã la gbe ma gbe.
26 Joshua continued to point his spear [LIT] toward Ai, until all the people in Ai had been killed.
Yosua lé eƒe akplɔ do ɖe Ai du la gbɔ va se ɖe esime wowu Aitɔ mamlɛa.
27 The Israeli soldiers took for themselves the animals and the other things that had belonged to the people of Ai, just like Yahweh had told Joshua that they should do.
Aitɔwo ƒe lãwo kple kesinɔnuwo ko wometsrɔ̃ o, elabena Israelviwo ƒe aʋawɔlawo tsɔ wo na wo ɖokuiwo. Yehowa ŋutɔe gblɔe na Yosua be woate ŋu atsɔ wo.
28 Joshua and his soldiers burned Ai city and caused it to become a pile of ruins. It is still like that today.
Ale Ai trɔ zu gli gbagbã siwo woli kɔe ɖi va se ɖe egbe.
29 Joshua hanged the king of Ai on a tree and left his corpse hanging there until the evening. At sunset Joshua told his men to take the king’s corpse down from the tree and to throw it on the ground at the city gate. [After they did that], they piled a lot of rocks on top of the corpse, and that pile of rocks is still there.
Yosua de ka ve na Ai fia ɖe ati aɖe ŋu, ke esi ɣe nɔ to ɖom la, eɖee tsɔ ƒu gbe ɖe dua ƒe agbo ŋgɔ. Wofɔ kpe gãwo li kɔ ɖe edzi. Kpeawo gali va se ɖe egbe.
30 Joshua [told his men to] build on Ebal Mountain an altar for Yahweh, the God [who is worshiped by] the Israeli people.
Le esia megbe la, Yosua tu vɔsamlekpui aɖe na Yehowa, Israel ƒe Mawu la ɖe Ebal to la gbɔ
31 They built it just like Moses, the man who served God [well], had written previously in the laws [that God had given to him]. They made it from stones that had not been cut using iron tools. The Israelis then offered sacrifices to Yahweh that were burned completely on the altar. They also offered sacrifices to restore fellowship with Yahweh.
abe ale si Mose, Yehowa ƒe dɔla ɖo na Israelviwo be woawɔ ene. Etui abe ale si woŋlɔe ɖe Mose ƒe Segbalẽ la me ene be, “Tsɔ kpe siwo womegbã alo kpa o la tu vɔsamlekpui nam.” Yehowa gblɔ nya sia tso Ebal to la ŋuti. Nunɔlawo sa numevɔ kple ŋutifafavɔ na Yehowa le vɔsamlekpui la dzi.
32 As the Israelis watched, Joshua wrote on stones the laws that [Yahweh had given] to Moses previously.
Yosua ŋlɔ Mose ƒe Se Ewoawo dometɔ ɖe sia ɖe ɖe vɔsamlekpui la ƒe kpeawo dzi le Israelviwo ŋkume.
33 The Israeli leaders, the officials, the judges, and other Israelis were there, standing nearby. Many people who were not Israelis were also there. Half of the people stood [on one side of the valley] below Ebal Mountain, and the other half of the people stood [on the other side of the valley] below Gerizim Mountain. The sacred chest was [in the valley] between the two groups. That was what Moses had previously commanded that the people should do when [Yahweh was about to] bless them.
Azɔ la, Israelviwo katã, woƒe ametsitsiwo, kplɔlawo, ʋɔnudrɔ̃lawo kple amedzro siwo nɔ wo dome la ma ɖe akpa eve me. Akpa ɖeka tsi tsitre ɖe Gerizim to la te, eye akpa evelia hã nɔ Ebal to la te. Nunɔlawo kɔ nubablaɖaka la nɔ akpa eveawo dome hena yayranyawo xexlẽ. Wowɔ esia abe ale si Mose ɖo na wo gbe aɖe gbe ene.
34 Then Joshua read [to the people] all that [Moses] had written previously. That included what Yahweh had taught them and the ways [that he promised] to bless them [if they obeyed his commands], or to curse them [if they disobeyed them].
Yosua xlẽ yayranya kple fiƒodenya siwo katã Mose ŋlɔ ɖe Yehowa ƒe Segbalẽ la me la na wo.
35 All the Israelis gathered together [to listen]—the men, the women, and the children. The (foreigners/people who were not Israelis) who were living among them also listened, while Joshua read all the commands that Moses had written.
Exlẽ se siwo katã Mose de na wo kpɔ la hã na ameha blibo la, si me nyɔnuwo, ɖeviwo kple amedzro siwo nɔ Israelviwo dome la hã nɔ.
