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.
INkosi yasisithi kuJoshuwa: Ungesabi, ungatshaywa luvalo; thatha kanye lawe bonke abantu bempi, usukume wenyukele eAyi; bona, nginikele esandleni sakho inkosi yeAyi, labantu bayo, lomuzi wayo, lelizwe layo.
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.”
Uzakwenza-ke eAyi lenkosini yayo njengokwenza kwakho eJeriko lenkosini yayo. Kuphela impango yayo lezifuyo zayo lizaziphangela. Uzibekele abacathameli ngasemzini emva kwawo.
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.
UJoshuwa wasesukuma labo bonke abantu bempi ukwenyukela eAyi; uJoshuwa wasekhetha amaqhawe alamandla ayizinkulungwane ezingamatshumi amathathu, wawathuma ebusuku.
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].
Wawalaya esithi: Bonani, lizawucathamela umuzi ngemva komuzi. Lingabi khatshana kakhulu lomuzi, kodwa lungani lonke.
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.
Mina-ke labo bonke abantu abalami sizasondela emzini. Kuzakuthi-ke lapho bephuma ukumelana lathi njengakuqala sibaleke phambi kwabo.
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,
Njalo bazaphuma emva kwethu size sibadonse basuke emzini. Ngoba bazakuthi: Bayabaleka phambi kwethu njengakuqala. Ngakho sizabaleka phambi kwabo.
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.
Lina-ke lizasukuma ekucathameni, liwuthumbe umuzi; ngoba iNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu izawunikela esandleni senu.
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.”
Kuzakuthi-ke seliwuthumbile umuzi, liwutshise umuzi ngomlilo, lizakwenza njengokwelizwi leNkosi. Bonani, ngililayile.
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.
UJoshuwa wasebathuma, baya ekucathameni, bahlala phakathi kweBhetheli leAyi, entshonalanga kweAyi, kodwa uJoshuwa walala phakathi kwabantu ngalobobusuku.
10 Early the next morning, Joshua gathered his soldiers together. Then he and the other Israeli leaders led them up to Ai.
UJoshuwa wasevuka ekuseni kakhulu, wabala abantu, wenyuka, yena labadala bakoIsrayeli, phambi kwabantu, waya eAyi.
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.
Labo bonke abantu bempi ababelaye benyuka, basondela, beza maqondana lomuzi, bamisa inkamba enyakatho kweAyi. Njalo kwakulesihotsha phakathi kwabo leAyi.
12 Then Joshua chose about 5,000 men and told them to go and hide just west of the city, between Ai and Bethel.
Wasethatha phose amadoda azinkulungwane ezinhlanu, wawacathamisa phakathi kweBhetheli leAyi entshonalanga komuzi.
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.
Lapho sebemisa abantu, lonke ibutho elalisenyakatho komuzi, labacathami ngasentshonalanga komuzi, uJoshuwa waya phakathi kwesihotsha ngalobobusuku.
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.
Kwasekusithi inkosi yeAyi ikubona, aphangisa avuka ngovivi; lamadoda omuzi aphuma impi emelane loIsrayeli, yona labantu bayo bonke, ngesikhathi esimisiweyo, phambi kwamagceke; kodwa yona yayingazi ukuthi kukhona abayicathameleyo emva komuzi.
15 Joshua and the Israeli soldiers [who were with him] allowed the army of Ai to push them back. They ran toward the desert.
UJoshuwa loIsrayeli basebetshaywa phambi kwawo, babaleka ngendlela yenkangala.
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.
Kwasekubizwa bonke abantu ababesemzini ukuxotshana labo. Nxa bexotshana loJoshuwa badonswa basuka emzini.
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.
Njalo kakusalanga muntu eAyi kumbe eBhetheli, abangaphumanga ukulandela uIsrayeli; bawutshiya umuzi ukhamisile, baxotshana loIsrayeli.
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.
INkosi yasisithi kuJoshuwa: Yelulela umkhonto osesandleni sakho eAyi, ngoba ngizayinikela esandleni sakho. UJoshuwa waseselulela umkhonto osesandleni sakhe emzini.
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.
Abacathemeyo basebesukuma masinyane endaweni yabo; bagijima esanda ukwelula isandla sakhe, bangena emzini, bawuthumba, baphangisa, bawutshisa umuzi ngomlilo.
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.
Kwathi lapho amadoda eAyi enyemukula abona, khangela-ke, intuthu yomuzi yenyukela emazulwini, njalo ayengelandawo yokubalekela ngapha langapha, ngoba abantu ababebalekele enkangala baphendukela ababaxotshayo.
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.
Kwathi uJoshuwa loIsrayeli wonke bebona ukuthi abacathemeyo sebewuthumbile umuzi lokuthi intuthu yomuzi yenyuka, baphenduka batshaya amadoda eAyi.
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.
Lalaba baphuma emzini ukumelana lawo, aze aba phakathi kukaIsrayeli, abanye ngapha labanye ngale; basebewatshaya, kakwaze kwasala muntu kuwo, owasilayo kumbe owaphunyukayo.
23 Then they seized the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua.
Kodwa inkosi yeAyi bayibamba iphila, bayisondeza kuJoshuwa.
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.
Kwasekusithi lapho uIsrayeli eseqedile ukubulala bonke abahlali beAyi egangeni, enkangala lapho ababebaxotshele khona, babewile bonke ngobukhali benkemba, baze baqedwa, uIsrayeli wonke wabuyela eAyi, bayitshaya ngobukhali benkemba.
25 They killed 12,000 men and women.
Kwasekusithi, bonke abawayo mhlalokho, kusukela kwabesilisa kusiya kwabesifazana, babeyizinkulungwane ezilitshumi lambili, bonke abantu beAyi.
26 Joshua continued to point his spear [LIT] toward Ai, until all the people in Ai had been killed.
Njalo uJoshuwa kasifinyezanga isandla sakhe ayelule umkhonto ngaso baze batshabalalisa bonke abahlali beAyi.
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.
Kuphela izifuyo lempango yalowomuzi uIsrayeli waziphangela, njengelizwi leNkosi eyalilaya uJoshuwa.
28 Joshua and his soldiers burned Ai city and caused it to become a pile of ruins. It is still like that today.
UJoshuwa waseyitshisa iAyi, wayimisa yaba yinqwaba phakade, unxiwa, kuze kube lamuhla.
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.
Lenkosi yeAyi wayiphanyeka esihlahleni kwaze kwaba yisikhathi santambama. Lekutshoneni kwelanga uJoshuwa walaya ukuthi bethule isidumbu sayo esihlahleni, basiphosele emnyango wesango lomuzi, bamisa phezu kwaso inqwaba enkulu yamatshe, ekhona kuze kube lamuhla.
30 Joshua [told his men to] build on Ebal Mountain an altar for Yahweh, the God [who is worshiped by] the Israeli people.
Khona uJoshuwa wayakhela iNkosi uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli ilathi entabeni yeEbhali.
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.
Njengokulaya kukaMozisi inceku yeNkosi kubantwana bakoIsrayeli, njengalokhu kubhalwe egwalweni lomlayo kaMozisi, ilathi lamatshe apheleleyo, okungazange kusetshenziswe nsimbi phezu kwalo. Basebenikela phezu kwalo eNkosini iminikelo yokutshiswa, bahlaba iminikelo yokuthula.
32 As the Israelis watched, Joshua wrote on stones the laws that [Yahweh had given] to Moses previously.
Wasebhala lapho ematsheni impinda yomlayo kaMozisi, ayibhala phambi kwabantwana bakoIsrayeli.
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.
UIsrayeli wonke-ke, labadala babo, lezinduna, labahluleli babo, bema ngapha langapha komtshokotsho, beqondene labapristi, amaLevi, abathwala umtshokotsho wesivumelwano seNkosi, owezizwe njengowokuzalwa. Ingxenye yabo imaqondana lentaba yeGerizimi, lengxenye yabo maqondana lentaba yeEbhali, njengokulaya kukaMozisi inceku yeNkosi, ukubusisa abantu bakoIsrayeli kuqala.
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].
Langemva kwalokho wamemezela wonke amazwi omlayo, isibusiso lesiqalekiso, njengakho konke okubhaliweyo egwalweni lomlayo.
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.
Akwabakho ilizwi kukho konke uMozisi akulayayo uJoshuwa angalimemezelanga phambi kwebandla lonke lakoIsrayeli labesifazana labantwanyana labezizweni ababehamba phakathi kwabo.
