Yosua 8
1 Afei, Awurade ka kyerɛɛ Yosua se, “Nsuro anaasɛ mma wo koma ntu. Fa wʼasraafo no nyinaa na kɔtow hyɛ Ai so, efisɛ mede Aihene, ne nkurɔfo, ne kuropɔn ne nʼasase ama wo.
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.
2 Wobɛsɛe wɔn sɛnea wosɛe Yeriko ne ne hene no. Nanso, saa bere yi de, mutumi fa asade ne anantwi no. Ma wʼasraafo no nkɔtɛw kuropɔn no akyi.”
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.”
3 Na Yosua ne Israel nsraadɔm no sii mu sɛ wɔrekɔtow ahyɛ Ai so. Yosua yii asraafo mpem aduasa, somaa wɔn anadwo,
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.
4 hyɛɛ wɔn se, “Monkɔtɛw wɔ ahintawee a ɛwɔ kuropɔn no akyi na monyɛ krado mma ɔko.
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].
5 Sɛ yɛn asraafo no tow hyɛ Ai so a, Ai mmarima befi adi abɛko, sɛnea wɔyɛɛ kan no, na yebeguan.
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.
6 Yɛbɛma wɔataa yɛn ara kosi sɛ wɔn nyinaa befi kuropɔn no mu. Na wɔbɛka se ‘Israelfo no reguan sɛnea wɔyɛɛ kan no.’
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,
7 Afei mubefi mo ahintawee hɔ ntɛm so akɔfa kuropɔn no, efisɛ Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn de bɛma mo.
[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.
8 Monto kuropɔn no mu gya sɛnea Awurade ahyɛ no. Munim nea ɛsɛ sɛ moyɛ.”
After you capture the city, burn it. Do what Yahweh has commanded us to do. Those are the orders I am giving to you.”
9 Enti wofii hɔ anadwo no kɔtɛw Bet-El ne Ai atɔe fam ntam. Nanso, Yosua de, ɔkaa nnipa no mu wɔ wɔn atenae hɔ anadwo no.
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.
10 Ade kyee anɔpahema no, Yosua nyan nʼakofo ma wɔde wɔn ani kyerɛɛ Ai a Israel ntuanofo ka wɔn ho.
Early the next morning, Joshua gathered his soldiers together. Then he and the other Israeli leaders led them up to Ai.
11 Wɔkɔbɔɔ atenae wɔ Ai atifi fam a obon da wɔne kuropɔn no ntam.
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.
12 Anadwo no, Yosua somaa asraafo mpem anum sɛ wɔnkɔtɛw Bet-El ne Ai ntam wɔ kuropɔn no atɔe fam.
Then Joshua chose about 5,000 men and told them to go and hide just west of the city, between Ai and Bethel.
13 Enti ɔmaa asraafo no mu fa kɛse gyinaa kuropɔn no atifi fam a na atɛwfo no bi nso wɔ kuropɔn no atɔe fam. Yosua ankasa de, ɔtenaa obon no mu anadwo no.
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.
14 Aihene huu sɛ Israelfo no wɔ obon no fa nohɔ no, ntɛm so, ɔne nʼakofo nyinaa sɔree anɔpahema kɔtoaa Israelfo no, tow hyɛɛ wɔn so wɔ Araba. Nanso, na onnim sɛ atɛwfo bi wɔ kuropɔn no akyi.
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.
15 Yosua ne ne Israel nsraadɔm no guan kɔɔ sare no so yɛɛ sɛnea Aifo no adi wɔn so,
Joshua and the Israeli soldiers [who were with him] allowed the army of Ai to push them back. They ran toward the desert.
16 enti Aifo no frɛɛ mmarima a wɔwɔ kuropɔn no mu no nyinaa ma wɔbɛtaa Israelfo no. Ɛyɛɛ saa maa wɔn nyinaa fii kuropɔn no mu.
The men in Ai were ordered to chase after Joshua and his men. So they left the city and started to pursue the Israelis.
17 Anka obiara wɔ Ai anaa Bet-el a wankɔtaa Israelfo, na wogyaw kurow no maa ano daa hɔ.
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.
18 Awurade ka kyerɛɛ Yosua se, “Fa wo peaw no kyerɛ Ai so, na mede kuropɔn no bɛma wo.” Enti, Yosua yɛɛ sɛnea wɔhyɛɛ no no.
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.
19 Yosua nyamaa atɛwfo no ara pɛ, wɔsɔree pankran bɔ wuraa kuropɔn no mu. Wɔfaa kuropɔn no na wɔtoo mu gya.
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.
20 Aifo no hwɛɛ wɔn akyi huu sɛ wusiw kumɔnn aduru soro, na wɔannya baabi ankɔ, efisɛ Israelfo no a woguan kɔɔ sare so no dan wɔn ani taa wɔn.
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.
21 Bere a Yosua ne Israelfo a wɔaka no huu sɛ atɛwfo no afa kuropɔn no, na wusiw ayɛ kumɔnn wɔ wim no, wɔdan wɔn ho bɛtow hyɛɛ Aifo no so.
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.
22 Israelfo a na wɔwɔ kuropɔn no mu fii akyi hyɛɛ ase kunkum atamfo no. Enti Ai mmarima no dii nsensɛnmu na wɔn nyinaa wuwui. Anka obi biara.
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.
23 Ai hene nko ara na wɔkyeree no anikann de no brɛɛ Yosua.
Then they seized the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua.
24 Bere a Israelfo nsraadɔm kunkum Ai mmarima a wopue fii kuropɔn no mu wiee no, wɔsan kɔɔ kuropɔn no mu kokunkum wɔn a wɔaka wɔ mu nyinaa.
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.
25 Enti da no wokunkum nnipa a wɔwɔ Ai nyinaa; na wɔn ano si mpem dumien.
They killed 12,000 men and women.
26 Yosua soo ne peaw no mu saa ara kosii sɛ wɔsɛee obiara a ɔte Ai no pasaa.
Joshua continued to point his spear [LIT] toward Ai, until all the people in Ai had been killed.
27 Anantwi ne agyapade a ɛwɔ kuropɔn no mu nko ara na wɔansɛe no; Israelfo no ankasa fae, sɛnea Awurade hyɛɛ Yosua no.
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.
28 Enti, Yosua hyew Ai ma bɛdanee mmubui siw ne amamfo de besi nnɛ.
Joshua and his soldiers burned Ai city and caused it to become a pile of ruins. It is still like that today.
29 Yosua sɛn Ai hene wɔ dua bi so gyaw no wɔ dua no so kosii anwummere. Owia kɔtɔe no, Israelfo no yii amu no de no kɔtoo kuropɔn no pon ano. Wɔhyɛɛ abo siw wɔ ne so a ɛda so wɔ hɔ besi nnɛ.
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.
30 Yosua sii afɔremuka maa Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn, wɔ Ebal bepɔw so.
Joshua [told his men to] build on Ebal Mountain an altar for Yahweh, the God [who is worshiped by] the Israeli people.
31 Odii nkyerɛkyerɛ a Mose a ɔyɛ Awurade somfo akyerɛw wɔ Mmara Nhoma no mu a ese, “Fa abo a wontwae na wɔmfaa adwinnade nsinsenii ho si afɔremuka ma me” no so. Na wɔbɔɔ ɔhyew afɔre ne asomdwoe afɔre maa Awurade wɔ afɔremuka no so.
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.
32 Na Yosua kyerɛw Mose Mmara no guu afɔremuka no abo no so, bere a na Israelfo no rehwɛ no no.
As the Israelis watched, Joshua wrote on stones the laws that [Yahweh had given] to Moses previously.
33 Afei, wɔkyɛɛ Israelfo nyinaa; ahɔho ne ɔmanfo, ntuanofo, adwumayɛfo ne atemmufo nyinaa mu akuw abien. Kuw baako gyinaa Gerisim bepɔw ayaase na kuw baako nso gyinaa Ebal bepɔw ayaase. Akuw abien yi dii nhwɛanim. Na Lewifo asɔfo a wɔso Awurade Apam Adaka no gyinaa wɔn mfimfini. Wɔyɛɛ eyinom nyinaa sɛnea Awurade somfo Mose nkyerɛkyerɛ a ɔnam so hyira Israelfo no te.
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.
34 Afei, Yosua kenkan nhyira ne nnome nsɛm a Mose akyerɛw wɔ Mmara Nhoma no mu no kyerɛɛ wɔn.
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].
35 Asɛm biara a Mose ahyɛ no, Yosua kenkan kyerɛɛ ɔman mu no a mmea, mmofra ne ahɔho a wɔne Israelfo no te no nso ka ho bi.
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.
