Joshua 8

1And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, 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;

1The LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you and go up to Ai. See, I have handed the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land over to you.'

2and thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: set thee an ambush for the city behind it.

2'Deal with Ai and its king just as you did with Jericho and its king, except that you may take the equipment and the livestock as loot for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.'

3So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them forth by night.

3So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night.

4And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city; go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:

4He gave them these orders: 'Listen carefully. You are to lie in ambush behind the city. Do not go very far from it, but stay alert and ready.'

5and I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city. And it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them;

5'I and all the men with me will approach the city. When the men of Ai come out to attack us as they did before, we will run away from them.'

6and they will come out after us, till we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: so we will flee before them;

6'They will chase us until we have drawn them away from the city, because they will think, "They are running away from us just like last time." While we are running,'

7and ye shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city: for Jehovah your God will deliver it into your hand.

7'you must jump out from your ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand.'

8And it shall be, when ye have seized upon the city, that ye shall set the city on fire; according to the word of Jehovah shall ye do: see, I have commanded you.

8'When you have captured the city, set it on fire. Do exactly what the LORD has commanded. Those are your orders.'

9And Joshua sent them forth; and they went to the ambushment, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

9Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush. They hid between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai; but Joshua stayed that night with the rest of the people.

10And Joshua arose up early in the morning, and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.

10Joshua got up early the next morning and gathered the men. He and the leaders of Israel led them up toward Ai.

11And all the people, eventhemen ofwar that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and encamped on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between him and Ai.

11All the fighting men with him marched up and approached the city. They arrived in front of it and camped on the north side of Ai, with a valley between them and the city.

12And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.

12Joshua took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.

13So they set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers-in-wait that were on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.

13The main army was stationed to the north of the city, and the ambush was to the west. That night Joshua went down into the middle of the valley.

14And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah; but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

14When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he and all his men rushed out early in the morning to fight Israel at a specific place overlooking the Jordan Valley. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city.

15And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

15Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated and fled toward the wilderness.

16And all the people that were in the city were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.

16All the men in Ai were called out to chase them. As they pursued Joshua, they were drawn away from the city.

17And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

17Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city wide open and chased after the Israelites.

18And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.

18Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'Point the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will give the city into your hand.' So Joshua pointed his javelin toward Ai.

19And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it; and they hasted and set the city on fire.

19As soon as he reached out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their positions. They rushed into the city, captured it, and quickly set it on fire.

20And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.

20When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from the city into the sky. They had no way to escape in any direction, because the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness now turned back on their pursuers.

21And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.

21When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.

22And the others came forth out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.

22The men in the city also came out to attack, so the men of Ai were trapped in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or fugitives.

23And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

23But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

24And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.

24Israel finished killing all the men of Ai in the open fields and in the wilderness where they had been chased. After every last one was killed by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed everyone left there.

25And all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

25Twelve thousand men and women died that day—everyone from the city of Ai.

26For Joshua drew not back his hand, wherewith he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

26For Joshua did not pull back the hand that held his javelin until he had completely destroyed everyone living in Ai.

27Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for prey unto themselves, according unto the word of Jehovah which he commanded Joshua.

27Israel took the livestock and the goods of that city for themselves, just as the LORD had commanded Joshua.

28So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap for ever, even a desolation, unto this day.

28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a deserted place even to this day.

29And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the eventide: and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap of stones, unto this day.

29He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body down. They threw it at the entrance of the city gate and piled a large heap of stones over it, which is still there today.

30Then Joshua built an altar unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, in mount Ebal,

30Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.

31as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man had lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, and sacrificed peace-offerings.

31He followed the orders that Moses, the servant of the LORD, had given the Israelites. As it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, it was an altar of uncut stones that had never been touched by an iron tool. On it they sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.

32And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote, in the presence of the children of Israel.

32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses.

33And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the sojourner as the home-born; half of them in front of mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.

33All the Israelites—including their leaders, officers, judges, and foreigners living among them—stood on both sides of the Chest of the LORD’S Covenant. They faced the Levitical priests who carried the Chest. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

34And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.

34Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—exactly as they were written in the Book of the Law.

35There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners that were among them.

35There was not a single word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the children, and the foreigners living among them.