| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. | 1The LORD told Joshua, "Don't be afraid and don't panic! Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! See, I am handing over to you the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land. |
| 2And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind the city.” | 2Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city!" |
| 3So Joshua and the whole army set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out at night | 3Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand brave warriors and sent them out at night. |
| 4with these orders: “Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready. | 4He told them, "Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from the city; all of you be ready! |
| 5Then I and all the troops with me will advance on the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them. | 5I and all the troops who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. |
| 6They will pursue us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ So as we flee from them, | 6They will attack us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, 'They are retreating from us like before.' We will retreat from them. |
| 7you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. | 7Then you rise up from your hiding place and seize the city. The LORD your God will hand it over to you. |
| 8And when you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD has commanded! See, I have given you orders.” | 8When you capture the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD says! See, I have given you orders." |
| 9So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people. | 9Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place west of Ai, between Bethel and Ai. Joshua spent that night with the army. |
| 10Joshua got up early the next morning and mobilized his men, and he and the elders of Israel marched before them up to Ai. | 10Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered the army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched at the head of it to Ai. |
| 11Then all the troops who were with him marched up and approached the city. They arrived in front of Ai and camped to the north of it, with the valley between them and the city. | 11All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley. |
| 12Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. | 12He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai. |
| 13So the forces were stationed with the main camp to the north of the city and the rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley. | 13The army was in position--the main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into the middle of the valley. |
| 14When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city. | 14When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. But he did not realize men were hiding behind the city. |
| 15Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. | 15Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them and they retreated along the way to the desert. |
| 16Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city. | 16All the reinforcements in Ai were ordered to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. |
| 17Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel. | 17No men were left in Ai or Bethel; they all went out after Israel. They left the city wide open and chased Israel. |
| 18Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai, | 18The LORD told Joshua, "Hold out toward Ai the curved sword in your hand, for I am handing the city over to you." So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. |
| 19and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. | 19When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked. They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. |
| 20When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. | 20When the men of Ai turned around, they saw the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers. |
| 21When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. | 21When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. |
| 22Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained. | 22At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle. The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. |
| 23But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. | 23But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. |
| 24When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had pursued them into the field and wilderness, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and put it to the sword as well. | 24When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had chased them toward the desert (they all fell by the sword), all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. |
| 25A total of twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. | 25Twelve thousand men and women died that day, including all the men of Ai. |
| 26Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai. | 26Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai. |
| 27Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua. | 27But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the LORD's orders to Joshua. |
| 28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day. | 28Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day). |
| 29He hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. | 29He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day). |
| 30At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel, | 30Then Joshua built an altar for the LORD God of Israel on Mount Ebal, |
| 31just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used.” And on it they offered burnt offerings to the LORD, and they sacrificed peace offerings. | 31just as Moses the LORD's servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool. They offered burnt sacrifices on it and sacrificed tokens of peace. |
| 32And there in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. | 32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses. |
| 33All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel. | 33All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the LORD's servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony. |
| 34Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. | 34Then Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. |
| 35There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to read before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them. | 35Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them. |
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