1 T he Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid. Take all the men of war with you and go up to Ai. See, I have given the king of Ai into your hand, his people, his city, and his land.

Yahweh said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed. Take all the warriors with you, and arise, go up to Ai. Behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, with his people, his city, and his land.

2 D o the same to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Take only its riches and its cattle for yourselves. Hide men behind the city to fight against it.”

You shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king, except you shall take its goods and its livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it.”

3 S o Joshua and all the men of war got ready to go up to Ai. Joshua chose 30, 000 strong soldiers, and sent them out during the night.

So Joshua arose, with all the warriors, to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them out by night.

4 H e told them, “See, you are going to fight the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.

He commanded them, saying, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.

5 I and all the people will come near the city. When they come out to meet us as they did before, we will run from them.

I and all the people who are with me will approach to the city. It shall happen, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them.

6 T hey will come out after us until we have taken them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are running from us as they did before.’ So we will run from them.

They will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, ‘They flee before us, like the first time.’ So we will flee before them,

7 T hen you will come out of your hiding place and take the city. The Lord will give it to you.

and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city; for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.

8 W hen you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord says. See, I have told you.”

It shall be, when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do this according to Yahweh’s word. Behold, I have commanded you.”

9 W hen Joshua sent them away, they went to the hiding place. They waited between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai. But Joshua stayed that night among the people.

Joshua sent them out; and they went to set up the ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua stayed among the people that night.

10 J oshua got up early in the morning and gathered the people. Then he went up with the leaders of Israel in front of the people to Ai.

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

11 A ll the men of war who were with him went up and came to the front of the city. They stayed on the north side of Ai. There was a valley between him and Ai.

All the people, even the men of war who were with him, went up, and came near, and came before the city, and encamped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai.

12 T hen he took about 5, 000 men and hid them between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.

He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.

13 S o they put the men in their places. There was the army on the north side of the city, and the secret army on the west side of the city. But Joshua stayed that night in the center of the valley.

So they set the people, even all the army who was on the north of the city, and their ambush on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night into the middle of the valley.

14 T he king of Ai saw this. So the men of the city were quick to get up early and go out to meet Israel in battle at the chosen place near the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an army hiding behind the city.

When the king of Ai saw it, they hurried 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 didn’t know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

15 J oshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten in front of them. And they ran away into the desert.

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

16 A ll the people in the city were called together to go after them. They went after Joshua, and were taken away from the city.

All the people who were in the city were called together to pursue after them. They pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.

17 S o not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel. They left the city open and ran after Israel.

There was not a man left in Ai or Beth El who didn’t go out after Israel. They left the city open, and pursued Israel.

18 T hen the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai. For I will give the city to you.” So Joshua held out the spear that was in his hand toward the city.

Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.

19 T he men who were hiding got up in a hurry from their place and ran when he held out his hand. They went into the city and took it, and were quick to set it on fire.

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. They hurried and set the city on fire.

20 W hen the men of Ai looked back, they saw the smoke of the city going up to the sky. They had no place to run. Then the people of Israel who had been running away in the desert turned against those who went after them.

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. The people who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.

21 J oshua and all Israel saw that the men who had been hiding had taken the city. They saw the smoke from the city, so they turned around and killed the men of Ai.

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 killed the men of Ai.

22 T he others came out from the city to meet them. The men of Ai were caught in the center of Israel. There were some on one side and some on the other side. They killed until no one was left alive. No one got away.

The others came out of the city against them, so they were in the middle of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. They struck them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.

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

They captured the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua.

24 I srael killed all the men of Ai in the field and in the desert where they had run after them. All of them were killed with the sword until they were destroyed. Then all Israel returned to Ai and destroyed it with the sword.

When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, all Israel returned to Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword.

25 A ll the men and women of Ai died that day, 12, 000 in all.

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

26 J oshua did not put down his hand he used to hold out the spear until he had destroyed all the people of Ai.

For Joshua didn’t draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

27 I srael took only the cattle and the riches of that city for themselves, as the Lord had told Joshua.

Israel took for themselves only the livestock and the goods of that city, according to Yahweh’s word which he commanded Joshua.

28 S o Joshua burned Ai and destroyed it forever, as it is to this day.

So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation, to this day.

29 H e hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. When the sun went down, Joshua had them take his body down from the tree and throw it down at the gate of the city. They put many stones over it, and they are there to this day.

He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening, and at sundown Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised a great heap of stones on it that remains to this day.

30 T hen Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Mount Ebal.

Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,

31 I t was built just as the Lord’s servant Moses had told the people of Israel, as it is written in the book of the Law of Moses. It was an altar made of stones which had not been cut. No one had used an iron object on them. On the altar they gave burnt gifts in worship to the Lord. And there they gave peace gifts in worship.

as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no one had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh and sacrificed peace offerings.

32 T here Joshua wrote on the stones the Law of Moses in front of the people of Israel.

He wrote there on the stones a copy of Moses’ law, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

33 A ll Israel stood on both sides of the special box, in front of the Levite religious leaders who carried the special box of the agreement of the Lord. Strangers stood there as well as those born among the people, with their leaders and heads and men who judge between what is right or wrong. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim. The other half stood in front of Mount Ebal. They did just as the Lord’s servant Moses had told them before. They prayed for good to come to the people of Israel.

All Israel, their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on both sides of the ark before the priests the Levites, who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, the foreigner as well as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.

34 A fter this Joshua read all the words of the Law, the good and the bad that will happen. He read all that is written in the book of the Law.

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.

35 T here was not a word of all that Moses had said which Joshua did not read. He read it in front of all the people of Israel, with the women and children and strangers who were living among them.

There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua didn’t read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.