| NET Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 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. | 1The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole military force with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land. |
| 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!" | 2Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king; you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city." |
| 3Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand brave warriors and sent them out at night. | 3So Joshua and the whole military force set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 fighting men and sent them out at night. |
| 4He told them, "Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from the city; all of you be ready! | 4He commanded them: "Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready. |
| 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. | 5Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will 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. | 6They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are fleeing from us as before.' While we are fleeing from them, |
| 7Then you rise up from your hiding place and seize the city. The LORD your God will hand it over to you. | 7you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God has handed it over to you. |
| 8When you capture the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD says! See, I have given you orders." | 8After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the LORD's command--see that you do as I have ordered you." |
| 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. | 9So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops. |
| 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. | 10Joshua started early the next morning and mobilized them. Then he and the elders of Israel led the troops up to Ai. |
| 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. | 11All those who were with him went up and approached the city, arriving opposite Ai, and camped to the north of it, with a valley between them and the city. |
| 12He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai. | 12Now Joshua had taken about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. |
| 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. | 13The military force was stationed in this way: the main camp to the north of the city and its rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley. |
| 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. | 14When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, the men of the city hurried and went out early in the morning so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle at a suitable place facing the Arabah. But he did not know there was an ambush waiting for him behind the city. |
| 15Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them and they retreated along the way to the desert. | 15Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness. |
| 16All the reinforcements in Ai were ordered to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. | 16Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. |
| 17No men were left in Ai or Bethel; they all went out after Israel. They left the city wide open and chased Israel. | 17Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city exposed while they pursued Israel. |
| 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. | 18Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Hold out the sword in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you." So Joshua held out his sword toward it. |
| 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. | 19When he held out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. |
| 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. | 20The men of Ai turned and looked back, and smoke from the city was rising to the sky! They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. |
| 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. | 21When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. |
| 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. | 22Then men in ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained, |
| 23But they captured 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 chased them toward the desert (they all fell by the sword), all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. | 24When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword. |
| 25Twelve thousand men and women died that day, including all the men of Ai. | 25The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was 12,000--all the people of Ai. |
| 26Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai. | 26Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the sword until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed. |
| 27But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the LORD's orders to Joshua. | 27Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the LORD's command that He had given Joshua. |
| 28Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day). | 28Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, desolate 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). | 29He hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day. |
| 30Then Joshua built an altar for the LORD God of Israel on Mount Ebal, | 30At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel, |
| 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. | 31just as Moses the LORD's servant 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. Then they offered burnt offerings to the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it. |
| 32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses. | 32There on the stones, Joshua copied the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the Israelites. |
| 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. | 33All Israel, foreigner and citizen alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the LORD's covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. As Moses the LORD's servant had commanded earlier, half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, to bless the people of Israel. |
| 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. | 34Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law--the blessings as well as the curses--according to all that is written in the book of the law. |
| 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. | 35There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the little children, and the foreigners who were with them. |
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