| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 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. | 1Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his 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!" | 2You 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 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 army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best 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! | 4with these orders: "Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. |
| 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. | 5I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, 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 pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee 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 rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. |
| 8When you capture the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD says! See, I have given you orders." | 8When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders." |
| 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. | 9Then Joshua sent them off, 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 with the people. |
| 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. | 10Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them 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. | 11The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. |
| 12He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai. | 12Joshua had taken about five thousand 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. | 13So the soldiers took up their positions--with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. 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 this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against 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 let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. |
| 16All the reinforcements in Ai were ordered to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. | 16All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured 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 remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of 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 toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city." So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. |
| 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. | 19As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly 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 looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their 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. | 21For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked 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. | 22Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. |
| 23But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. | 23But they took 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 all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. |
| 25Twelve thousand men and women died that day, including all the men of Ai. | 25Twelve thousand men and women fell that day--all the people of Ai. |
| 26Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai. | 26For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. |
| 27But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the LORD's orders to Joshua. | 27But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua. |
| 28Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day). | 28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place 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 impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised 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, | 30Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar 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. | 31as 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 had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. |
| 32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses. | 32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. |
| 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 the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. 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 formerly commanded when he gave instructions 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 all the words of the law--the blessings and the curses--just as it 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 to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them. |
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