| New International Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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." | 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.” |
| 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 | 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 |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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, | 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, |
| 7you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. | 7you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. |
| 8When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders." | 8And when you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD has commanded! See, I have given you orders.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 10Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. | 10Joshua got up early the next morning and mobilized his men, and he and the elders of Israel marched before them up to Ai. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 12Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. | 12Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 15Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. | 15Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. |
| 16All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. | 16Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 23But they took 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 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. | 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. |
| 25Twelve thousand men and women fell that day--all the people of Ai. | 25A total of twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. |
| 26For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. | 26Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai. |
| 27But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua. | 27Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua. |
| 28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. | 28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this 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. | 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. |
| 30Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, | 30At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. | 32And there in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
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