Joshua 8:16-34
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 8
16And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel, but they had all gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.
18Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'Reach out with the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand it over to you.' So Joshua reached out with the sword that was in his hand toward the city.
19Then the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had reached out with his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire.
20When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers.
21When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and killed the men of Ai.
22The others came out from the city to confront them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they killed them until there was not one left who escaped or survived.
23But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.
25So all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai.
26For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he reached out with the sword until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of that city as plunder for themselves, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua.
28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a refuse heap forever, a desolation until this day.
29And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; but at sunset Joshua gave the command and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and erected over it a large heap of stones that stands to this day.
30Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
31just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no one had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
32And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel.
33And all Israel with their elders, officers, and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel.
34Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing and the curse, according to everything that is written in the Book of the Law.
King James Version
Chapter 8
16And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. 17And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
18And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city.
19And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.
20And 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: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
21And 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 slew the men of Ai.
22And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.
23And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
24And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
25And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.
26For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua.
28And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.
29And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.
30Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal,
31As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
32And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.
33And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
34And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 8
16Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 17Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city exposed while they pursued Israel.
18Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Hold out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you." So Joshua held out his javelin toward it.
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.
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 smoke was rising from it, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.
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.
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.
25The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand—all the people of Ai.
26Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed.
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 left it a permanent ruin, still desolate today.
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 still remains today.
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. 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 on the stones, Joshua copied the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the Israelites.
33All Israel—resident alien 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. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded earlier concerning blessing the people of Israel.
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.
New Living Translation
Chapter 8
16Then all the men in the town were called out to chase after them. In this way, they were lured away from the town. 17There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not chase after the Israelites, and the town was left wide open.
18Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'Point the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the town over to you.' Joshua did as he was commanded.
19As soon as Joshua gave this signal, all the men in ambush jumped up from their position and poured into the town. They quickly captured it and set it on fire.
20When the men of Ai looked behind them, smoke from the town was filling the sky, and they had nowhere to go. For the Israelites who had fled in the direction of the wilderness now turned on their pursuers.
21When Joshua and all the other Israelites saw that the ambush had succeeded and that smoke was rising from the town, they turned and attacked the men of Ai.
22Meanwhile, the Israelites who were inside the town came out and attacked the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle, with Israelite fighters on both sides. Israel attacked them, and not a single person survived or escaped.
23Only the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
24When the Israelite army finished chasing and killing all the men of Ai in the open fields, they went back and finished off everyone inside.
25So the entire population of Ai, including men and women, was wiped out that day — 12,000 in all.
26For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who had lived in Ai was completely destroyed.
27Only the livestock and the treasures of the town were not destroyed, for the Israelites kept these as plunder for themselves, as the Lord had commanded Joshua.
28So Joshua burned the town of Ai, and it became a permanent mound of ruins, desolate to this very day.
30Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.
31He followed the commands that Moses the Lord’s servant had written in the Book of Instruction: 'Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools.' Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.
32And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones of the altar the instructions Moses had given them.
English Standard Version
Chapter 8
16So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. 17Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.
18Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
19And the men in the ambush rose quickly out of their place, and as soon as he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it. And they hurried to set the city on fire.
20So when the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers.
21And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.
22And the others came out from the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And Israel struck them down, until there was left none that survived or escaped.
23But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him near to Joshua.
24When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword.
25And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai.
26But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction.
27Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder, according to the word of the Lord that he commanded Joshua.
28So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day.
29And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset 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 over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.
30At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
31just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, "an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings.
32And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.
33And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel.
34And 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.
New International Version
Chapter 8
16All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
25Twelve 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.
27But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place 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.
30Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar 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.
32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.
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.
New King James Version
Chapter 8
16So all the people who were in Ai were called together to pursue them. And they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 17There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel.
18Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city.
19So those in ambush arose quickly out of their place; they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and hurried to set the city on fire.
20And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven. So they had no power to flee this way or that way, and the people who had fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
21Now when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.
22Then the others came out of the city against them; so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them down, so that they let none of them remain or escape.
23But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
24And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.
25So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai.
26For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua.
28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day.
29And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
30Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal,
31as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
32And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.
33Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
34And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.
