Verse
KJV
King James Version
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
And
the LORD said unto
Joshua, Fear
not ,
neither
be thou
dismayed:
take all
the people
of
war
with thee
, and arise,
go up to
Ai :
see, I have given
into thy
hand the king of Ai, and
his people, and
his city, and his land :
Then
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 .
And thou
shalt
do to Ai and her
king as thou
didst
unto
Jericho and her
king :
only
the
spoil
thereof
, and the
cattle
thereof,
shall
ye
take
for a
prey
unto
yourselves :
lay
thee
an ambush for
the city behind
it
.
And 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. ”
So Joshua arose,
and all
the people
of
war,
to go
up
against
Ai :
and
Joshua chose out
thirty
thousand
mighty men of valor ,
and sent them away
by
night .
So Joshua and the whole
army
set
out
to attack
Ai .
Joshua chose 30,000
mighty men of valor and sent them out
at
night
And
he
commanded
them,
saying,
Behold,
ye
shall
lie in wait
against
the
city,
even
behind the city :
go
not very
far from the
city,
but
be
ye
all ready :
with
these
orders:
“Pay
attention.
You
are
to
lie in ambush
behind the city ,
not too
far from it.
All of
you
must
be
ready .
And
I ,
and all the people
that
are
with me ,
will approach
unto
the city :
and
it
shall
come
to
pass,
when they come out against us ,
as at
the first, that
we will flee before
them ,
Then
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 .
(For
they will come
out
after
us )
till
we have drawn them from the city ;
for they will say, They flee
before us,
as at
the
first:
therefore
we will
flee before
them .
They 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 ,
Then
ye
shall
rise up
from the ambush ,
and seize upon
the city :
for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
you
are
to
rise from the ambush and seize the city ,
for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
And it
shall
be,
when ye
have taken the city, that
ye
shall
set the
city
on fire :
according
to
the
commandment
of
the LORD shall
ye
do.
See, I have commanded
you.
And when you
have taken the city, set it
on fire .
Do
as
the LORD has
commanded!
See, I have given
you orders
. ”
Joshua therefore
sent them forth:
and they went to lie
in
ambush ,
and abode
between Bethel and Ai, on
the west side
of Ai :
but Joshua lodged
that night among the people.
So
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.
And
Joshua rose
up early in
the morning ,
and numbered
the
people
, and went
up,
he and the elders of Israel ,
before the
people
to Ai.
Joshua got
up early the next
morning and mobilized
his
men
, and he and the elders of Israel marched
before them
up
to Ai.
And
all the people,
even
the
people
of
war
that
were with him ,
went
up ,
and drew
nigh,
and
came
before
the city ,
and pitched
on
the north side
of Ai:
now
there
was
a
valley between them and Ai
.
Then
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
.
And
he
took
about five thousand men ,
and set them
to
lie
in
ambush between Bethel and Ai, on
the west side
of the city.
Now
Joshua
had
taken
about five thousand men and set up
an
ambush between Bethel and Ai, to
the west of the city.
And
when
they
had
set
the people,
even
all
the host
that
was
on
the north of the city ,
and their
liers
in
wait
on
the west of the city ,
Joshua
went
that night into the midst
of
the
valley.
So
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.
And
it
came
to
pass,
when the king of Ai saw it
, that
they
hasted
and
rose
up
early ,
and
the men of the city went
out
against
Israel
to battle ,
he
and
all
his
people,
at a
time
appointed ,
before
the plain;
but he wist
not that there
were
liers
in
ambush against him behind the city.
When 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.
And
Joshua and all Israel made
as
if
they
were
beaten before them, and fled by
the
way
of
the wilderness.
Joshua and all Israel let
themselves
be
beaten back
before them, and they
fled toward
the wilderness.
And
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.
Then
all the men
of
Ai were summoned
to pursue them ,
and they followed
Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
And
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.
Not a man was
left in Ai or Bethel who
did
not go
out after Israel ,
leaving
the city wide
open while
they
pursued Israel.
And
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.
Then
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,
And 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.
and 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.
And
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.
When 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.
And
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.
When 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.
And
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
.
Meanwhile,
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
.
And
the king of Ai they
took
alive ,
and brought him to Joshua.
But
they
took
the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
And
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.
When 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
.
And
so
it
was,
that
all
that
fell
that
day,
both
of men and women ,
were
twelve
thousand,
even
all the men
of Ai.
A
total
of twelve
thousand
men and women fell
that
day—
all the people
of Ai.
For
Joshua drew
not his
hand
back ,
wherewith
he
stretched
out
the spear,
until he had utterly
destroyed
all the
inhabitants
of
Ai.
Joshua did
not draw
back the hand
that
held
his
battle
lance
until he had devoted
to
destruction
all who
lived
in
Ai.
Only 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.
Israel
took
for
themselves
only the cattle and plunder
of that city, as
the LORD had
commanded Joshua.
And
Joshua burnt
Ai ,
and made it an
heap for
ever
, even
a desolation unto
this day.
So
Joshua burned
Ai and made it a
permanent
heap of
ruins
, a desolation to
this day.
And
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
carcass
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.
He
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.
Then
Joshua built an altar unto
the LORD God of Israel in
mount
Ebal
,
At
that
time
Joshua built an altar on
Mount
Ebal
to
the LORD ,
the
God of Israel,
As 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.
just
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.
And he
wrote
there upon
the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote
in
the
presence
of
the
children
of
Israel
.
And there in
the presence
of
the
Israelites,
Joshua
inscribed
on
the
stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had
written
.
And
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.
All 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.
And
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.
Afterward ,
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.
There was not a word of all that Moses commanded ,
which
Joshua read not
before all
the congregation
of Israel, with
the women, and
the little ones, and the strangers
that
were
conversant
among them.
There 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.
Scripture text: King James Version and Berean Standard Bible. UK publication rights are administered by the Crown's patentee; public domain in most other jurisdictions.; Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC..