Joshua 8:15-29

8:15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them and they retreated along the way to the desert. 8:16 All the reinforcements ¹  in Ai ²  were ordered ³  to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. 8:17 No men were left in Ai or Bethel; ⁴  they all went out after Israel. ⁵  They left the city wide open and chased Israel.

8:18 The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword in your hand, for I am handing the city ⁶  over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. 8:19 When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked. ⁷  They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. 8:20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw ⁸  the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. ⁹  In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers. 8:21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke, ¹⁰  they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. 8:22 At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle. ¹¹  The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. 8:23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

8:24 When Israel had finished killing all the men ¹²  of Ai who had chased them toward the desert ¹³  (they all fell by the sword), ¹⁴  all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. 8:25 Twelve thousand men and women died ¹⁵  that day, including all the men of Ai. 8:26 Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai. ¹⁶  8:27 But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the Lord’s orders to Joshua. ¹⁷  8:28 Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day). ¹⁸  8:29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. ¹⁹  At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. ²⁰  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). ²¹ 

[8:16]  ¹ tn Heb “All the people.”

[8:16]  ² tc Some textual witnesses read “the city.”

[8:16]  ³ tn Or “were summoned”; or “were mustered.”

[8:17]  ⁴ tc The LXX omits the words “or Bethel.”

[8:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “who did not go out after Israel.”

[8:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Ai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “and ran.”

[8:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.

[8:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and that the smoke of the city ascended.”

[8:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and these went out from the city to meet them and they were for Israel in the middle, some on this side, and others on the other side.”

[8:24]  ¹² tn Heb “residents.”

[8:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the field, in the desert in which they chased them.”

[8:24]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed.” The LXX omits the words, “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword.” They may represent a later scribal addition.

[8:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “fell.”

[8:26]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Joshua did not draw back his hand which held out the curved sword until he had annihilated all the residents of Ai.”

[8:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua.”

[8:28]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and made it a permanent mound, a desolation, to this day.”

[8:29]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ²⁰ sn For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22-23.

[8:29]  ²¹ tn Heb “to this day.”