No men were left in Ai or Bethel; ¹  they all went out after Israel. ²  They left the city wide open and chased Israel.

If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated ¹  before its enemies?

After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:

Meanwhile ¹  the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River ²  near the fords. ³  The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. ⁴ 

Armed troops marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark blowing rams’ horns.

All the reinforcements ¹  in Ai ²  were ordered ³  to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city.

Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. ¹ 

But don’t you delay! Chase your enemies and catch them! ¹  Don’t allow them to retreat to ²  their cities, for the Lord your God is handing them over to you.” ³ 

Then Joshua executed them ¹  and hung them on five trees. They were left hanging on the trees until evening.

My countrymen ¹  who accompanied ²  me frightened the people, ³  but I remained loyal to the Lord my God. ⁴ 

A long time ¹  passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies, ²  and Joshua was very old. ³ 

When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you arrived at the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

If ¹  you abandon the Lord and worship ²  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ³  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ⁴  though he once treated you well.” ⁵ 

After all this ¹  Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten.

The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams’ horns.

That day Moses made this solemn promise: ¹  ‘Surely the land on which you walked ²  will belong to you and your descendants permanently, ³  for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.’

So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day ¹  because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel.

Israel worshiped ¹  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. ²  These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel. ³