Joshua 8:1-8
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 8
1Now the Lord said to Joshua, 'Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you. Arise, go up to Ai; see, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoils and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it.'
3So Joshua rose up with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night.
4He commanded them, saying, 'See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
5Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as they did the first time, we will flee before them.
6They will come out after us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘ They are fleeing before us just as they did the first time.’ So we will flee before them.
7Then you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will hand it over to you.
8Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it in accordance with the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.'
King James Version
Chapter 8
1And 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: 2And 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.
3So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night.
4And 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:
5And 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,
6(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.
7Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
8And 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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 8
1The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all the troops with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land. 2Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king, except that you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."
3So Joshua and all the troops set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of his best soldiers and sent them out at night.
4He commanded them, "Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready.
5Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them.
6They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are fleeing from us as before.' While we are fleeing from them,
7you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you.
8After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the Lord's command--see that you do as I have ordered you."
New Living Translation
Chapter 8
1Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land. 2You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the town.'
3So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 of his best warriors and sent them out at night
4with these orders: 'Hide in ambush close behind the town and be ready for action.
5When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away from them.
6We will let them chase us until we have drawn them away from the town. For they will say, ‘The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ Then, while we are running from them,
7you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the town, for the Lord your God will give it to you.
8Set the town on fire, as the Lord has commanded. You have your orders.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 8
1And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”
3So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night.
4And he commanded them, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready.
5And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them.
6And they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us, just as before.’ So we will flee before them.
7Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will give it into your hand.
8And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you.”
New International Version
Chapter 8
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. 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.'
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
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.
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.
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,
7you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give 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.'
New King James Version
Chapter 8
1Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”
3So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night.
4And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
5Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that we shall flee before them.
6For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘ They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ Therefore we will flee before them.
7Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
8And it will be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire. According to the commandment of the Lord you shall do. See, I have commanded you.”