The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid or dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you and go up to Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land."

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:

"Do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. However, you may take its spoil and its livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city, behind it."

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.

So Joshua and all the fighting men rose to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them out by night.

So 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.

He commanded them, saying, "Behold, you are to lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go far from the city, but all of you stay ready."

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:

"I and all the people with me will approach the city, and when they come out to meet us as they did before, we will flee before them."

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,

"They will chase after us until we lure them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So we will flee before 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.

"Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands."

Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.

"When you have taken the city, you shall set it on fire, as the Lord has commanded. See, I have commanded you."

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.

So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site, remaining between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai. Joshua spent that night among the people.

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.

Joshua rose early in the morning, mustered the people, and he and the elders of Israel went up before the people to Ai.

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.

All the fighting men who were with him went up and approached the city. They camped to the north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city.

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.

He took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, west of 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.

The people positioned all the camp to the north of the city, while a rear guard was placed to the west of the city. That night, Joshua went into the valley.

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.

When the king of Ai saw this, he and all his men of the city hurried and rose early, going out to meet Israel in battle at the appointed place near the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush was set against him behind the city.

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.

Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled toward the wilderness.

And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

All the people of Ai were summoned to pursue them. They chased after Joshua and were drawn away from the city.

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.

Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.

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.

The Lord said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." So Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward the city.

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.

As soon as he stretched out his hand, the ambush rose quickly from their position, ran into the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.

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.

When the men of Ai looked back, they saw the smoke of the city rising to the sky, and they had no power to flee in any direction. The Israelites who had fled toward the wilderness now turned against their pursuers.

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 Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that its smoke was rising, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.

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.

The others came out from the city to meet them, so the men of Ai were surrounded by the Israelites, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivors or fugitives were left.

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.

But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

When Israel finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open field and in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were completely destroyed, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword.

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.

On that day, twelve thousand men and women, all the people of Ai, fell.

And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

Joshua did not draw back the hand with which he had stretched out the javelin until he had completely destroyed all the inhabitants 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.

Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took for themselves, according to the word of the Lord that He commanded Joshua.

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.

So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day.

And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.

He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. At sunset, Joshua gave the command, and they took his body down from the tree, threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and piled over it a large heap of stones, which remains 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 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.

Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.

Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,

He built it according to what Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the Israelites, as it 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 burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings.

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.

There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses.

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.

All Israel, along with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who were carrying it. Both the sojourner and the native-born were present. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half stood in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.

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.

Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.

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.

Not a single word of all that Moses had commanded was omitted; Joshua read it all to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the children, and the foreigners living among them.

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.