Joshua 8:20
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.
Additional Resources
Other Translations
King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)
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.
KJV1611 – Modern English
And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended 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.
King James Version 1611 (Original)
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.
American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers
And when the men{H582} of Ai{H5857} looked{H6437} behind{H310} them, they saw,{H7200} and, behold, the smoke{H6227} of the city{H5892} ascended up{H5927} to heaven,{H8064} and they had no power{H3027} to flee{H5127} this way or that way:{H2008} and the people{H5971} that fled{H5127} to the wilderness{H4057} turned back{H2015} upon the pursuers.{H7291}
King James Version with Strong's Numbers
And when the men{H582} of Ai{H5857} looked{H6437}{(H8799)} behind{H310} them, they saw{H7200}{(H8799)}, and, behold, the smoke{H6227} of the city{H5892} ascended up{H5927}{(H8804)} to heaven{H8064}, and they had no power{H3027} to flee{H5127}{(H8800)} this way or that way{H2008}: and the people{H5971} that fled{H5127}{(H8801)} to the wilderness{H4057} turned back{H2015}{(H8738)} upon the pursuers{H7291}{(H8802)}.
Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the men of Hai turned them, and loked behynde them, and the smoke of the cite wente vp towarde heauen, and they had no place to flie vnto, nether hither ner thither: and the people that fled towarde the wyldernes turned aboute, to folowe vpon them.
Geneva Bible (1560)
And the men of Ai looked behinde them, and sawe it: for loe, the smoke of the citie ascended vp to heauen, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: for the people that fled to the wildernesse, turned backe vpon the pursuers.
Bishops' Bible (1568)
And when the men of Ai loked backe after them, they sawe the smoke of the citie ascend vp to heauen, and they had no place to flee either this way or that: and the people that fled to the wildernes, turned backe againe vpon the folowers.
Authorized King James Version (1611)
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.
Webster's Bible (1833)
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 who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)
And the men of Ai look behind them, and see, and lo, the smoke of the city hath gone up unto the heavens, and there hath not been in them power to flee hither and thither -- and the people who are fleeing to the wilderness have turned against the pursuer, --
American Standard Version (1901)
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.
American Standard Version (1901)
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.
Bible in Basic English (1941)
Then the men of Ai, looking back, saw the smoke of the town going up to heaven, and were unable to go this way or that: and the people who had gone in flight to the waste land were turned back on those who were coming after them.
World English Bible (2000)
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. The people who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
NET Bible® (New English Translation)
When the men of Ai turned around, they saw the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. In the meantime the men who were retreating to the wilderness turned against their pursuers.
Referenced Verses
- Gen 19:28 : 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the entire plain, and he saw that smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.
- Job 11:20 : 20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will vanish from them; their only hope is the exhalation of life.
- Ps 48:5-6 : 5 For behold, the kings assembled; they advanced together. 6 They saw it and were astounded; they were terrified and fled in alarm.
- Ps 76:5 : 5 You are radiant and majestic, more excellent than the mountains of prey.
- Isa 34:10 : 10 It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation, it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again.
- Amos 2:14-16 : 14 Flight will perish from the swift, the strong will not retain their strength, and the warrior will not save his life. 15 The archer will not stand his ground, the swift-footed will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life. 16 Even the bravest of warriors will flee naked on that day,' declares the LORD.
- Rev 6:15-17 : 15 The kings of the earth, the nobles, the wealthy, the military commanders, the mighty, and everyone—slave and free—hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they said to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!' 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?
- Rev 18:9 : 9 The kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality with her and lived in luxury will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning.
- Rev 19:3 : 3 And again they said, 'Hallelujah! The smoke from her rises forever and ever.'
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
- Josh 8:21-299 verses89%
21 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.
22 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.
23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 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.
25 On that day, twelve thousand men and women, all the people of Ai, fell.
26 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.
27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took for themselves, according to the word of the Lord that He commanded Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day.
29 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.
- Josh 8:1-1919 verses83%
1 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."
2 "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."
3 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.
4 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."
5 "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."
6 "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."
7 "Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands."
8 "When you have taken the city, you shall set it on fire, as the Lord has commanded. See, I have commanded you."
9 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.
10 Joshua rose early in the morning, mustered the people, and he and the elders of Israel went up before the people to Ai.
11 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.
12 He took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, west of the city.
13 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.
14 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.
15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled toward the wilderness.
16 All the people of Ai were summoned to pursue them. They chased after Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.
18 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.
19 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.
- Judg 20:40-423 verses76%
40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjaminites turned back and saw the entire city going up in smoke toward the sky.
41 Then the Israelites turned on them, and the Benjaminites were terrified because they saw that disaster had overtaken them.
42 They fled before the Israelites toward the wilderness, but they were overtaken, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them.
- Josh 7:2-54 verses75%
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-Aven to the east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and scout out the land." So the men went up and explored Ai.
3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, "Not everyone needs to go up. About two or three thousand men are enough to attack Ai. Do not make all the people toil there, for the population is small."
4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai.
5 The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them. They chased them from the city gate as far as the quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this, the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
- 73%
3 Before them, fire devours; behind them, flames blaze. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is a desolate wilderness—nothing escapes them.
- 72%
38 The appointed signal between the men of Israel and the ambush was to send up a great column of smoke from the city.
- 72%
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
- 71%
8 The LORD gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them as far as Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the valley of Mizpeh to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained.
- Josh 10:19-202 verses71%
19 But as for you, do not stop! Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hands.”
20 So Joshua and the Israelites completely defeated them with a great slaughter, almost wiping them out. But a few survivors managed to retreat to their fortified cities.
- 70%
8 Pardon me, O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has turned its back and fled from its enemies?
- 70%
11 They struck down everyone in the city with the sword, completely destroying them. Not a single living thing was left, and Joshua burned Hazor with fire.
- 70%
5 Why do I see them terrified, retreating? Their warriors are beaten down; they flee in haste without looking back—terror is all around! declares the Lord.