¹ And it was, when all the kings that were across the Jordan, on^◦ the mountain, and in the lowland, and on^◦ all the coast of the great sea, next·​·to Lebanon—the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—heard of it,

² that they came·​·together as·​·one to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord^*.

³ And they who dwelt·​·in Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai;

⁴ and they did it, even they^◦, with cunning, and went and sent·​·an·​·embassy, and took worn·​·out sacks upon their donkeys, and wine bottles^*, worn·​·out and ripped and bundled,

⁵ and shoes worn·​·out and spotted on^◦ their feet, and worn·​·out raiment on them; and all the bread of their provision was dried·​·up and speckled.

⁶ And they went to^▵ Joshua to^▵ the camp of Gilgal, and said to^▵ him and to^▵ the men^◦ of Israel, From a land far·​·off have we come; and now, cut a covenant with us.

⁷ And the men^◦* of Israel said unto^▵ the Hivite, Perhaps you^◦ dwell among us, and how^◦ shall we cut a covenant with thee?

⁸ And they said unto^▵ Joshua, We^◦ are thy servants. And Joshua said unto^▵ them, Who are you and from whence^◦ do you come?

⁹ And they said unto^▵ him, From a land very far·​·off thy servants are come, because^◦ of the name of Jehovah thy God; for we have heard His fame and all that He did in Egypt,

¹⁰ and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorite who were across the Jordan, to Sihon, king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.

¹¹ And our elders and all they who dwell in our land said unto^▵ us, saying, Take provisions in your hand for the way, and go to meet them, and say unto^▵ them, We^◦ are your servants; and now cut ye a covenant with us.

¹² This our bread we took· hot ·for· our ·provision from our houses on^◦ the day we went·​·out to go to^▵ you, and now, behold, it is·​·dried·​·up and become moldy;

¹³ and these wine bottles, which we filled were new; and behold, they are ripped; and these our raiment and our shoes have worn·​·out from the very great^◦ way.

¹⁴ And the men^◦ took from their provisions, and asked not at the mouth of Jehovah.

¹⁵ And Joshua made peace with them, and he cut a covenant with them, to let· them ·live; and the chiefs of the congregation made·​·a·​·promise unto them.

¹⁶ And it was at the end of three days, after they had cut a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors unto^▵ them^◦, and that they dwelt among them^◦.

¹⁷ And the sons of Israel journeyed, and came unto^▵ their cities on the third day. And their cities were Gibeon, and Kephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

¹⁸ And the sons of Israel smote them not, for the chiefs of the congregation had promised unto them by Jehovah, the God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the chiefs.

¹⁹ And all the chiefs said unto^▵ all the congregation, We^◦ have promised unto them by Jehovah, the God of Israel; and now we cannot touch them.

²⁰ This we will do unto them and let· them ·live, lest there be rage upon us, because of the promise which we promised unto them.

²¹ And the chiefs said unto^▵ them, Let· them ·live; and let them be hewers of wood and drawers^◦ of water unto all the congregation, as^◦ the chiefs had spoken unto them.

²² And Joshua called unto them and said unto^▵ them, and said, Why have you deceived us, saying, We^◦ are very far from you; and you^◦ dwell among us?

²³ And now you^◦ are cursed, and it shall not be cut·​·off from you to be a servant, and hewers of wood, and drawers^◦ of water for the house of my God.

²⁴ And they answered Joshua and said, Because^◦ telling it was·​·told to thy servants what Jehovah thy God commanded Moses His servant, to give you all the land, and to blot·​·out all those who dwell·​·in the land from before you; and we feared exceedingly for our souls on·​·account·​·of^◦ you, and we did this thing.

²⁵ And now, behold, we are in thy hands; as it is good and upright in thine eyes to do to us, do.

²⁶ And so he did unto them, and rescued them out of the hand of the sons of Israel, and they killed them not.

²⁷ And Joshua made them on that day hewers of wood and drawers^◦ of water for the congregation, and for the altar of Jehovah to^◦ this day, in the place which He should choose.

¹ Yahweh said to Joshua, "Don't be afraid, neither be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. Behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, with his people, his city, and his land.

² You shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king, except its spoil and its livestock, you shall take for a plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it."

³ So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them out by night.

⁴ He commanded them, saying, "Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Don't go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.

⁵ I, and all the people who are with me, will approach to the city. It shall happen, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them.

⁶ They will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, 'They flee before us, like the first time.' So we will flee before them,

⁷ and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city; for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.

⁸ It shall be, when you have seized on the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do this according to the word of Yahweh. Behold, I have commanded you."

⁹ Joshua sent them out; and they went to set up the ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua stayed among the people that night.

¹⁰ Joshua rose up early in the morning, mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.

¹¹ All the people, even the men of war who were with him, went up, and drew near, and came before the city, and encamped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai.

¹² He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.

¹³ So they set the people, even all the army who was on the north of the city, and their ambush on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.

¹⁴ It happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah; but he didn't know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

¹⁵ Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

¹⁶ All the people who were in the city were called together to pursue after them. They pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.

¹⁷ There was not a man left in Ai or Beth El who didn't go out after Israel. They left the city open, and pursued Israel.

¹⁸ Yahweh said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.

¹⁹ The ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it. They hurried and set the city on fire.

²⁰ 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.

²¹ 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 killed the men of Ai.

²² The others came out of the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. They struck them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.

²³ They captured the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴ It happened, when Israel had made an end of killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword.

²⁵ All that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

²⁶ For Joshua didn't draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

²⁷ Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took for prey to themselves, according to the word of Yahweh which he commanded Joshua.

²⁸ So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation, to this day.

²⁹ He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening, and at the sundown Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised a great heap of stones on it that remains to this day.

³⁰ Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,

³¹ as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no man had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, and sacrificed peace offerings.

³² He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

³³ All Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, who carried the ark of Yahweh's covenant, the foreigner as well as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.

³⁴ Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.

³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua didn't read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.