Joshua 8:4-12

8:4 He told ¹  them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! 8:5 I and all the troops ²  who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. 8:6 They will attack ³  us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. 8:7 Then you rise up from your hiding place ⁴  and seize ⁵  the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8:8 When you capture the city, set it ⁶  on fire. Do as the Lord says! See, I have given you orders.” ⁷  8:9 Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place ⁸  west of Ai, between Bethel ⁹  and Ai. ¹⁰  Joshua spent that night with the army. ¹¹ 

8:10 Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered ¹²  the army, ¹³  and he and the leaders ¹⁴  of Israel marched ¹⁵  at the head of it ¹⁶  to Ai. 8:11 All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. ¹⁷  They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley. ¹⁸  8:12 He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel ¹⁹  and Ai.

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¹ tn Or “commanded, ordered.”

² tn Heb “the people.”

³ tn Heb “come out after.”

⁴ tn Heb “from the ambush.”

⁵ tn Heb “take possession of.”

⁶ tn Heb “the city.”

⁷ tn Heb “I have commanded you.”

⁸ tn Or “the place of ambush.”

⁹ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai.”

¹¹ tn Heb “in the midst of the people.”

¹² tn Or “summoned, mustered.”

¹³ tn Heb “the people.”

¹⁴ tn Or “elders.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “went up.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “them” (referring to “the people” in the previous clause, which requires a plural pronoun). Since the translation used “army” in the previous clause, a singular pronoun (“it”) is required in English.

¹⁷ tn Heb “All the people of war who were with him went up and approached and came opposite the city.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “and the valley [was] between them and Ai.”

¹⁹ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.