Joshua Chapter 8
So the Lord was like to Joshua, "No cap, don’t trip or stress: get the whole squad together and roll out to Ai: I’ve already set the king of Ai, his crew, the city, and the land up for you to take."
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:
"You’re about to handle Ai and its king just like you did with Jericho: keep the treasure and the livestock for yourselves and set a trap behind the city."
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 got up, and all the warriors were hyped to go against Ai: he chose thirty thousand goated men and sent them out under the cover of 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 told them, "Yo, just chill and wait near the city, not too far: stay ready for the pop off."
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:
"My crew and I will hit the city: when they come at us like last time, we’ll bounce out of there."
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’ll chase us) until we lure them outta the city; they’ll think we’re running like before, so we’ll dip."
(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. {drawn: Heb. pulled}
"Then you’ll pop up from the ambush and seize the city: the Lord your God’s got this in the bag for y'all."
Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
"And when you take the city, light it up: do it just like the Lord said. I’m here for you on this."
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.
Joshua sent them off: they went to set the ambush, chilling between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua chilled with the people that night.
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.
First thing in the morning, Joshua woke up, counted the people, and rolled out with the elders of Israel 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 people, even the warriors vibing with him, pulled up and got close to the city, setting up camp on the north side of Ai. Lowkey, there was a valley separating them from Ai.
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 snagged like five thousand dudes and placed them for the ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side 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. {of...: or, of Ai}
After getting the squad in position, with the whole crew on the north side and their sneaky homies on the west, Joshua dipped into the valley that night.
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. {liers...: Heb. lying in wait}
When the king of Ai peeped this, he was like, "Time to pop off!" and rallied his crew early to confront Israel, but had no idea there were ambushers waiting 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 of Israel acted like they were totally losing and bounced into the wilderness.
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
The whole squad in Ai was called to chase after them: they went after Joshua and left the city wide open.
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.
No one was left in Ai or Beth-el who didn’t chase after Israel: they left the city chillin' to go after them.
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 told Joshua, "Stretch out your spear toward Ai; I got you, it's yours." So Joshua stretched out his spear 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.
The ambush popped off fast as soon as he stretched out his hand: they charged into the city, took it, and set that place ablaze.
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 dudes of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising to the sky, and they couldn’t escape either way: the peeps who ran to the wilderness turned back on their chasers.
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. {power: Heb. hand}
So when Joshua and the whole squad saw the ambush had taken the city, and the smoke was rising, they turned back and took out the guys from 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 outta the city to throw down too; they got surrounded by Israel, some on one side, some on the other, and they clapped back hard, leaving no one to escape.
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.
They snagged the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua, no cap.
And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
After Israel finished taking out all the folks of Ai in the field, where they chased them down, and everyone fell by the sword, the Israelites went back to Ai to finish the job.
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.
That day, all the peeps who fell, men and women, totaled twelve thousand, all from Ai.
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 didn’t pull back his hand with the spear until he wiped out all the people of Ai, straight up savage.
For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
They only took the livestock and stuff from the city for themselves, just like God told Joshua to do, periodt.
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.
Joshua torched Ai and turned it into an everlasting desolation, it’s still a wreck today.
And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, {even} a desolation unto this day.
The king of Ai got hung on a tree till sunset; when the sun dipped, Joshua said to take him down and drop his body at the city gate, then stack up a big ol' heap of stones there, still there today.
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 for the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal, vibes.
Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,
Moses, the GOAT of the Lord, told the squad to build an altar with whole stones, no iron allowed. They brought those burnt offerings to God, and the peace offerings were straight bussin’.
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.
He dropped a copy of the law on those stones, while the kids of Israel were vibing right there.
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 of Israel, the elders, and the judges gathered on both sides of the ark, with the Levites holding it down, ready to bless the people, just like Moses said.
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.
Then he read out all the law's words, the blessings and the curses, keeping it 100 with everything in the law book.
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.
Joshua didn’t skip a beat; he read every single word Moses dropped to the whole crew, including the women, kids, and anyone else hanging around.
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. {were...: Heb. walked}