Chap. vij.

against the children of Israel.

Israel repelled at Ai.

2 And Ioshua sent men from Iericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-auen, on the East side of Bethel, and spake vnto them, saying, Goe vp and view the countrey. And the men went vp, and viewed Ai.

3 And they returned to Ioshua, and said vnto him, Let not all the people goe vp: but let tabout two or three thousand +Heb. men goe vp, and smite Ai, and make not all the people to labour thither, for they are but few.

about 2000. men: or,

about 3000.

4 So there went vp thither of the people about three thou- men. sand men, and they fled before the men of Ai.

5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and sixe men: for they chased them from before the gate euen vnto Shebarim, and smote them in the ||going downe: Wherefore ||Or, in the hearts of the people melted, & became as water.

6¶ And Ioshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth vpon his face, before the Arke of the LORD, vntill the euentide, he and the Elders of Israel, and put dust vpon their heads.

7 And Ioshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people ouer Iordan, to deliuer vs into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy vs? Would to God we had bene content, and dwelt on the other side Iordan.

8 Oh LORD! what shall I say, when Israel turneth their +backes before their enemies?

Morad.

+ Hebr.

9 For the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land neckes. shall heare of it, and shall enuiron vs round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou doe vnto thy great Name?

10 And the LORD saide vnto Ioshua, Get thee vp; wherefore liest thou thus vpon thy face?

+ Heb.

11 Israel hath sinned, and they haue also transgressed my fallest. Couenant which I commaunded them: for they haue euen taken of the accursed thing, and haue also stollen, and dissembled also, and they haue put it euen amongst their owne stuffe.

12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I bee with you any more, except yee destroy the accursed from amongst you.

13 VP,

13 Vp, sanctifie the people, and say, Sanctifie your selues against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, vntill ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

14 In the morning therefore ye shal be brought, according to your tribes and it shall be that the tribe which the LORD taketh, shall come according to the families thereof, and the familie which the LORD shall take, shal come by housholdes: and the housholdes which the LORD shall take, shal come man by man.

15 And it shalbe that he that is taken with the accursed thing, shall bee burnt with fire, he, and all that hee hath: because he hath transgressed the couenant of the LORD, and Or, wie because hee hath wrought ||folly in Israel.

kednesse.

+ Heb.

tongue

16¶ So Ioshua rose vp earely in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Iudah was taken.

17 And hee brought the familie of Iudah, and he tooke the familie of the Zarhites: and he brought the familie of the Zarhites, man by man, and Zabdi was taken.

18 And hee brought his houshold, man by man, and Achan the sonne of Carmi, the sonne of Zabdi, the sonne of Zerah, of the tribe of Iudah, was taken.

19 And Ioshua said vnto Achan, My sonne, giue, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession vnto him, and tel me now, what thou hast done, hide it not from me.

20 And Achan answered Ioshua, and said, Indeed I haue sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus haue I done.

21 When I saw among the spoiles a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of siluer, and a † wedge of gold of fiftie shekels weight, then I coueted them, and tooke them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the siluer vnder it.

22¶ So Ioshua sent messengers, and they ran vnto the tent, and behold, it was hid in his tent, and the siluer vnder

it.

23 And they tooke them out of the

Chap. viij.

and punishment.

midst of the tent, and brought them vnto Ioshua, and vnto

all the children of Israel, and flaid them out before the +Heb. powLORD.

24 And Ioshua and all Israel with him tooke Achan the sonne of Zerah, and the siluer, and the garment, and the wedge of golde, and his sonnes, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheepe, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them vnto the valley of Achor. 25 And Ioshua said, Why hast thou troubled vs? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

red.

26 And they raised ouer him a great heape of stones vnto this day so the LORD turned from the fiercenesse of his anger: Wherefore the name of the place was called, The That is, valley of ||Achor, vnto this day.

trouble.

1 God incourageth Ioshua.

CHAP. VIII.

3 The stratageme whereby Ai was taken.

29 The king thereof is hanged. 30 Ioshua buildeth an Altar, 32

writeth the Lawe on stones, 33 propoundesh blessings and cursings.

Nd the LORD said vnto Ioshua, *Feare not, neither be *Deut. 1. thou dismaid: take all the people of warre with thee, 21. & 7. 18.

AN

and arise, goe vp to Ai: See, I haue giuen into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his citie, and his land.

2 And thou shalt doe to Ai and her king, as thou diddest vnto Iericho and her king: Onely the spoile thereof and *the cattell thereof shall ye take for a pray vnto your selues: lay thee an ambush for the citie, behind it.

3 So Ioshua arose, and all the people of warre, to goe vp against Ai: and Ioshua chose out thirtie thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night:

4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the citie, euen behind the citie: goe not very farre from the citie, but be ye all ready:

5 And I, and all the people that are with mee, will approch vnto the citie: and it shall come to passe when they come out against vs, as at the first, that we will flee before them,

6 (For

+ Hebr.

pulled.

6 (For they will come out after vs) till we haue † drawen them from the citie; for they will say, They flee before vs, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.

7 Then yee shall rise vp from the ambush, and seise vpon the citie: for the LORD your God will deliuer it into your hand.

8 And it shall be when yee haue taken the citie, that ye shall set the citie on fire: according to the commandement of the LORD shall ye do. See, I haue commanded you.

9 ¶ Ioshua therefore sent them foorth, and they went to lie in ambush, and abode betweene Bethel and Ai, on the West side of Ai: but Ioshua lodged that night among the people.

10 And Ioshua rose vp early in the morning, and numbred the people, and went vp; he, and the Elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.

II And all the people, euen the people of warre that were with him, went vp, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the North side of Ai: now there was a valley betweene them and Ai.

12 And he tooke about fiue thousand men, and set them to ||Or, of Ai. lye in ambush betweene Bethel and Ai, on the West side ||of the citie.

+ Hebr.

13 And when they had set the people, euen all the hoste that was on the North of the city, and their fliers in wait on their lying the West of the citie: Ioshua went that night into the midst

in wait.

of the valley.

14 ¶ And it came to passe when the King of Ai saw it, that they hasted, and rose vp early, and the men of the citie went out against Israel to battell, hee, and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plaine, but hee wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.

15 And Ioshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wildernesse.

16 And all the people that were in Ai, were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Ioshua, and were drawen away from the city.

17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the citie open, and pursued after Israel.

18 And the LORD said vnto Ioshua, Stretch out the speare that is in

Chap. viij.

and set on fire. thy hand, toward Ai; for I will giue it into thine hand. And Ioshua stretched out the speare that hee had in his hand, toward the city.

19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ranne as soone as he had stretched out his hand and they entred into the city, and tooke it, and hasted, and set the citie on fire.

20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended vp to heauen, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and Heb. the people that fled to the wildernesse, turned backe vpon the pursuers.

21 And when Ioshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned againe and slew the men of Ai.

22 And the other issued out of the citie against them, so they were in the midst of Israel; some on this side, and some

hand.

on that side, and they smote them; so that they *let none of *Deut. 7. them remaine or escape.

23 And the King of Ai they tooke aliue, and brought him to Ioshua.

24 And it came to passe when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai, in the field, in the wildernesse wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, vntill they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned vnto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.

25 And so it was that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelue thousand, euen all the men of Ai. 26 For Ioshua drew not his hand backe wherewith hee stretched out the speare, vntill he had vtterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

2.

27 Onely the cattell, and the spoile of that city Israel *Num. 31. tooke for a pray vnto themselues, according vnto the word of 22, 26. the LORD, which he *commaunded Ioshua.

28 And Ioshua burnt Ai, and made it an heape for euer, euen a desolation vnto this day.

29

And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree vntil euentide : and assoone as the sunne was downe, Ioshua commaunded that they should take his carkeise downe from the tree, and

* Verse 2.

cast it at the entring of the gate of the citie, and raise *Chap. 7.

thereon 25.