1 And Jehovah said to Joshua: Do not be afraid, nor 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, his people, his city, and his land.2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoils and its cattle you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night.4 And he commanded them, saying: Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.5 And I and all the people with me shall approach the city; and it shall come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that we shall flee before them.6 For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will think, They are fleeing before us as at the first. Therefore we will flee before them.7 Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for Jehovah your God has delivered it into your hand.8 And it shall be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire. According to the word of Jehovah you shall do. See, I have commanded you.9 Joshua therefore sent them out; and they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; and Joshua lodged that night among the people.10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.11 And all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near; and they came before the city and camped on the north side of Ai. Now a valley lay between them and Ai.12 So he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.13 And when they had set the people, all the army that was on the north of the city, and its rear guard on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.14 And it happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and arose early and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at an appointed place before the plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by way of the wilderness.16 So all the people of Ai were assembled to pursue them. And they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel.18 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward the city.19 And those in ambush rose up quickly out of their place; they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and hurried to set the city on fire.20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the heavens. So they had no strength to flee this way or that way, and the people who had fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.22 And the others came out of the city against them; so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them down, so that they let none of them remain or escape.23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.24 And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand; all the people of Ai.26 For Joshua did not 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 spoils of that city Israel took as plunder for themselves, according to the word of Jehovah which He had commanded Joshua.28 And Joshua burned Ai and made it a perpetual heap, a desolation to this day.29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded and they took his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.30 And Joshua built an altar unto Jehovah the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,31 as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: an altar of whole stones on which no man has wielded an iron tool. And they offered upon it burnt offerings unto Jehovah, and sacrificed peace offerings.32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which he had written.33 And all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, the sojourner as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.34 And afterward he read all the Words of the Law, the blessings and the curses, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.35 There was not a Word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the sojourners who were living among them.

1 Forsothe the Lord seide to Josue, Nether drede thou `withoutforth, `nether drede thou withynne; take with thee al the multitude of fiyteris, and rise thou, and stie in to the citee of Hay; lo, Y haue bitake in thin hond the king therof, and the puple, and the citee, and the lond.2 And thou schalt do to the citee of Hay, and to the king therof, as thou didist to Gerico, and to the king therof; sotheli ye schulen take to you the prey, and alle lyuynge beestis; sette thou `aspies, ethir buyschementis, to the citee bihynde it.3 And Josue roos, and al the oost of fiyteris with hym, to stie in to Hay; and bi nyyte he sente thretti chosen thousynde of stronge men;4 and comaundide to hem, and seide, Sette ye buyschementis bihynde the citee, and go ye not ferthere; and alle ye schulen be redi;5 forsothe Y, and the tothir multitude which is with me, schulen come on the contrarie side ayens the citee; and whanne thei schulen go out ayens vs, as we diden bifore, we schulen fle, and turne the backis,6 til thei pursuen, and ben drawun away ferthir fro the citee; for thei schulen gesse, that we schulen fle as bifore.7 Therfor while we schulen fle, and thei pursue, ye schulen ryse fro the buyschementis, and schulen waste the citee; and youre Lord God schal bitake it in to youre hondis.8 And whanne ye han take it, `brenne ye it; `so ye schulen do alle thingis, as Y comaundide.9 And Josue lefte hem, and thei yeden to the place of buyschementis, and saten bitwixe Bethel and Hay, at the west coost of the citee of Hay. Forsothe Josue dwellide `in that nyyt in the myddis of the puple.10 And he roos eerli, and noumbride felowis, and stiede with the eldere in the frount of the oost, and was cumpassid with the helpe of fiyteris.11 And whanne thei hadden come, and hadden stied ayens the citee, thei stoden at the north coost of the citee, bitwixe which citee and hem the valei was in the myddis.12 `Sotheli he hadde chose fyue thousynde men, and hadde sette in buyschementis bitwixe Bethauen and Hay, in the west part of the same citee.13 Sotheli al the tothir oost dresside scheltroun to the north, so that the laste men of the multitude touchiden the west coost of the citee. Therfor Josue yede in that nyyt, and stood in the myddis of the valei;14 and whanne the kyng of Hai had seyn that, he hastide eerli, and yede out with al the oost of the citee, and he dresside scheltrun ayens the deseert; and wiste not that buyschementis weren hid bihinde the bak.15 Forsothe Josue and al the multitude `of Israel yauen place, feynynge drede, and fleynge bi the weie of wildirnesse; and thei crieden togidere,16 and excitiden hem silf togidere, and pursueden hem. And whanne thei hadden go awey fro the citee,17 and sothely not oon hadde left in the citee of Hai and Bethauen, that `pursuede not Israel, and thei leften the citees opyn, as thei hadden broke out,18 the Lord seide to Josue, `Reise thou the scheeld which is in thin hond, ayens the citee of Hay; for Y schal yyue it to thee.19 And whanne he hadde reisid the scheld ayens the citee, buyschementis, that weren hid, riseden anoon; and thei yeden to the citee, and token, and brenten it.20 Forsothe the men of the citee, that pursueden Josue, bihelden, and siyen the smoke of the citee stie `til to heuene; and thei myyten no more fle hidur and thidur; most sithen thei that hadden feyned fliyt, and yeden to wildirnesse, withstoden stronglieste `ayens the pursueris.21 And Josue siy, and al Israel, that the citee was takun, and the smoke of the citee stiede; and he turnede ayen, and smoot the men of Hay.22 Sotheli also thei that hadden take and brent the citee, yeden out of the cytee ayens her men, and bigunnen to smyte the myddil men of enemyes; and whanne aduersaries weren slayn `on euer ethir part, so that no man of so greet multitude was sauyd,23 thei tokun also the kyng of Hay lyuynge, and brouyten to Josue.24 Therfor, whanne alle men weren slayn, that pursueden Israel goynge to deseert, and felden bi swerd in the same place, the sones of Israel turneden ayen, and smytiden the citee.25 Forsothe thei that `felden doun in the same dai, fro man `til to womman, weren twelue thousynde of men, alle men of the citee of Hay.26 Sotheli Josue withdrow not the hond, which he hadde dressid an hiy holdynge `the scheld, til alle the dwelleris of Hay weren slayn.27 Forsothe the sones of Israel departiden to hem silf the werk beestis, and the preye of the citee, as the Lord comaundide to Josue;28 which brente the citee, and made it an euerlastynge biriel.29 And he hangide the king therof in a iebat, `til to the euentid and the goynge doun of the sunne. And Josue comaundide, and thei puttiden doun his deed bodi fro the cros; and thei `castiden forth him in thilke entryng of the citee, and gaderiden on hym a greet heep of stoonus, which heep dwellith `til in to present dai.30 Thanne Josue bildide an auter to the Lord God of Israel in the hil of Hebal,31 as Moises, the `seruaunt of the Lord, comaundide to the sones of Israel, and it is writun in the book of Moises lawe, an auter of stoonys vnpolischid, whiche yrun touchide not. And he offride theron brent sacrifice to the Lord, and he offride pesible sacrifices;32 and he wroot on the stoonys the Deutronomye of Moises lawe, `which he hadde declarid bifor the sones of Israel.33 Sotheli al the puple, and the grettere men in birthe, and the duykis, and iugis stoden on `euer either side of the arke, in the siyt of preestis and dekenes, that baren the arke of boond of pees of the Lord; as a comeling, so and a man borun in the lond; the mydil part of hem stood bisidis the hil Garasym, and the myddil part stood bisidis the hil Hebal, as Moises, the `seruaunt of the Lord, comaundide. And first `sotheli he blesside the puple of Israel.34 Aftir these thingis he redde alle the wordis of blessyng and of cursyng, and alle thingis that weren writun in the book of lawe.35 He lefte no thing vntouchid of these thingis that Moises comaundide; but he declaride alle thingis bifor al the multitude of Israel, to wymmen, and litle children, and to comelyngis that dwelliden among hem.