Chapter 8
1 Don’t be afraid, and don’t be discouraged by what happened at the town of Ai. Take the army and attack again. But first, order part of the army to set up an ambush on the other side of the town. I will help you defeat the king of Ai and his army, and you will capture the town and the land around it. Destroy Ai and kill its king as you did at Jericho. But you may keep the livestock and everything else you want.
2 Tonight, while it is dark, march to Ai and take up a position behind the town. Get as close to the town as you can without being seen, and be ready to attack.
3 you come out of hiding. The Lord our God will help you capture the town.
4 Then set it on fire, as the Lord has told us to do. Those are your orders,
5 now go! The 30,000 soldiers went to a place on the west side of Ai, between Ai and Bethel, where they could hide and wait to attack. That night, Joshua stayed in camp with the rest of the army.
6 Early the next morning he got his troops ready to move out, and he and the other leaders of Israel led them to Ai.
7 They set up camp in full view of the town, across the valley to the north.
8 Joshua had already sent 5,000 soldiers to the west side of the town to hide and wait to attack.
9 Now all his troops were in place. Part of the army was in the camp to the north of Ai, and the others were hiding to the west, ready to make a surprise attack. That night, Joshua went into the valley.
10 The king did not realize that some Israelite soldiers were hiding behind the town.
11 Joshua let the men of Ai chase him and his army farther and farther away from Ai.
12 Finally, the Lord told Joshua, "Point your sword at the town of Ai, because now I am going to help you defeat it!" As soon as Joshua pointed his sword at the town,
13 the soldiers who had been hiding jumped up and ran into the town. They captured it and set it on fire.
14 The men of Ai looked back and saw smoke rising from their town. But they could not escape, because the soldiers they had been chasing had suddenly turned and started fighting.
15 The Israelite army went back to Ai and killed everyone there.
16 But the Israelites took the animals and the other possessions of the people of Ai, because this was what the Lord had told Joshua to do.
17 Joshua offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask his blessing. Then with the Israelites still watching, he copied parts of The Book of the Law of Moses onto stones.