7 °And they said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let 'the' armed men pass on before the ark (8) of the LORD. And it was sol, that when Joshua had spoken unto the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD passed on, and blew with the trumpets and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. (9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew the trumpets, and the rearward 'went after the ark, the priests blowing with the trumpets las (10 they went!. And Joshua commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor let your voice 'be heard', neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; 11 then shall ye shout. So he caused the ark of the LORD to compass the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

12

And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark 13 of the LORD. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; and the rearward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests blowing with the trumpets las 14 they went. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early at the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times only on that day they com16 passed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you 17 the city. And the city shall be widevoted', even it and all that is therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the 18) messengers that we sent. And 'yel, in any wise keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest when ye have devoted it, ye take of the idevoted' thing; 'so should ye make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it.

1 Another reading is, he.

2 See Lev. xxvii. 28, Deut. xx. 17.

19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are 'holy' unto the LORD: they shall come into the 20) treasury of the LORD. So the people shouted, and the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took 21 the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with (22 the edge of the sword. And' Joshua said unto the two men that had spied out the land', Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye 23) sware unto her. And the young

men 'the spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had, all her kindred 'also they brought out; and 'they set them with24 out the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the (25) house of the LORD. But Rahab the harlot, and her father's household, and all that she had, did' Joshua Isave alive; and she 'dwelt in the midst of Israel, unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which 26) Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

And

Joshua 'charged them with an oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: Iwith the loss of his firstborn shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set 27 up the gates of it. So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was 'in' all the land'.

the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and 'spy out the land. And the men went (3 up and 'spied out! Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; make not all the people to toil thither; for they are 4 but few. So there went up thither

of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of 5 Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: 'and' they chased them from before the gate even unto 'Shebarim, and smote them at the going down: 'and' the hearts of the people melted, and be6 came as water. And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening', he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon 1 their heads. And Joshua said, Alas,

O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to 'cause us to perish1? would 'that we had been content and 8 dwelt beyond Jordan! Oh Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel Thath turned their backs before their 9 enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth and what wilt thou do 'for thy 10 great name? And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore lart thou thus 'fallen' upon thy face? 11) Israel hath sinned; yea, they have leven' transgressed my covenant which

I commanded them: yea', they have even taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have even put it 'among! 12) their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies, they turn their backs before their enemies, because they lare become accursed: I will not be with you any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing from lamong 13 you.

Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow for thus saith the LORD, 'the God of Israel, There is a de

1Or, the quarries See ch. vi. 18. According to some ancient authorities, families.

voted thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before

thine enemies, until ye take away the 14 devoted thing from among you. In

the morning therefore ye shall be brought near by your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come near by families; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come near by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come 'near1 15 man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the devoted' thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.

16

So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel 'near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah 17 was taken: and he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family of the 'Zerahites: and he brought near the family of the 'Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was 18 taken and he brought near his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, 19 was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; 20 hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, 'Of a truth I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and thus 21 and thus have I done: when I saw among the spoil a goodly "Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 22 °So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 23 And they took them 'from the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel; and they laid them down 24 before the LORD. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the

son of Zerah, and the silver, and the Imantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had and they brought them up unto the val25 ley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned 26 them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones, unto this day; and the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of 'Achor, unto this day.

81

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 2 land 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: Iset! thee 3 an ambush for the city behind it. So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the' mighty men of valour, and sent them (4 forth by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in 'ambush against the city, behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye 5 all ready: °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; 6 and they will come out after us, till we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first; so we will 7 flee before them: land ye shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. 8 °And it shall be, when ye have 'seized upon the city, that ye shall set the city on fire; according to the 'word! of the LORD shall ye do: see, I have 9 commanded you. And Joshua sent them forth and they went to the ambushment, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of

1 That is, Troubling. Another reading is, Ai.

Ai: but 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 11 Israel, before the people to Ai. °And all the people, even the men 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 him! (12 and Ai. And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west 13 side of the city. So they set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait that were on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night 14 into the midst of the vale'. 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 the time appointed, before the Arabah; but he wist not that there was an ambush against 15 him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the 16 way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in the city were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and 17 were drawn away from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pur18 sued after Israel. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the 'javelin' that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the 'javelin' that was in his hand toward the 19) city. And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it; and they hasted and set the 20 city on fire. 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. 21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the

5 Or, Ito the place appointed 6 Heb. hands.

-VIII. 2 lay; 3 against..away;

city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and 2 slew the men of Ai. And the other Icame forth 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 23 or escape. And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. (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 pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge (5 of the sword. And all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of 26) Ai. For Joshua drew not back his hand, wherewith he stretched out the 'javelin', until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27°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 23 Joshua. So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an "heap for ever, even a desolation, unto this day. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the eventide: and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, land' they took his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and 'raised' thereon a great heap of stones, unto this day.

30

Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD, the God of Israel, in mount 31 Ebal, 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 "unhewn stones, upon which no man 'had' lift up any iron and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and 32 sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, "which he wrote, in the presence of the children of Is33 rael. 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

1 Heb. devoted.

1Or, Imound Heb. tel. Heb. whole.

* See Deut. xxvii. 2-4.

bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger as the homeborn; half of them in front of mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded, that they should bless the 34 people of Israel first of all. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse', according to all that is written in the 35 book of the law. "There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, 'and' the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.

91

And it came to pass, when all the kings which were beyond Jordan, in the hill country, and in the lowland', and on all the shore of the great sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, 2 heard thereof; that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto 4 Jericho and to Ai, °they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine'skins', old and rent and bound up; * 5 °and old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and was become mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We are come from a far country: now therefore make ye a covenant with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a 'cove8 nant with you? And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? 9 and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings

7 Heb. walked.

8 Another reading, followed by most ancient versions, is, took them provisions. See ver. 12.

of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was 11 at Ashtaroth. And our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take 'provision in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: 'and' now make ye a covenant with us. (12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and is 'be13) come mouldy: and these wine-'skins', which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. 14 And the men took of their 'provision',

and asked not counsel at the mouth 15 of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a 'covenant with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware 16 unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among 17 them. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and 18 Beeroth, and 'Kiriath'-jearim. And

the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against 19 the princes. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD, 'the' God of Israel: now therefore we may 20 not touch them. This we will do to them, and let them live; lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which 21 we sware unto them. "And the princes said unto them, Let them live: so they became1 hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had spoken 22 unto them. And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; 23) when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall never fail to be of you

1 Heb. shall not be cut off from you.

bondmen, 'both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of 24 my God. And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of you, 25 and have done this thing. And now, behold, we are in thine hand as it seemeth good and right unto thee to 26 do unto us, do. And so did he unto

them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that (27 they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, unto this day, in the place which he should choose.

10 (1 Now it came to pass, when Adoni

zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with 2 Israel, and were among them; that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were

3 mighty. "Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eg4 lon, saying, Come up unto me, and help me, and let us smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. 5 °Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and 6 made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us : for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country' are gathered 7 together against us. So Joshua 'went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people

2 Heb. devoted.

23