^8:4He told⁶ them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! ^8:5I and all the troops⁷ who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. ^8:6They will attack⁸ us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. ^8:7Then you rise up from your hiding place⁹ and seize¹⁰ the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. ^8:8When you capture the city, set it¹¹ on fire. Do as the Lord says! See, I have given you orders.”¹²^8:9Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place¹³ west of Ai, between Bethel¹⁴ and Ai.¹⁵ Joshua spent that night with the army.¹⁶

^8:10Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered¹⁷ the army,¹⁸ and he and the leaders¹⁹ of Israel marched²⁰ at the head of it²¹ to Ai. ^8:11All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city.²² They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.²³^8:12He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel²⁴ and Ai.

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Footnotes

6 Or “commanded, ordered.”
7 Heb “the people.”
8 Heb “come out after.”
9 Heb “from the ambush.”
10 Heb “take possession of.”
11 Heb “the city.”
12 Heb “I have commanded you.”
13 Or “the place of ambush.”
14 For location see ; ; ; ; .
15 Heb “and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai.”
16 Heb “in the midst of the people.”
17 Or “summoned, mustered.”
18 Heb “the people.”
19 Or “elders.”
20 Heb “went up.”
21 Heb “them” (referring to “the people” in the previous clause, which requires a plural pronoun). Since the translation used “army” in the previous clause, a singular pronoun (“it”) is required in English.
22 Heb “All the people of war who were with him went up and approached and came opposite the city.”
23 Heb “and the valley [was] between them and Ai.”
24 For location see ; ; ; ; .