Joshua 8
1 Then said Yahweh unto Joshua—Do not fear nor be dismayed, take with thee all the army, 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 land;
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 so shalt thou do unto Ai and to her king, as thou didst unto Jericho unto her king, save only, the spoil thereof and the cattle thereof, shall ye take as your own prey, —set thee an ambush for the city, behind it.
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 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 forth by night.
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 he commanded them, saying—See! ye, shall be lying in ambush against the city, behind the city, do not go very far from the city, —so shall ye all be ready.
and comaundide to hem, and seide, Sette ye buyschementis bihynde the citee, and go ye not ferthere; and alle ye schulen be redi;
5 But, I, and all the people who are with me, will draw near unto the city, —and it shall be, when they come out to meet us, as at the first, then will we flee before them;
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 so will they come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, Fleeing before us, as at the first! therefore will we flee before them.
til thei pursuen, and ben drawun away ferthir fro the citee; for thei schulen gesse, that we schulen fle as bifore.
7 Then, ye, shall rise up out of the ambush, and take possession of the city, —and Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.
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 it shall be, when ye have seized the city, then shall ye burn the city with fire, according to the word of Yahweh, shall ye do, —see! I have commanded you.
And whanne ye han take it, `brenne ye it; `so ye schulen do alle thingis, as Y comaundide.
9 So Joshua sent them forth, and they went into ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west of Ai, —but Joshua lodged that night in the midst of the people.
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 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.
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, all the people of war who were with him, went up, and drew near, and came in, right before the city, —and pitched on the north of Ai, with, a valley, between them and Ai.
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 And he took about five thousand men, —and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city.
`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 And, when the people had set all the host that was on the north of the city, with the rear thereof on the west of the city, then went Joshua, during the night, into the midst of the valley.
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 it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted, and rose up early, and the men of the city came out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people, at an appointed time, before the waste plain, —he not knowing that there was an ambush lying in wait for him, behind the city.
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 So then Joshua and all Israel suffered themselves to be smitten before them, —and fled, by the way of the wilderness;
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 all the people who were in the city were called out to pursue them, —and they pursued Joshua, and so were drawn out away from the city.
and excitiden hem silf togidere, and pursueden hem. And whanne thei hadden go awey fro the citee,
17 And there remained not a man, in Ai or Bethel, who had not gone out after Israel, —and they left the city, open, and pursued Israel.
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 Then said Yahweh unto Joshua—Stretch out with the javelin which is in thy hand, towards Ai, for, into thy hand, will I deliver it. So Joshua stretched out with the javelin which was in his hand, towards the city.
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, the ambush, rose up quickly, out of their place, and ran, when he stretched out his hand, and entered the city, and captured it, —and hasted, and set the city on fire.
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 And the men of Ai turned behind them, and looked, and lo! the smoke of the city had risen up towards the heavens, and there was in them no strength, to flee this way or that way, —moreover, the people that were fleeing to the wilderness, turned back upon the pursuers.
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 Yea, when, Joshua and all Israel, saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city had risen up, then returned they, and smote the men of Ai.
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 And, the others, came forth out of the city to meet them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side, —and they smote them, until there was left them none to remain or to escape.
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 And, the king of Ai, they caught alive, —and brought him near unto Joshua.
thei tokun also the kyng of Hay lyuynge, and brouyten to Josue.
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 whither they had pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, then all Israel returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
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 And so it was, that all who fell that day, both of men and of women, were twelve thousand, —all people of Ai.
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 Now, Joshua, drew not back his hand which he had stretched out with the javelin, —until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
Sotheli Josue withdrow not the hond, which he hadde dressid an hiy holdynge `the scheld, til alle the dwelleris of Hay weren slayn.
27 Nevertheless, the cattle and the spoil of that city, Israel took as their own prey, —according to the word of Yahweh, which he commanded Joshua.
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 So then Joshua burned Ai, —and made of it an age-abiding heap—a desolation, [as it remaineth] until this day.
which brente the citee, and made it an euerlastynge biriel.
29 And, the king of Ai, hanged he on a tree until eventide, —but, at the going in of the sun, Joshua gave command and they took down his dead body from the tree, and cast it in at the opening of the gate of the city, and raised up over it a great heap of stones—[which remaineth] until this day.
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 Than, built Joshua, an altar, unto Yahweh, God of Israel, —in Mount Ebal:
Thanne Josue bildide an auter to the Lord God of Israel in the hil of Hebal,
31 as Moses, the servant of Yahweh, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, whereon had not been wielded any tool of iron, —and they caused to go up thereon, ascending-sacrifices unto Yahweh, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
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 Then wrote he there, upon the stones, a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote, in the presence of the sons of Israel.
and he wroot on the stoonys the Deutronomye of Moises lawe, `which he hadde declarid bifor the sones of Israel.
33 And, all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, were standing on this side and on that side of the ark, before the priests the Levites, who were bearing the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, as well the sojourner as the home-born, half of them over against Mount Gerizim, and half of them over against Mount Ebal, —as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded to bless the sons of Israel, first of all.
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 And, after that, read he all the words of the law, the blessing and the cursing, —according to all that was written in the scroll of the law.
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 Them was not a word of all that Moses commanded, —which Joshua read not before all the convocation of Israel, with the women and the little ones, and the sojourner who was going on in their midst.
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.
