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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Joshua 8 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/joshua/8.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/joshua/8-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Joshua 8</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../joshua/7.htm" title="Joshua 7">◄</a> Joshua 8 <a href="../joshua/9.htm" title="Joshua 9">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">Israel Destroys the Town of Ai</h3><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_1"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.1-Josh.8.2" class="v6_8_1">1-2</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> told Joshua:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v6_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.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_3"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.3-Josh.8.4" class="v6_8_3">3-4</span>Joshua quickly got the army ready to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best soldiers and gave them these orders:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v6_8_3">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.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v6_8_5"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.5-Josh.8.6" class="v6_8_5">5-6</span>The rest of the army will come with me and attack near the gate. When the people of Ai come out to fight, we'll run away and let them chase us. They will think we are running from them just like the first time. But when we've let them chase us far enough away, </span><span class="v6_8_7"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.7" class="v6_8_7">7</span>you come out of hiding. The <span class="nd">Lord</span> our God will help you capture the town. </span><span class="v6_8_8"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.8" class="v6_8_8">8</span>Then set it on fire, as the <span class="nd">Lord</span> has told us to do. Those are your orders, </span><span class="v6_8_9"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.9" class="v6_8_9">9</span>now go!</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_9">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.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_9">That night, Joshua stayed in camp with the rest of the army. </span><span class="v6_8_10"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.10" class="v6_8_10">10</span>Early the next morning he got his troops ready to move out, and he and the other leaders of Israel led them to Ai. </span><span class="v6_8_11"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.11" class="v6_8_11">11</span>They set up camp in full view of the town, across the valley to the north. </span><span class="v6_8_12"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.12" class="v6_8_12">12</span>Joshua had already sent 5,000 soldiers to the west side of the town to hide and wait to attack. </span><span class="v6_8_13"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.13" class="v6_8_13">13</span>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.<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.13!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_14"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.14-Josh.8.15" class="v6_8_14">14-15</span>The king of Ai saw Joshua's army, so the king and his troops hurried out early the next morning to fight them. Joshua and his army pretended to be beaten, and they let the men of Ai chase them toward the desert. The king and his army were facing the Jordan valley as Joshua had planned.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_14">The king did not realize that some Israelite soldiers were hiding behind the town. </span><span class="v6_8_16"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.16-Josh.8.17" class="v6_8_16">16-17</span>So he called out every man in Ai to go after Joshua's troops. They all rushed out to chase the Israelite army, and they left the town gates wide open. Not one man was left in Ai or in Bethel.<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.16-Josh.8.17!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_16">Joshua let the men of Ai chase him and his army farther and farther away from Ai. </span><span class="v6_8_18"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.18" class="v6_8_18">18</span>Finally, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> told Joshua, “Point your sword<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.18!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> at the town of Ai, because now I am going to help you defeat it!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_18">As soon as Joshua pointed his sword at the town, </span><span class="v6_8_19"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.19" class="v6_8_19">19</span>the soldiers who had been hiding jumped up and ran into the town. They captured it and set it on fire.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_20"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.20-Josh.8.21" class="v6_8_20">20-21</span>When Joshua and his troops saw smoke rising from the town, they knew that the other part of their army had captured it. So they turned and attacked.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_20">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. </span><span class="v6_8_22"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.22-Josh.8.24" class="v6_8_22">22-24</span>Meanwhile, the other Israelite soldiers had come from the town and attacked the men of Ai from the rear. The Israelites captured the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua. They also chased the rest of the men of Ai into the desert and killed them.<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.22-Josh.8.24!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_22">The Israelite army went back to Ai and killed everyone there. </span><span class="v6_8_25"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.25-Josh.8.26" class="v6_8_25">25-26</span>Joshua kept his sword pointed at the town of Ai until every last one of Ai's 12,000 people was dead. </span><span class="v6_8_27"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.27" class="v6_8_27">27</span>But the Israelites took the animals and the other possessions of the people of Ai, because this was what the <span class="nd">Lord</span> had told Joshua to do.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_28"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.28-Josh.8.29" class="v6_8_28">28-29</span>Joshua made sure every building in Ai was burned to the ground. He told his men to kill the king of Ai and hang his body on a tree. Then at sunset he told the Israelites to take down the body,<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.28-Josh.8.29!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> throw it in the gateway of the town, and cover it with a big pile of rocks. Those rocks are still there, and the town itself has never been rebuilt.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Joshua Reads the Blessings and Curses</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="DEU 27:1-26">Deuteronomy 27.1-26</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_30"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.30-Josh.8.32" class="v6_8_30">30-32</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.30-Josh.8.32!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> One day, Joshua led the people of Israel to Mount Ebal, where he told some of his men, “Build an altar for offering sacrifices to the <span class="nd">Lord</span>. And use stones that have never been cut with iron tools,<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.30-Josh.8.32!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> because that is what Moses taught in <span class="bk">The Book of the Law</span>.”<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.30-Josh.8.32!f.3" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_30">Joshua offered sacrifices to please the <span class="nd">Lord</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.30-Josh.8.32!f.4" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> and to ask his blessing.<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.30-Josh.8.32!f.5" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> Then with the Israelites still watching, he copied parts of <span class="bk">The Book of the Law</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.30-Josh.8.32!f.6" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> of Moses onto stones.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v6_8_33"><span class="reftext" id="Josh.8.33-Josh.8.35" class="v6_8_33">33-35</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.33-Josh.8.35!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Moses had said that everyone in Israel was to go to the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, where they were to be blessed. So everyone went there, including the foreigners, the leaders, officials, and judges. Half of the people stood on one side of the valley, and half on the other side, with the priests from the Levi tribe standing in the middle with the sacred chest. Then in a loud voice, Joshua read the blessings and curses from <span class="bk">The Book of the Law</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.33-Josh.8.35!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> of Moses.<a href="#fn" id="link_Josh.8.33-Josh.8.35!f.3" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p></div> </div> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.13 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">valley: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">This may refer either to the Jordan River valley or to the valley between the Israelite camp and Ai.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.16,17 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Ai or in Bethel: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Hebrew; one ancient translation “Ai.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.18 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">sword: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “spear.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.22-24 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Joshua. They also chased … them: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “Joshua. The men of Ai had chased the Israelites into the desert, but the Israelites killed them there.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.28,29 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">take down the body: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See Deuteronomy 21.22,23.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.30-32 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">use stones … iron tools: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See Exodus 20.25.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.30-32 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">taught … Law: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “commanded … Teachings.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.30-32 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">sacrifices to please the <char style="nd">Lord</char>: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">These sacrifices have been traditionally called “whole burnt offerings” because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the <char style="nd">Lord</char> with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called “sacrifices to please the <char style="nd">Lord</char>.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.30-32 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">to ask his blessing: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">These sacrifices have traditionally been called “peace offerings,” or “offerings of well-being.” A main purpose was to ask for the <char style="nd">Lord</char>'s blessing, and so in the CEV they are often called “sacrifices to ask the <char style="nd">Lord</char>'s blessing.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.30-32 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Law: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “Teachings.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.33-35 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Law: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “Teachings.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.33-35 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">the blessings … Moses: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “all of <char style="bk">The Book of the Law of Moses</char>, including the blessings and the curses.”</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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