艾城之戰
1耶和華對約書亞說：「不要害怕，也不用沮喪。只管率領全軍去攻打艾城，我已經將艾城的王、他的人民、城池和土地都交在你手裡了。 2你怎樣對待耶利哥和耶利哥王，也要照樣對待艾城和艾城的王。不過你們可以拿去城中的財物和牲畜。你要在城後設下伏兵。」
3於是，約書亞率領全軍前往艾城。他挑選了三萬精兵，派他們在黑夜出發， 4並吩咐他們說：「你們要在城後埋伏，不可離城太遠，要隨時準備行動。 5我會率領軍隊正面攻城，當敵人像上次那樣出城應戰時，我們便逃跑。 6他們必定乘勝追擊，我們便引他們離城，因為敵人一定會以為我們又像上次一樣臨陣逃跑。 7那時，你們便從埋伏的地方衝出來攻佔艾城，你們的上帝耶和華一定會把艾城交在你們手裡。 8你們攻陷艾城以後，要照耶和華的話放火焚城。這是我的命令。」 9於是，約書亞派遣他們出去。他們去埋伏在伯特利和艾城之間，就是艾城的西面。那一夜，約書亞住在民眾當中。
10第二天清早，約書亞召集民眾，與以色列的眾首領率領全軍前往艾城。 11他們來到城外，在城的北面紮營，與艾城相隔一個山谷。 12約書亞選了五千人，讓他們埋伏在艾城和伯特利之間，就是艾城的西面。 13於是，城北的主力軍隊和城西的伏兵都部署好了。當晚，約書亞在山谷裡過夜。 14艾城的王見以色列人兵臨城下，清早便急忙和全城的人起來出城迎戰，在亞拉巴谷附近跟以色列軍交鋒，他不知道城後有伏兵。 15約書亞帶領以色列軍詐敗，沿著通往曠野的路逃跑。 16艾城的人都被召去追趕以色列人，他們都被誘出城。 17這樣，伯特利和艾城的人傾巢而出，追殺以色列人，他們的城門大開。
18耶和華對約書亞說：「把你手中的矛指向艾城，因為我要將這城交在你手裡。」約書亞就把手中的矛指向艾城。 19他一伸手，城後的伏兵立即行動，迅速衝進城去，一舉佔領艾城，並放火燒城。 20艾城的人回頭發現城內煙氣沖天，卻無路可逃，因為那些詐敗的以色列人已掉頭攻擊他們。 21約書亞和全軍見伏兵已經佔領艾城，城中濃煙滾滾，便掉頭攻擊艾城的人。 22伏兵也出城追擊艾城的人。以色列軍前後夾攻，把敵人圍困在中間全部殲滅，無一漏網。 23他們生擒了艾城的王，將他押到約書亞那裡。
24以色列軍在田間和曠野殺盡了追趕他們的艾城人後，又進城殺了留在城裡的人， 25當天被殺的艾城人男男女女共有一萬二千人。 26一直到艾城所有的人都被殺光了，約書亞才收回手中的矛。 27以色列人照耶和華對約書亞的吩咐，只帶走了城中的牲畜和財物。 28約書亞燒毀全城，使城永遠成為一堆廢墟，至今仍一片荒涼。 29約書亞又將艾城王的屍體掛在樹上示眾。黃昏時，他才吩咐人把屍體取下來丟在城門口，又在屍體上堆了一大堆石頭。石堆至今還在。
重申律法
30-31約書亞照耶和華的僕人摩西在律法書上吩咐以色列人的話，用未經鐵器鑿過的完整石頭，在以巴路山上為以色列的上帝耶和華築了一座祭壇。以色列人就在這壇上把燔祭和平安祭獻給耶和華。 32約書亞又在眾人面前，將摩西所寫的律法刻在石頭上。 33所有的以色列人，無論本族人、外族人、長老、官員或審判官，都站在耶和華的約櫃兩旁，面對著抬約櫃的利未祭司。照耶和華的僕人摩西從前祝福他們時的吩咐，他們一半人站在基利心山前，一半人站在以巴路山前。 34隨後，約書亞向民眾宣讀記在摩西律法書上的一切祝福和咒詛。 35他在全體會眾，包括婦女、小孩以及住在他們中間的外族人面前，一字不漏地宣讀摩西的一切吩咐。
Israel Destroys Ai
1Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go up and attack Ai. Take the whole army with you. I have handed the king of Ai over to you. I have given you his people, his city and his land. 2Remember what you did to Jericho and its king. You will do the same thing to Ai and its king. But this time you can keep for yourselves the livestock and everything else you take from them. Have some of your fighting men hide behind the city and take them by surprise.”
3So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent them out at night. 4He gave them orders. He said, “Listen carefully to what I’m saying. You must hide behind the city. Don’t go very far away from it. All of you must be ready to attack it. 5I and all those with me will march up to the city. The men of Ai will come out to fight against us, just as they did before. Then we’ll run away from them. 6They’ll chase us until we’ve drawn them away from the city. They’ll say, ‘They are running away from us, just as they did before.’ When we run away from them, 7come out of your hiding place. Capture the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8When you have taken it, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. Make sure you obey my orders.”
9Then Joshua sent them away. They went to the place where they had planned to hide. They hid in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai. But Joshua spent that night with his troops.
10Early the next morning Joshua brought together his army. He and the leaders of Israel marched in front of them to Ai. 11The whole army that was with him marched up to the city. They stopped in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai. There was a valley between them and the city. 12Joshua had chosen about 5,000 soldiers. He had ordered them to hide in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai. 13The men took up their battle positions. All the men in the camp north of the city took up their positions. So did those who were supposed to hide west of the city. That night Joshua went into the valley.
14The king of Ai saw what the troops with Joshua were doing. So the king and all his men hurried out of the city early in the morning. They marched out to meet Israel in battle. They went to a place that looked out over the Arabah Valley. The king didn’t know that some of Israel’s fighting men were hiding behind the city. 15Joshua and all his men let the men of Ai drive them back. The Israelites ran away toward the desert. 16All the men of Ai were called out to chase them. They chased Joshua. So they were drawn away from the city. 17Not even one man remained in Ai or Bethel. All of them went out to chase Israel. When they did, they left the city wide open.
18Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand. I will give the city to you.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin in his hand. 19As soon as he did, the men hiding behind the city got up quickly. They came out of their hiding places and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it. They quickly set it on fire.
20The men of Ai looked back. They saw smoke rising up from the city into the sky. But they couldn’t escape in any direction. The Israelites had been running away toward the desert. But now they turned around to face those chasing them. 21Joshua and all his men saw that the men who had been hiding behind the city had captured it. They also saw that smoke was going up from it. So they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22The men who had set Ai on fire came out of the city. They also fought against the men of Ai. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle. The army of Israel was on both sides of them. Israel struck them down. They didn’t let anyone remain alive or get away. 23But they captured the king of Ai alive. They brought him to Joshua.
24Israel finished killing all the men of Ai. They destroyed them in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them. They struck down every one of them with their swords. Then all the Israelites returned to Ai. And they killed those who were left in it. 25The total number of men and women they killed that day was 12,000. The Israelites put to death all the people of Ai. 26Joshua continued to hold out his javelin toward Ai. He didn’t lower his hand until he and his men had totally destroyed everyone who lived there. 27But this time Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they had taken from the city. The Lord had directed Joshua to let them do it.
28So Joshua burned down Ai. He tore it down so it could never be built again. It has been deserted to this very day. 29Joshua killed the king of Ai. He stuck a pole through the body. Then he set it up where people could see it. He left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered his men to remove the body from the pole. He told them to throw the body down at the entrance of the city gate. They put a large pile of rocks over the body. That pile is still there to this day.
Joshua Reads the Book of the Law to the People
30Joshua built an altar to honor the Lord, the God of Israel. He built it on Mount Ebal. 31Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the Israelites to do that. Joshua built the altar according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses. Joshua built the altar out of stones that iron tools had never touched. Then the people offered on the altar burnt offerings to the Lord. They also sacrificed friendship offerings on it. 32Joshua copied the law of Moses on stones. He did it while all the Israelites were watching. 33They were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All the Israelites, including outsiders and citizens, were there. Israel’s elders, officials and judges were also there. All of them faced the priests, who were Levites. They were carrying the ark. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim. The other half stood in front of Mount Ebal. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had earlier told them to do it. Moses told them to do it when he had given directions to bless the Israelites.
34Then Joshua read all the words of the law out loud. He read the blessings and the curses. He read them just as they are written in the Book of the Law. 35Joshua read every word Moses had commanded. He read them to the whole community of Israel. That included the women and children. It also included the outsiders living among them.
