Ai Destroyed
1Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, 7you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. 8When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”
9Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.
10Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. 11The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.
14When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. 16All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.
18Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. 19As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.
20The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. 21For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed8:26 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. all who lived in Ai. 27But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28So Joshua burned Ai8:28 Ai means the ruin. and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal
30Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. 33All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
34Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.
የጋይ ከተማ ተደመሰሰ
1ከዚያም እግዚአብሔር ኢያሱን እንዲህ አለው፤ “አትፍራ፤ አትደንግጥ፤ ሰራዊቱን ሁሉ ይዘህ በመውጣት ጋይን ውጋ፤ የጋይን ንጉሥ፣ ሕዝቡን፣ ከተማውንና ምድሩን አሳልፌ በእጅህ ሰጥቼሃለሁና። 2በኢያሪኮና በንጉሥዋ ላይ ያደረግኸውንም ሁሉ፣ በጋይና በንጉሥዋ ላይ ትደግመዋለህ፤ በዚህ ጊዜ ግን ምርኮውንና ከብቱን ለራሳችሁ ታደርጉታላችሁ፤ ታዲያ ከከተማዪቱ በስተ ጀርባ የደፈጣ ጦር አዘጋጅ።”
3ስለዚህ ኢያሱና ሰራዊቱ በሙሉ ጋይን ለመውጋት ወጡ፤ ኢያሱም ምርጥ ከሆኑት ተዋጊዎቹ ሠላሳ ሺሕ ጦር አዘጋጅቶ በሌሊት ላካቸው፤ 4እንዲህ የሚል ትእዛዝም ሰጣቸው፤ “እነሆ፤ ከከተማዪቱ በስተ ጀርባ ታደፍጣላችሁ፤ ከከተማዪቱ አትራቁ፤ ሁላችሁም ነቅታችሁ ተጠባበቁ፤ 5እኔና አብረውኝ ያሉት ሁሉ ወደ ከተማዪቱ እንጠጋለን፤ ሰዎቹ ከዚህ በፊት እንዳደረጉት ሊወጉን ወደኛ ሲመጡ፤ እኛ ደግሞ እንሸሻለን፤ 6እነርሱም፣ ‘ከዚህ ቀደም እንዳደረጉት አሁንም ከእኛ በመሸሽ ላይ ናቸው’ በማለት ከከተማዪቱ እስክናርቃቸው ድረስ ይከታተሉናል፤ በዚህ ሁኔታ እኛም እንሸሻለን፤ 7እናንተም ከተደበቃችሁበት ትወጡና ከተማዪቱን ትይዛላችሁ፤ አምላካችሁ እግዚአብሔር ከተማዪቱን በእጃችሁ አሳልፎ ይሰጣችኋልና። 8ከተማዪቱን ስትይዙም በእሳት አቃጥሏት፤ እግዚአብሔር ያዘዘውንም አድርጉ፤ እነሆ አዝዣችኋለሁ።”
9ከዚያም ኢያሱ ሰዎቹን ላካቸው፤ እነርሱም ሄደው ከጋይ በስተ ምዕራብ በቤቴልና በጋይ መካከል ባለው ቦታ አደፈጡ፤ ኢያሱ ግን እዚያው ከሕዝቡ ጋር ዐደረ።
10በማግስቱም ጧት ኢያሱ ማልዶ በመነሣት ወንዶቹን ሰበሰበ፤ እርሱና የእስራኤል አለቆችም ከፊት ሆነው እየመሯቸው ወደ ጋይ ወጡ። 11ከእርሱ ጋር የነበሩትም ተዋጊዎች በሙሉ ወጥተው ወደ ከተማዪቱ በመጠጋት ከፊት ለፊቷ ደረሱ፤ ከዚያም ከጋይ በስተ ሰሜን መካከል ካለው ሸለቆ ማዶ ሰፈሩ። 12ኢያሱ ቀደም ብሎ አምስት ሺሕ ሰው ያህል በመውሰድ ከከተማዪቱ በስተ ምዕራብ፣ በቤቴልና በጋይ መካከል እንዲያደፍጡ አድርጎ ነበር። 13ከከተማዪቱ በስተ ሰሜን የነበሩትንም፣ ከከተማዪቱ በስተ ምዕራብ የሸመቁትንም ወታደሮች ሁሉ ስፍራ ስፍራቸውን እንዲይዙ አደረጋቸው፤ በዚያችም ሌሊት ኢያሱ ወደ ሸለቆው ሄደ።
14የጋይ ንጉሥ ይህን ባየ ጊዜ እርሱና የከተማዪቱ ወንዶች ሁሉ ማልደው በመገሥገሥ፣ እስራኤልን ለመውጋት ከዓረባ ፊት ለፊት ወደሚገኘው ስፍራ መጡ፤ ንጉሡ ግን ከከተማዪቱ በስተ ጀርባ ያደፈጠ ኀይል የሚጠባበቀው መሆኑን አያውቅም ነበር። 15ኢያሱና እስራኤል በሙሉ ድል የተመቱ መስለው በመታየት፣ ወደ ምድረ በዳው ሸሹ። 16የጋይ ሰዎች በሙሉ እንዲያሳድዷቸው ተጠሩ፤ ኢያሱንም አሳደዱት፤ በዚህ ሁኔታም የጋይ ሰዎች ከከተማዪቱ እንዲርቁ ተደረገ። 17እስራኤልን ለማሳደድ ከጋይና ከቤቴል ያልወጣ ወንድ አልነበረም፤ ከተማዪቱንም ከፍተው ትተው እስራኤልን ማሳደድ ያዙ።
18እግዚአብሔርም ኢያሱን፣ “ከተማዪቱን በእጅህ አሳልፌ እሰጥሃለሁ፣ የያዝኸውን ጦር ወደ ጋይ አነጣጥር” አለው፤ ኢያሱም ጦሩን ወደ ጋይ አነጣጠረ። 19ይህን እንዳደረገም ያደፈጡት ሰዎች ከተደበቁበት ስፍራ በፍጥነት ወጥተው ወደ ፊት ሮጡ፤ ገብተው ከተማዪቱን ያዟት፤ ወዲያውኑም በእሳት አቃጠሏት።
20የጋይ ሰዎች ወደ ኋላ ዞረው ሲመለከቱ የከተማዪቱ ጢስ ወደ ሰማይ ሲወጣ አዩ፤ ወደ ምድረ በዳ ይሸሹ የነበሩት እስራኤላውያን ፊታቸውን ስላዞሩባቸውም፣ በየትኛውም በኩል ማምለጫ መንገድ አልነበራቸውም። 21ኢያሱና እስራኤል ሁሉ ያደፈጠው ጦር ከተማዪቱን መያዙንና ጢሱ ወደ ላይ መውጣቱን ሲያዩ፣ ወደ ኋላ ተመልሰው በጋይ ሰዎች ላይ ዐደጋ ጣሉባቸው፤ 22ያደፈጡትም ሰዎች እንደዚሁ ከከተማዪቱ ወጥተው መጡባቸው። ስለዚህ እስራኤላውያን በዚያም በዚህም ስለ ከበቧቸው የጋይን ሰዎች ከመካከል አደረጓቸው፤ እስራኤላውያንም ሰዎቹን ፈጇቸው፤ አንድ እንኳ የተረፈ ወይም ያመለጠ አልነበረም፤ 23ነገር ግን የጋይን ንጉሥ ከነሕይወቱ ይዘው ወደ ኢያሱ አመጡት።
24እስራኤላውያን የጋይን ወንዶች ሁሉ ባሳደዷቸው ሜዳና ምደረ በዳ ከጨረሷቸውና እያንዳንዳቸውንም በሰይፍ ከፈጁ በኋላ፣ ወደ ከተማዪቱ ተመልሰው በዚያ ያገኙትን ሁሉ ገደሉ። 25በዚያች ዕለት የጋይ ሰዎች ሁሉ ዐለቁ፤ የወንዶቹና የሴቶቹም ብዛት ዐሥራ ሁለት ሺሕ ነበር። 26ኢያሱ በጋይ የሚኖሩትን ሰዎች ሁሉ ፈጽሞ እስኪያጠፋቸው8፥26 የዕብራይስጡ ቃል አንድን ሰው ወይም ነገር ሙሉ በሙሉ በማጥፋት ለእግዚአብሔር መስጠት ማለት ነው። ድረስ ጦር ያነጣጠረባትን እጁን አላጠፈም ነበር። 27እስራኤላውያንም እግዚአብሔር ኢያሱን ባዘዘው መሠረት፣ በከተማዪቱ ያገኙትን እንስሳትና ምርኮ ብቻ ለራሳቸው አደረጉ።
28ስለዚህ ኢያሱ ጋይን አቃጠላት፤ እስከ ዛሬ እንደሚታየውም ለዘላለም የዐመድ ቍልልና ባድማ አደረጋት። 29የጋይንም ንጉሥ በዛፍ ላይ ሰቀለው፤ ሬሳውንም እስኪመሽ ድረስ እዚያው እንዳለ ተወው፤ ፀሓይ ስትጠልቅም፣ ኢያሱ ሬሳውን እንዲያወርዱትና በከተማው በር ላይ እንዲጥሉት አዘዘ፤ የትልልቅ ድንጋይ ቍልልም ከመሩበት፤ ይህም እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ እዚያው ይገኛል።
ቃል ኪዳኑ በጌባል ተራራ ታደሰ
30ከዚያም ኢያሱ በጌባል ተራራ ላይ ለእስራኤል አምላክ ለእግዚአብሔር መሠዊያን ሠራ። 31መሠዊያውንም የሠራው የእግዚአብሔር ባሪያ ሙሴ፣ እስራኤላውያንን ባዘዛቸው መሠረት ሲሆን፣ ይህንም የሠራው በሙሴ የሕግ መጽሐፍ እንደ ተጻፈው ባልተጠረበና የብረት መሣሪያ ባልነካው ድንጋይ ነው፤ በዚህም ላይ የሚቃጠል መሥዋዕት አቀረቡ፤ የኅብረት መሥዋዕትም8፥31 በትውፊት የሰላም መሥዋዕት ይባላል። ሠዉ። 32ኢያሱም ሙሴ የጻፈውን የሕግ መጽሐፍ እስራኤላውያን እያዩ በድንጋዮች ላይ ቀረጸው። 33እስራኤል በሙሉ መጻተኛውም ሆነ ተወላጁ፣ ሽማግሌዎቻቸውም ሆኑ ሹማምታቸው እንዲሁም ዳኞቻቸው የእግዚአብሔርን የቃል ኪዳን ታቦት ወደ ተሸከሙት ሌዋውያን ካህናት ፊታቸውን አዙረው፣ በታቦቱ ግራና ቀኝ ቆመው ነበር። የእግዚአብሔር ባሪያ ሙሴ የእስራኤልን ሕዝብ እንዲባርኩ መመሪያ በሰጠ ጊዜ፣ አስቀድሞ ባዘዘው መሠረት፣ ግማሹ ሕዝብ በገሪዛን ተራራ፣ ግማሹ ደግሞ በጌባል ተራራ ፊት ለፊት ቆመ።
34ከዚህ በኋላ ኢያሱ፣ የሕጉን ቃላት በሙሉ ማለትም በረከቱንና መርገሙን ሁሉ፣ ልክ በሕጉ መጽሐፍ እንደ ተጻፈው አነበበ። 35ኢያሱ በመላው የእስራኤል ጉባኤ ፊት ሴቶች፣ ሕፃናትና በመካከላቸው የኖሩ መጻተኞች ባሉበት ያነበበው፣ አንድም ሳይቀር ሙሴ ያዘዘውን ቃል ሙሉ በሙሉ ነበር።
