8

Ua rog yeej lub moos Ai

¹Yawmsaub hais rau Yausua tias, “Tsis txhob ntshai tsis txhob poob siab. Cia li coj cov tub rog huvsi nrog koj mus, cia li sawv tsees mus lawm pem lub moos Ai. Kuv twb muab lub moos Ai tus vajntxwv thiab nws cov pejxeem thiab nws lub moos thiab nws lub tebchaws rau hauv koj txhais tes lawm. ²Koj yuav tsum ua rau lub moos Ai thiab Ai tus vajntxwv ib yam nkaus li koj twb ua rau Yelikhau thiab Yelikhau tus vajntxwv lawd. Tej qhov txhia chaw uas nej txeeb tau los thiab tej tsiaj txhu nej cia li coj mus ua nej tug. Koj yuav npaj ib pab tub rog mus nraim cev rau sab ped nraum lub moos tos.”
³Yausua thiab cov tub rog sawvdaws txawm sawv tsees mus ntaus lub moos Ai. Yausua xaiv peb vam tus tub rog uas siab loj siab tuab kom lawv tawm mus hmo ntuj, ⁴mas nws hais rau lawv tias, “Ua li no 'ov, nej mus nraim cev ped nraum lub moos, tsis txhob nyob deb ntawm lub moos, tiamsis txhua tus npaj txhij tos. ⁵Mas kuv thiab cov tub rog sawvdaws uas nrog kuv ua ke yuav mus kom ze ntawm lub moos. Mas thaum lawv tawm tuaj ntaus peb yam li thawj zaug ces peb yuav thim loo khiav lawv. ⁶Lawv yuav tawm tuaj caum peb mus txog thaum peb ntxias lawv tawm tuaj dhau lub moos deb. Mas lawv yuav hais tias, ‘Cov Yixayee khiav peb yam li thawj zaug lawm.’ Peb yuav ua txuj khiav li no, ⁷ces nej cov uas nraim cev cia li sawv tsees los txeeb kiag lub moos ntawd, rau qhov Yawmsaub uas yog nej tus Vajtswv yuav muab lub moos rau hauv nej txhais tes. ⁸Thaum nej txeeb kiag tau lub moos ntawd lawd nej cia li muab hlawv, cia li ua raws li Yawmsaub hais. Kuv hais kom nej ua li no nawj.” ⁹Mas Yausua thiaj kom lawv tawm mus. Lawv kuj mus nraim cev rau ntawm Npe‑ee thiab Ai ntu nruab nrab, uas yog sab hnub poob ntawm lub moos Ai. Tiamsis hmo ntawd Yausua nrog cov pejxeem nyob ua ke.
¹⁰Yausua sawv ntxov los txhij tub rog thiab nws nrog Yixayee cov kev txwj laus coj cov tub rog mus pem lub moos Ai. ¹¹Cov tub rog uas nrog nws mus sawvdaws txawm mus ze lub moos. Lawv tsuam chaw rau ntawm lub moos Ai sab ped, muaj ib lub hav quas lawv thiab lub moos Ai. ¹²Thiab nws faib kwvlam tsib txhiab leej tub rog kom lawv nraim cev rau ntawm lub moos Npe‑ee thiab lub moos Ai ntu nruab nrab ntawm lub moos Ai sab hnub poob. ¹³Lawv faib cov tub rog li no, pab tub rog uas coob nyob ntawm lub moos Ai sab ped thiab pab uas faj seeb tom qab nyob ntawm lub moos Ai sab hnub poob. Tiamsis hmo ntawd Yausua nyob hauv lub hav. ¹⁴Thaum lub moos Ai tus vajntxwv pom li ntawd mas nws thiab nws cov tub rog sawvdaws, uas yog cov txivneej hauv lub moos sawvdaws, sawv ntxov dhia mus ntaus cov Yixayee ntawm ntav toj Alanpa, tiamsis nws tsis paub tias muaj ib pab tub rog nraim cev tos ntaus nws nyob ntawm lub moos ib sab. ¹⁵Yausua thiab cov Yixayee sawvdaws ua txuj li uas swb lawv mas pheej khiav zuj zus mus rau pem tebchaws moj sab qhua. ¹⁶Lawv hu cov txivneej sawvdaws hauv lub moos Ai mus caum cov Yixayee, mas Yausua ntxias lawv caum nws mus deb zuj zus ntawm lub moos. ¹⁷Tsis tshuav ib tug txivneej uas nyob hauv lub moos Ai thiab lub moos Npe‑ee uas tsis caum cov Yixayee mus li. Lawv caum cov Yixayee mus, muab rooj loog qheb lug cia.
¹⁸Mas Yawmsaub hais rau Yausua tias, “Cia li taw rab hmuv hauv koj txhais tes rau tom lub moos Ai, rau qhov kuv yuav muab lub moos ntawd rau hauv koj txhais tes.” Ces Yausua txawm taw nkaus rab hmuv hauv nws txhais tes rau tom lub moos. ¹⁹Thaum Yausua taw kiag nws txhais tes mas cov tub rog uas nraim cev txawm sawv pes tsees ntawm lub chaw nraim thiab dhia nkag plaws rau hauv lub moos, txeeb kiag tau thiab muab lub moos ntawd hlawv kiag. ²⁰Thaum cov neeg Ai tig saib qab ua ciav pom pa taws hauv lub moos ncho mus nto plaws saum ntuj, ces lawv tsis tau kev khiav mus qhovtwg li, rau qhov cov tub rog uas khiav mus rau tebchaws moj sab qhua kuj tig rov los tua cov neeg Ai uas caum qab. ²¹Thaum Yausua thiab cov Yixayee pom tias cov uas nraim cev twb txeeb tau lub moos lawm thiab pa taws kub lub moos ncho nto ntuj lawm, lawv kuj tig loo ntaus cov neeg Ai. ²²Cov uas txeem rau hauv lub moos kuj tawm tuaj ntaus lawv, cov neeg Ai thiaj nyob rau hauv nruab nrab cov Yixayee, cov Yixayee nyob puag ncig sab ub sab no. Cov Yixayee ntaus ua lawv tsis tshuav ib tug ciaj thiab tsis tshuav ib tug khiav dim li. ²³Tiamsis lawv ntes tau tus vajntxwv hauv lub moos Ai tseem ciaj coj los rau Yausua.
²⁴Thaum cov Yixayee xuas ntaj tua cov neeg Ai uas caum lawv mus rau tom tebchaws moj sab qhua tuag tag huvsi tsis tshuav ib tug li, mas cov Yixayee sawvdaws rov mus rau hauv lub moos, es xuas ntaj tua lub moos ntawd. ²⁵Txhua tus uas nyob hauv lub moos Ai tuag tag rau hnub ntawd suav txivneej thiab pojniam huvsi yog ib vam ob txhiab leej. ²⁶Yausua tsis tau nkaum tes qhov uas nws taw rab hmuv ntawd mus txog thaum uas nws ua rau cov neeg hauv lub moos Ai puam tsuaj tag. ²⁷Tej tsiaj txhu thiab tej qhov txhia chaw uas txeeb tau hauv lub moos ntawd los mas cov Yixayee coj los ua lawv tug raws li tej lus uas Yawmsaub hais rau Yausua. ²⁸Ua li no Yausua thiaj muab lub moos Ai hlawv kub hnyiab tag ua tej niag pawg cia txog niaj hnub nimno. ²⁹Thiab nws muab tus vajntxwv hauv lub moos Ai dai caj dab saum ntoo mus txog tsaus ntuj. Thaum hnub poob qho lawd Yausua hais kom lawv muab nws lub cev tuag txo saum ntoo coj mus pov tseg rau ntawm txojkev uas nkag rau hauv rooj loog, mas lawv muab pob zeb los tsuam ua ib pawg loj loj nyob txog niaj hnub nimno.

Nyeem txoj kevcai saum lub roob Enpas

³⁰Yausua txawm ua ib lub thaj xyeem rau Yawmsaub uas yog cov Yixayee tus Vajtswv saum lub roob Enpas, ³¹raws li Yawmsaub tus tub qhe Mauxe tau hais rau cov Yixayee. Nws ua lub thaj raws li uas sau cia rau hauv Mauxe phau ntawv kevcai hais tias, “Cia li muab tej pob zeb uas tsis tau muab txhwm muab npawm los ua xwb, yog tej pob zeb uas tsis tau raug hniav hlau hniav riam li.” Mas lawv muab tsiaj ua kevcai hlawv huvsi xyeem rau Yawmsaub saum lub thaj ntawd thiab tua tsiaj ua kevcai xyeem sib raug zoo. ³²Thiab Yausua sau Mauxe txoj kevcai uas Mauxe twb sau cia lawd rau tej pob zeb ntawm lub thaj ntawd tab meeg cov Yixayee. ³³Ib tsoom Yixayee sawvdaws, tsis hais lwm haiv neeg uas nrog lawv nyob thiab cov uas yug hauv cov Yixayee thiab cov kev txwj laus thiab cov nom tswv thiab cov uas tu plaub sawv ntsug ntawm lub phij xab ob sab, tab meeg cov Levi uas yog pov thawj kwv Yawmsaub lub phij xab sib cog lus. Ib nrab sawv ncaj ntawm lub roob Kelixi, ib nrab sawv ncaj ntawm lub roob Enpas, raws li Yawmsaub tus tub qhe Mauxe tau hais ua ntej kom cov Levi foom koob hmoov rau cov Yixayee. ³⁴Dhau ntawd Yausua thiaj nyeem txoj kevcai no txhua lo lus huvsi rau lawv mloog, yog tej lus foom koob hmoov thiab tej lus tsawm foom, raws li txhua yam uas sau rau hauv phau ntawv kevcai. ³⁵Tsis tshuav ib lo lus uas Mauxe tau hais cia es Yausua tsis muab nyeem tab meeg ib tsoom Yixayee sawvdaws thiab tej pojniam menyuam thiab lwm haiv neeg uas nrog lawv nyob mloog.

8

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 destroyed⚓ 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 Ai⚓ 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.