Israel Destroys the Town of Ai
1-2 The Lord told Joshua:
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.
3-4 Joshua quickly got the army ready to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best soldiers and gave them these orders:
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.
5-6 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, 7 you come out of hiding. The Lord our God will help you capture the town. 8 Then set it on fire, as the Lord has told us to do. Those are your orders, 9 now go!
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.
That night, Joshua stayed in camp with the rest of the army. 10 Early the next morning he got his troops ready to move out, and he and the other leaders of Israel led them to Ai. 11 They set up camp in full view of the town, across the valley to the north. 12 Joshua had already sent 5,000 soldiers to the west side of the town to hide and wait to attack. 13 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.
14-15 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.
The king did not realize that some Israelite soldiers were hiding behind the town. 16-17 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.
Joshua let the men of Ai chase him and his army farther and farther away from Ai. 18 Finally, the Lord told Joshua, “Point your sword at the town of Ai, because now I am going to help you defeat it!”
As soon as Joshua pointed his sword at the town, 19 the soldiers who had been hiding jumped up and ran into the town. They captured it and set it on fire.
20-21 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.
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. 22-24 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.
The Israelite army went back to Ai and killed everyone there. 25-26 Joshua kept his sword pointed at the town of Ai until every last one of Ai's 12,000 people was dead. 27 But the Israelites took the animals and the other possessions of the people of Ai, because this was what the Lord had told Joshua to do.
28-29 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, 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.
Joshua Reads the Blessings and Curses
(Deuteronomy 27.1-26)30-32 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 Lord. And use stones that have never been cut with iron tools, because that is what Moses taught in The Book of the Law.”
Joshua offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask his blessing. Then with the Israelites still watching, he copied parts of The Book of the Law of Moses onto stones.
33-35 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 The Book of the Law of Moses.
Ai tashi hanaunwa po
1 Opo nee Omwene okwa lombwela Josua ndele ta ti: “Ino tila, ino mbadapala! Kufa omatanga aeshe ovakwaita pamwe naave, fikama inda kuAi. Tala, ohandi yandje momake oye ohamba yaAi novanhu vayo noshilando shayo noshilongo shayo. 2 Ndele ove u nokuninga Ai nohamba yasho ngaashi wa ningile Jeriko nohamba yasho. Ashike oixuulwa yasho noimuna yasho otamu i litinhile. Tula ehonyeno konima yoshilando.” 3 Opo nee Josua okwa fikama pamwe nomatanga aeshe ovakwaita a ka homone Ai. Ndele Josua okwa hoolola ovalumenhu ovakwanyati omayovi omilongo nhatu nokwe va tuma ko oufiku. 4 Ndele ye okwe va lombwela ndele ta ti: “Taleni, nye mu nokutula ehonyeno konima yoshilando. Inamu ya kokule moshilando ndele kaleni nye amushe mwe lilongekida. 5 Ndele ame nomatanga aeshe ovakwaita ava ve li pwaame, fye ohatu ke uya koshilando. Vo eshi tava di mo oku tu lwifa ngaashi shito, fye ohatu ke va ya onhapo. 6 Ndele vo otave tu shikula fiyo fye twe va ehenifa kokule noshilando, osheshi vo otava ka diladila: Venya tave tu i onhapo ngaashi shito. Ndele fye ohatu ke va ya onhapo. 7 Opo nee nye mu nokudja mo mehonyeno nokutotela oshilando, osheshi Omwene Kalunga keni ote ke shi mu pa. 8 Ndele nye ngeenge mwa totela oshilando mu noku shi tomeka, pandjovo yOmwene mu noku shi ninga. Taleni, ame ohandi shi mu lombwele.” 9 Osho ngaha hano Josua okwe va tuma ko, ndele vo ova ya kehonyeno ndele va kala pokati kaBetel naAi, kombinga yokouninginino waAi. Ndelenee Josua okwa li oufiku winya pamwe novanhu.
10 Josua okwa meneka nokwa ongela omatanga ovakwaita nokwa ya pamwe novakulunhu vaIsrael komesho yomatanga kuAi. 11 Ndele omatanga aeshe ovakwaita aa a li puye a fikama ndele a ehena ndele a fika komesho yoshilando. Ndele vo ova onga onhanda kombinga yokoumbangalanhu woshilando shaAi. Efilu ola li pokati kavo naAi. 12 Osho ngaha hano ye okwa kufa ngeno ovakwaita omayovi atano nokwe va tula mehonyeno pokati kaBetel naAi kombinga yokouninginino woshilando. 13 Ndele vo ova tula ovakwaita, onhanda aishe mekondekelo kombinga yokoumbangalanhu woshilando neengudu dao dokonima kombinga yokouninginino woshilando, ndelenee Josua okwa ya oufiku winya pokati kefilu. 14 Nohamba yaAi eshi ye shi mona, ovalumenhu vomoshilando ova endelela ongula inene, ndele yo oya dja mo ya ka shakeneka Israel molwoodi, yo nomatanga ayo aeshe ovakwaita monhele ya pangelwa poluhaela. Ndelenee yo inai shiiva nokutya, opa li ehonyeno konima yoshilando shayo. 15 Ndele Josua nOvaisraeli aveshe ve lifefa va dengwa ndele ova faduka po Ovaai ndele tava yuka langhele kombuwa. 16 Opo nee ovanhu aveshe vomoshilando va shiiva oku va shikula. Ndelenee fimbo tava shikula Josua oshilando sha fyaala kokule navo. 17 MuAi nomuBetel inamu kala nande umwe, ou ina dja mo a ka taatae Ovaisraeli. Ndele va efa oshilando sha yeululwa ndele va shikula Israel.
18 Ndele Omwene okwa lombwela Josua ndele ta ti: “Eonga li li meke loye li nanena Ai, osheshi Ame nda hala oku shi yandja meke loye.” Opo nee Josua okwa nanena oshilando eonga la li meke laye. 19 Nomatanga ovakwaita aa, a li mehonyeno okwa fikama diva monhele yao ndele a tota, eshi a mona ye a nana eke laye, ndele enya a ya mo moshilando ndele e shi kwata ndele a tomeka diva oshilando. 20 Opo nee ovalumenhu vaAi, eshi va tala konima yavo, ova mona omwifi womoshilando nhumbi tau litumbu keulu. Ndelenee va li vehe na nande omhito yokufaduka po, ngee oko ile kwinya, osheshi omatanga ovakwaita ava va ya onhapo kombuwa, ova piluka ndele va lwifa ovataatai vavo. 21 Josua nOvaisraeli aveshe eshi va mona nokutya ovakwaita vomehonyeno va kwata oshilando ndele omwifi womoshilando tau litumbu pombada, ova aluka ndele ve lidengifa ovalumenhu vaAi. 22 Opo nee venya ova dja moshilando nokushakena navo, opo Ovaai ova kondekelwa pokati kOvaisraeli, vamwe kombinga ei vakwao kombinga inya. Ndelenee vo ove va ta fiyo inapa kala nande umwe a xupifwa ile a ya onhapo. 23 Ndelenee vo ova kwata ohamba yaAi, ndele ve i twala i nomwenyo kuJosua. 24 Ovaisraeli eshi va dipaa neongamukonda ovanhu vaAi aveshe ava va li moluhaela nomombuwa oko ve va taataela, ndele venya aveshe va fya fiyo okomulumenhu waxuuninwa, opo nee Ovaisraeli aveshe va aluka ndele va ya kuAi ndele venya va hanga mo ove va dipaa neongamukonda. 25 Naaveshe ava va fya mefiku olo, ovalumenhu novakainhu, ova li ve fike pomayovi omulongo nomayovi avali, oonakukalamo aveshe muAi. 26 Ndele Josua ina shunifa poshi eke laye li neonga, fimbo oonakukalamo muAi aveshe inava pwa po okudipawa. 27 Ovaisraeli ove litinhila oimuna aike noixuulwa ei ya monika moshilando palombwelo lOmwene, ngaashi Ye a lombwela Josua. 28 Opo nee Josua okwa xwika po Ai nokwe shi ninga onduba yomakuma fiyo alushe, ofuka fiyo onena eli. 29 Ndele ohamba yaAi ye okwe i endjelelifa momuti fiyo okonguloshi. Ndelenee etango eshi tali ningine mo, Josua okwe va lombwela ndele va kufa ko komuti oshimhu shayo ndele ve shi ekela poshivelo shoshilando ndele ve shi ndubila onduba inene yomamanya, ei i li ko nonena eli.
Eleshelo lOmhango keemhunda daGerisim naEbal
30 Opo nee Josua okwa tungila Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael oaltari komhunda yaEbal, 31 ngaashi Moses, omupiya wOmwene, a lombwelele ovana vaIsrael, nongaashi sha shangelwa membo lomhango yaMoses nokutya: “Oaltari ya tungwa nomamanya inaa hongwa,” aa inaa kumwa koshilongifo shoshivela. Ndele kusho va yambela Omwene omaxwikiloyambo ndele va toma omapanduloyambo. 32 Ndele oko ye okwa shangela momamanya omushangululwa womhango yaMoses, ei ye okwe i shangela ovana vaIsrael, 33 fimbo Ovaisraeli aveshe pamwe novakulunhu vavo novapashukili vavo novatokoli vavo va kala ofika kombinga nombinga yoshikefa, va shaama novapristeli Ovalevi, ovahumbati voshikefa shehangano lOmwene, heeno, omunailongo ngaashi omudalelwamo moshilongo, etata limwe lavo la taalela komhunda yaGerisim, netata likwao la taalela komhunda yaEbal, ngaashi Moses, omupiya wOmwene, a lombwelele shito oshiwana shaIsrael shi nangekwe noupuna. 34 Opo nee ye okwa lesha eendjovo adishe domhango, enangeko noupuna netulomutima, naanaa ngaashi da shangelwa membo lomhango. 35 Meendjovo odo da tongwa kuMoses inamu kala nande imwe Josua ine i leshela oshiongalele ashishe shaIsrael, pamwe novalikadi nounona novanailongo ava va enda pamwe navo.
