Ekwato nehalakanithopo lyaAi
1 Omuwa okwa lombwele Josua a ti: “Kutha aakwiita ayehe, u ye nayo kuAi. Ino tila ngoye ino tyololoka. Otandi ke ku pa esindano lyokusinda omukwaniilwa gwaAi; aantu ye, oshilando nevi otayi ningi yeni. 2 Ai nomukwaniilwa gwasho oto mu ningi, ngaashi wa ningi Jeriko nomukwaniilwa gwasho, ihe nena otamu ka likola iinima niimuna. Longekidha, u matukile oshilando ombaadhilila kosindo yasho.”
3 Josua okwa pyakudhukwa okuya kuAi pamwe naakwiita ye ayehe. Okwa kutha po aakwiita ya pyokoka omayuvi omilongo ndatu e te ya tumu uusiku 4 nelaka ndika: “Holameni kombinga ndjiya yoshilando, ihe hakokule unene; ilongekidheni oku ya matukila. 5 Aantu yandje nangame otatu ki ikokela moshilando. Shimpa Aayai ya zi mo taye tu matukile, otatu finyuka tatu fadhuka po, ano ngaashi twe shi ningi moshikando shotango. 6 Otaye ke tu tidha, sigo twe ya heke okuza ko koshilando. Otaa ka dhiladhila kutya otatu ya yi ontuku, ngaashi twa ningile nale. 7 Nena ne otamu hololoka mo miilangela yeni e tamu kwata po oshilando. Omuwa Kalunga keni ote ke shi mu pa. 8 Shimpa mwa kwata po oshilando, shi tomekeni omulilo, ngaashi Omuwa a ti. Omalombwelo ogo ngaka.” 9 Josua okwe ya tumu e taa yi kiilangela pokati kaAi naBetel, kuuninginino waAi, noya tegelele nkoka. Josua okwa tokelwa uusiku mboka montanda.
10 Ongulangula Josua okwa penduka e ta gongele aakwiita. Oye naawiliki yaIsrael oye ya kwatele komeho okuya kuAi. 11 Aakwiita pamwe naye oya yi popepi noshilando e taa yungu ontanda kuumbangalantu washo. Pokati kawo naAi opwa li olusilu. 12 Josua okwa kutha konyala aalumentu omayuvi gatano e te ya holeke kuuninginino woshilando, pokati kaAi naBetel. 13 Aakwiita oya longekidhilwa olugodhi. Ontanda onene oya li kuumbangalantu woshilando noshihupe shaakwiita osha li kuuninginino washo. Josua okwa tokelwa molusilu uusiku mboka. 14 Omukwaniilwa gwaAi sho a mono aantu yaJosua, oku uluma. Oye naantu ye oya hwanuka yu ukilila olusilu lwaJordan, ya ka kondje nAaisraeli, ngaashi ya ningile nale. Oya li inaa tseya kutya otaa vulu okumatukilwa okuza konima. 15 Josua naantu ye oya shuna ya fa taa yi ontuku noya fadhuka po yu uka kombuga. 16 Aalumentu ayehe yomoshilando oya lombwelwa, ye ke ya landule. Sho ya tidha Josua, oya yi kokule kashona noshilando. 17 Aalumentu ayehe yomuAi nenge Betel, oya ka tidha Aaisraeli; moshilando inamu kala we omupopili.
18 Nena Omuwa okwa ti kuJosua: “Ganeka egonga lyoye kuAi, otandi shi ku pe.” Josua okwa ningi, ngaashi a lombwelwa. 19 Ohaluka sho a yelutha oshikaha she, aalumentu mboka ya li ya holama, oya hituluka mo mbala e taa yi moshilando e taye shi kwata po. Ohaluka oye shi tomeke omulilo. 20 Aalumentu yomuAi sho ya tala konima, oya mono olwithi lwa tsinagala kegulu. Kaya li we ye na ompito yokuhenuka, oshoka Aaisraeli mbeyaka ya li yu uka lwokombuga, oya piluka, opo ye ya homone. 21 Josua naakwiita ye sho ya mono kutya yakwawo mbeya oya kwata po oshilando notashi tsinagala olwithi, oya piluka e taa dhipaga aalumentu yaAi. 22 Aaisraeli yomoshilando oye ya wo kolugodhi. Aalumentu yaAi oya dhimbulula kutya oya kondekwa kAaisraeli, noya dhipagwa ayehe. Inapu za nando ondhi po inapu kala ngoka e na omwenyo, 23 shila omukwaniilwa gwaAi, okwa kwatwa nokwa falwa kuJosua.
24 Aaisraeli oya dhipaga kehe gumwe gwaatondi yawo meyalala kombuga, nkoka ye ya tidhile. Nena oya galukile ishewe kuAi e taa dhipaga ayehe. 25-26 Josua okwa kala a taganekela egonga lye kuAi noine li tenteka pohi, manga aantu ayehe inaaya pwa po okudhipagwa. Oshigwana ashihe shaAi osha dhipagwa esiku ndyoka — aalumentu naakiintu omayuvi omulongo nagaali. 27 Aaisraeli oyi ihupithile iimuna niinima mbyoka ya hakana moshilando, ngaashi Omuwa a lombwele Josua. 28 Josua okwa fike po Ai e te shi lokotitha po ashihe. Osha ningi eputu nosho shi li sigo onena. 29 Okwa mangeleke omukwaniilwa gwaAi komuti okusa e te ethele omudhimba gwe nkoka sigo ongulohi. Peningino lyetango Josua okwa lombwele, omudhimba gu kuthwe ko, nogu umbilwa posheelo shoshilando. Oye gu siikile nondumba yomamanya, ndjoka tayi monika natango nkoka.
Ompango tayi leshwa kondundu Ebal
30 Josua okwa tungile Omuwa, Kalunga kaIsrael, oshiyambelo kondundu Ebal. 31 Okwe shi tungu pamaudhikilo ngoka Moses, omumati gwOmuwa, e ga pe Aaisraeli, ngaashi tashi popiwa mompango yaMoses taku tiwa: “Oshiyambelo nashi kale shomamanya inaaga hongwa niiyela.” Oya yambele ko Omuwa omafikilondjambo noye mu etele omakwatathanondjambo. 32 Josua okwa kutha emanya e li hongo montaneho yAaisraeli e ta nyola mo oohapu dhompango yaMoses. 33 Aaisraeli pamwe naawiliki yawo, aambala naatokolihapu naakwiilongo mboka ya li mokati kawo, oya li ya thikama koombinga noombinga dhoshikethahangano ya tongolola aayambi Aalevi mboka ye shi humbata. Etata limwe lyaantu oya li ya thikama ya pilamena kondundu Garizim, manga etata limwe lya thikama lya pilamena kondundu Ebal. Omumati gwOmuwa Moses okwe ya lombwelele, ya ninge ngeyi, ngele ethimbo lyeyambeko lyawo lya thiki. 34 Josua okwa lesha mokule ompango ayihe mwa kwatelelwa omayambeko nomatulomutima, ngaashi naanaa sha nyolwa membo lyompango. 35 Oshipango kehe shaMoses osha leshwa kuJosua pokugongala kwaayehe, nkoka kwa kwatelele mo aakiintu naanona nosho wo aakwiilongo mboka ya kala mokati kawo.
The Capture and Destruction of Ai
1 The Lord said to Joshua, “Take all the soldiers with you and go on up to Ai. Don't be afraid or discouraged. I will give you victory over the king of Ai; his people, city, and land will be yours. 2 You are to do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, but this time you may keep its goods and livestock for yourselves. Prepare to attack the city by surprise from the rear.”
3 So Joshua got ready to go to Ai with all his soldiers. He picked out thirty thousand of his best troops and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Hide on the other side of the city, but not too far away from it; be ready to attack. 5 My men and I will approach the city. When the men of Ai come out against us, we will turn and run, just as we did the first time. 6 They will pursue us until we have led them away from the city. They will think that we are running from them, as we did before. 7 Then you will come out of hiding and capture the city. The Lord your God will give it to you. 8 After you have taken the city, set it on fire, just as the Lord has commanded. These are your orders.” 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to their hiding place and waited there, west of Ai, between Ai and Bethel. Joshua spent the night in camp.
10 Early in the morning Joshua got up and called the soldiers together. Then he and the leaders of Israel led them to Ai. 11 The soldiers with him went toward the main entrance to the city and set up camp on the north side, with a valley between themselves and Ai. 12 He took about five thousand men and put them in hiding west of the city, between Ai and Bethel. 13 The soldiers were arranged for battle with the main camp north of the city and the rest of the men to the west. Joshua spent the night in the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw Joshua's men, he acted quickly. He and all his men went out toward the Jordan Valley to fight the Israelites at the same place as before, not knowing that he was about to be attacked from the rear. 15 Joshua and his men pretended that they were retreating, and ran away toward the barren country. 16 All the men in the city had been called together to go after them, and as they pursued Joshua, they kept getting farther away from the city. 17 Every man in Ai went after the Israelites, and the city was left wide open, with no one to defend it.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Point your spear at Ai; I am giving it to you.” Joshua did as he was told, 19 and as soon as he lifted his hand, the men who had been hiding got up quickly, ran into the city and captured it. They immediately set the city on fire. 20 When the men of Ai looked back, they saw the smoke rising to the sky. There was no way for them to escape, because the Israelites who had run toward the barren country now turned around to attack them. 21 When Joshua and his men saw that the others had taken the city and that it was on fire, they turned around and began killing the men of Ai. 22 The Israelites in the city now came down to join the battle. So the men of Ai found themselves completely surrounded by Israelites, and they were all killed. No one got away, and no one lived through it 23 except the king of Ai. He was captured and taken to Joshua.
24 The Israelites killed every one of the enemy in the barren country where they had chased them. Then they went back to Ai and killed everyone there. 25-26 Joshua kept his spear pointed at Ai and did not put it down until every person there had been killed. The whole population of Ai was killed that day—twelve thousand men and women. 27 The Israelites kept for themselves the livestock and goods captured in the city, as the Lord had told Joshua. 28 Joshua burned Ai and left it in ruins. It is still like that today. 29 He hanged the king of Ai from a tree and left his body there until evening. At sundown Joshua gave orders for the body to be removed, and it was thrown down at the entrance to the city gate. They covered it with a huge pile of stones, which is still there today.
The Law Is Read at Mount Ebal
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel. 31 He made it according to the instructions that Moses, the Lord's servant, had given the Israelites, as it says in the Law of Moses: “an altar made of stones which have not been cut with iron tools.” On it they offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord, and they also presented their fellowship offerings. 32 There, with the Israelites looking on, Joshua made on the stones a copy of the Law which Moses had written. 33 The Israelites, with their leaders, officers, and judges, as well as the foreigners among them, stood on two sides of the Lord's Covenant Box, facing the levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood with their backs to Mount Gerizim and the other half with their backs to Mount Ebal. The Lord's servant Moses had commanded them to do this when the time came for them to receive the blessing. 34 Joshua then read aloud the whole Law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the book of the Law. 35 Every one of the commandments of Moses was read by Joshua to the whole gathering, which included women and children, as well as the foreigners living among them.
