📖 Joshua — Chapter 8 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Joshua 8:1 And the LORD said unto Joshua, RFear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:
Joshua 8:2 And thou shalt Rdo to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.
Joshua 8:3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away Rby night.
Joshua 8:4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall Rlie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:
Joshua 8:5 And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, Ras at the first, that we will flee before them,
Joshua 8:6 (For they will come out after us) till we have Tdrawn them from the city; for they will say, RThey flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.
Joshua 8:7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: Rfor the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
Joshua 8:8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall Rset the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.
Joshua 8:9 Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode Rbetween Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
Joshua 8:10 And Joshua Rrose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
Joshua 8:11 And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai.
Joshua 8:12 And he took about Rfive thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side Tof the city.
Joshua 8:13 And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their Tliers in wait Ron the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
Joshua 8:14 And it came to pass, when the king of RAi saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.
Joshua 8:15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled Rby the way of the wilderness.
Joshua 8:16 And all the people that were in Ai were Rcalled together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
Joshua 8:17 And there was not Ra man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
Joshua 8:18 And the LORD said unto Joshua, RStretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city.
Joshua 8:19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.
Joshua 8:20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, Rthe smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no Tpower to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
Joshua 8:21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.
Joshua 8:22 And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they Rlet none of them remain or escape.
Joshua 8:23 RAnd the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
Joshua 8:24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites Rreturned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
Joshua 8:25 And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.
Joshua 8:26 For Joshua Rdrew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
Joshua 8:27 Only Rthe cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the LORD which he commanded Joshua.
Joshua 8:28 And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it Ran heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.
Joshua 8:29 And Rthe king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.
Joshua 8:30 Then Joshua Rbuilt an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,
Joshua 8:31 As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, Ras it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
Joshua 8:32 And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.
Joshua 8:33 And Rall Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
Joshua 8:34 And afterward Rhe read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
Joshua 8:35 There Rwas not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that Twere conversant among them.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Joshua 8:1–9 — A new command and an ambush
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The LORD encourages Joshua and gives directions for taking Ai. The new instructions permit spoil, unlike the earlier instructions concerning Jericho.
Key Truth: Obedience attends to God's actual command for the present situation.
Check What You Remember
1. What city was Joshua now commanded to take? (Joshua 8:1)
Find it in Joshua 8:1 (KJV).
2. Was Israel permitted to take spoil this time? (Joshua 8:2)
Find it in Joshua 8:2 (KJV).
3. On what side of Ai was the ambush placed? (Joshua 8:9)
Find it in Joshua 8:9 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Joshua 8:10–23 — The battle unfolds
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Israel's withdrawal draws Ai's defenders out, and the ambush enters the city. Joshua stretches out his spear as commanded, and the king is captured.
Key Truth: The account shows the commanded plan carried into action.
Check What You Remember
1. What did Joshua stretch toward Ai? (Joshua 8:18)
Find it in Joshua 8:18 (KJV).
2. What rose from the city after the ambush entered? (Joshua 8:20)
Find it in Joshua 8:20 (KJV).
3. Was the king of Ai brought to Joshua alive? (Joshua 8:23)
Find it in Joshua 8:23 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Joshua 8:24–35 — Victory and the law read
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
After the battle, Joshua builds an altar on Ebal and reads the law's blessings and curses before the whole assembly. Victory is followed by public attention to God's covenant instruction.
Key Truth: Israel's life in the land remains governed by the LORD's law.
Check What You Remember
1. On which mountain did Joshua build the altar? (Joshua 8:30)
Find it in Joshua 8:30 (KJV).
2. Whose law did Joshua write on the stones? (Joshua 8:32)
Find it in Joshua 8:32 (KJV).
3. Were women, little ones, and strangers present for the reading? (Joshua 8:35)
Find it in Joshua 8:35 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Deuteronomy 27:2 — Joshua's stones and altar follow the earlier instruction for entering the land.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Which truth from this chapter do you want to remember? What question or related Scripture would you like to explore next? You can keep these thoughts in your private Notes below.
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What permission differs from the instruction concerning Jericho?
2. How does the feigned retreat serve the ambush?
3. How does Joshua’s spear signal action during the battle?
4. What requirement governs the altar’s stones?
5. Who hears Joshua’s reading of the law?
Notes
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