约书亚记 8
1
耶和华对约书亚说,不要惧怕,也不要惊惶。你起来,率领一切兵丁上艾城去,我已经把艾城的王和他的民,他的城,并他的地,都交在你手里。

Then 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.

2
你怎样待耶利哥和耶利哥的王,也当照样待艾城和艾城的王。只是城内所夺的财物和牲畜,你们可以取为自己的掠物。你要在城后设下伏兵。

You 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."

3
于是,约书亚和一切兵丁都起来,要上艾城去。约书亚选了三万大能的勇士,夜间打发他们前往,

So 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

4
吩咐他们说,你们要在城后埋伏,不可离城太远,都要各自准备。

with 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.

5
我与我所带领的众民要向城前往。城里的人像初次出来攻击我们的时候,我们就在他们面前逃跑,

I 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.

6
他们必出来追赶我们,直到我们引诱他们离开城。因为他们必说,这些人像初次在我们面前逃跑。所以我们要在他们面前逃跑,

They 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,

7
你们就从埋伏的地方起来,夺取那城。因为耶和华你们的神,必把城交在你们手里。

you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand.

8
你们夺了城以后,就放火烧城,要照耶和华的话行。这是我吩咐你们的。

When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."

9
约书亚打发他们前往,他们就上埋伏的地方去,住在伯特利和艾城的中间,就是在艾城的西边。这夜约书亚却在民中住宿。

Then 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.

10
约书亚清早起来,点齐百姓,他和以色列的长老在百姓前面上艾城去。

Early the next morning Joshua mustered his men, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai.

11
众民,就是他所带领的兵丁,都上去,向前直往,来到城前,在艾城北边安营。在约书亚和艾城中间有一山谷。

The 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.

12
他挑了约有五千人,使他们埋伏在伯特利和艾城的中间,就是在艾城的西边,

Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.

13
于是安置了百姓,就是城北的全军和城西的伏兵。这夜约书亚进入山谷之中。

They had the soldiers take up their positions--all those in the camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

14
艾城的王看见这景况,就和全城的人,清早急忙起来,按所定的时候,出到亚拉巴前,要与以色列人交战。王却不知道在城后有伏兵。

When 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.

15
约书亚和以色列众人在他们面前装败,往那通旷野的路逃跑。

Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the desert.

16
城内的众民都被招聚,追赶他们。艾城人追赶的时候,就被引诱离开城。

All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city.

17
艾城和伯特利城没有一人不出来追赶以色列人的,撇了敞开的城门,去追赶以色列人。

Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

18
耶和华吩咐约书亚说,你向艾城伸出手里的短枪,因为我要将城交在你手里。约书亚就向城伸出手里的短枪。

Then 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 his javelin toward Ai.

19
他一伸手,伏兵就从埋伏的地方急忙起来,夺了城,跑进城去,放火焚烧。

As 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.

20
艾城的人回头一看,不料,城中烟气冲天,他们就无力向左向右逃跑。那往旷野逃跑的百姓便转身攻击追赶他们的人。

The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction, for the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the desert had turned back against their pursuers.

21
约书亚和以色列众人见伏兵已经夺了城,城中烟气飞腾,就转身回去,击杀艾城的人。

For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from the city, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.

22
伏兵也出城迎击艾城人,艾城人就困在以色列人中间,前后都是以色列人。于是以色列人击杀他们,没有留下一个,也没有一个逃脱的,

The men of 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.

23
生擒了艾城的王,将他解到约书亚那里。

But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

24
以色列人在田间和旷野杀尽所追赶一切艾城的居民。艾城人倒在刀下,直到灭尽。以色列众人就回到艾城,用刀杀了城中的人。

When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the desert 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.

25
当日杀毙的人,连男带女共有一万二千,就是艾城所有的人。

Twelve thousand men and women fell that day--all the people of Ai.

26
约书亚没有收回手里所伸出来的短枪,直到把艾城的一切居民尽行杀灭。

For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai.

27
惟独城中的牲畜和财物,以色列人都取为自己的掠物,是照耶和华所吩咐约书亚的话。

But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua.

28
约书亚将艾城焚烧,使城永为高堆,荒场,直到今日。

So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day.

29
又将艾城王挂在树上,直到晚上。日落的时候,约书亚吩咐人把尸首从树上取下来,丢在城门口,在尸首上堆成一大堆石头,直存到今日。

He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree 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.

30
那时,约书亚在以巴路山上为耶和华以色列的神筑一座坛,

Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel,

31
是用没有动过铁器的整石头筑的,照着耶和华仆人摩西所吩咐以色列人的话,正如摩西律法书上所写的。众人在这坛上给耶和华奉献燔祭和平安祭。

as 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.

32
约书亚在那里,当着以色列人面前,将摩西所写的律法抄写在石头上。

There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had written.

33
以色列众人,无论是本地人,是寄居的,和长老,官长,并审判官,都站在约柜两旁,在抬耶和华约柜的祭司利未人面前,一半对着基利心山,一半对着以巴路山,为以色列民祝福,正如耶和华仆人摩西先前所吩咐的。

All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing those who carried it--the priests, who were Levites. 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.

34
随后,约书亚将律法上祝福,咒诅的话,照着律法书上一切所写的,都宣读了一遍。

Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law--the blessings and the curses--just as it is written in the Book of the Law.

35
摩西所吩咐的一切话,约书亚在以色列全会众和妇女,孩子,并他们中间寄居的外人面前,没有一句不宣读的。

There 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 aliens who lived among them.