1 Then the Lord said to Joshua: “You should not fear, and you should not dread. Take with you the entire multitude of fighters, and rising up, ascend to the town of Ai. Behold, I have delivered into your hand its king and people, and the city and the land.
2 And you shall do to the city of Ai, and to its king, just as you did to Jericho, and to its king. Yet truly, the spoils, and all the living things, you shall plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city behind it.”
3 And Joshua rose up, and the entire army of warriors with him, so that they might ascend against Ai. And he sent thirty thousand elect strong men in the night.
4 And he instructed them, saying: “Set an ambush behind the city. You shall withdraw not far away, and let everyone be prepared.
5 But I and the remainder of the multitude that is with me will approach from the opposite side of the city. And when they come out against us, we will flee and turn our backs, just as we did before,
6 until, pursuing us, they are drawn away from the city. For they will think that we are fleeing as before.
7 Then, while we are fleeing and they are pursuing, you shall rise up from the ambush, and you shall lay waste to the city. And the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands.
8 And when you have seized it, set it on fire. And you shall do all that I have ordered.”
9 And he sent them away, and they traveled to the place of the ambush, and they settled between Bethel and Ai, toward the western region of the city of Ai. But Joshua remained for that night in the midst of the people.
10 And rising at first light, he reviewed his troops, and he went up, with the elders at the front of the army, surrounded by an auxiliary of fighters.
11 And when they had arrived, and had ascended from the opposite side of the city, they stood toward the northern region of the city. And there was a valley in the middle, between them and the city.
12 Now he had chosen five thousand men, and he had positioned them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, at the western part of the same city.
13 Yet truly, all the remainder of the army was arranged in a line to the north, so that the very end of that multitude reached to the western region of the city. Then Joshua went out that night, and he stood in the middle of the valley.
14 And when the king of Ai had seen this, he hurried in the morning, and he went out with the entire army of the city. And he arranged them in a line opposite the desert, not knowing that an ambush lay hidden behind his back.
15 Yet truly, Joshua, and all of Israel, withdrew from the place, pretending to be afraid, and fleeing along the way of the wilderness.
16 And they pursued them, shouting together and encouraging one another. And when they had withdrawn from the city,
17 and indeed not one remained in the city of Ai and of Bethel who did not pursue after Israel, (leaving the towns open after they had rushed out,)
18 the Lord said to Joshua: “Lift up the shield that is in your hand, toward the city of Ai. For I will deliver it to you.”
19 And when he had lifted up the shield toward the city, the ambush, which lay hidden, rose up quickly. And advancing to the city, they seized it, and set it on fire.
20 Now the men of the city who were pursuing Joshua, looking back and seeing the smoke of the city rising up even to heaven, were no longer able to flee in one direction or another, especially since those who had pretended to flee, and who were heading toward the wilderness, had turned back very strongly against those who were pursuing them.
21 And Joshua, and all of Israel, seeing that the city had been captured, and that the smoke of the city was ascending, returned and struck down the men of Ai.
22 Then too, those who had seized and set the city on fire, departing from the city toward their own men, began to strike the enemies in the middle. Therefore, since the adversaries were cut off from both sides, none of so great a multitude was saved.
23 Also, they apprehended the king of the city of Ai, alive, and they brought him before Joshua.
24 And so, after all were slain who had pursued Israel fleeing toward the wilderness, and after they fell by the sword in the same place, the sons of Israel returned and struck the city.
25 Now there were twelve thousand persons who had fallen on the same day, from man even to woman, the entire city of Ai.
26 Truly Joshua did not draw back his hand, which he had stretched out on high, keeping hold of the shield until all the inhabitants of Ai were put to death.
27 Then the sons of Israel divided among themselves the cattle and the plunder of the city, just as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 And he set fire to the city, and he caused it to be a perpetual tomb.
29 Also, he suspended the king on a gallows, until evening and the setting of the sun. And Joshua instructed, and they took down his dead body from the hanging tree. And they cast it at the very entrance of the city, gathering a great pile of stones upon it, which remains even to the present day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
31 just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed to the sons of Israel, and this was written in the book of the law of Moses: truly, an altar of uncut stones, which iron has not touched. And he offered holocausts upon it to the Lord, and he immolated victims as peace-offerings.
32 And he wrote on the stones, the Deuteronomy of the law of Moses, which he had set in order before the sons of Israel.
33 Then all the people, and those greater by birth, and the commanders and judges were standing on both sides of the ark, in the sight of the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with both the new arrival and the native born, one half part of them beside Mount Gerizim, and one half beside Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed. And first, certainly, he blessed the people of Israel.
34 After this, he read all the words of the blessing and the cursing, and all the things that were written in the book of the law.
35 He left nothing untouched out of those things that Moses had ordered, and he repeated everything before the entire multitude of Israel, with the women and the little ones, and the new arrivals who were staying among them.
1 And when these things were heard, all the kings across the Jordan, who lived among the mountains and plains, along the coastline and shores of the great sea, also those who were living near Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,
2 gathered themselves together, so that they might fight against Joshua and Israel, with one mind and with the same resolve.
3 But those who were living in Gibeon, hearing all that Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4 planning cleverly, took for themselves provisions, placing old sacks upon their donkeys, and wineskins that had torn and been sewed up,
5 and having very old shoes, which had been sewn with patches indicating their age, and being clothed in old garments, having also loaves, which they carried as food for the journey, which were hard and broken into pieces.
6 And they traveled to Joshua, who at that time was staying in the camp at Gilgal. And they said to him, and to all of Israel with him, “We have come from a far away land, desiring to make peace with you.” And the sons of Israel responded to them, and said,
7 Perhaps instead, you live in the land which ought to be ours by lot, and we would be unable to form a pact with you.
8 But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them: “But who are you? And where are you from?”
9 They responded: “Your servants have arrived, from a very far away land, in the name of the Lord, your God. For we have heard about the fame of his power, all the things that he has done in Egypt,
10 and to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan: Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.
11 And our elders, and all the inhabitants of our land, have said to us: ‘Take in hand provisions for the very long journey, and meet with them, and say: We are your servants; form a pact with us.’
12 Lo, the loaves were taken up warm when we departed from our houses, so that we might come to you. Now they have become dry and broken, due to age.
13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, now they are torn and broken. The garments we are wearing, and the shoes we have on our feet, due to the great length of the distance, have become worn and are nearly consumed.”
14 And so they accepted this, because of their provisions, and they did not consult the mouth of the Lord.
15 And Joshua made peace with them, and entering into a pact, he promised that they would not be put to death. The leaders of the multitude also swore to them.
16 Then, three days after the pact was formed, they heard that they lived in the vicinity, and that they would soon be among them.
17 And so the sons of Israel moved the camp, and they arrived at their cities on the third day, those which are called: Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
18 And they did not strike them, because the leaders of the multitude had sworn to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And so all of the common people murmured against the leaders.
19 And they responded to them: “We have sworn to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, and for that reason, we are not able to touch them.
20 But we shall do this to them: Certainly, let them be preserved so that they may live, lest the wrath of the Lord be stirred up against us, since we would have sworn falsely.
21 But though they live, let them serve the entire multitude by cutting wood and carrying water.” And while they were discussing these things,
22 Joshua called the Gibeonites, and he said to them: “Why would you be willing to deceive us by fraud, saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when you are in our midst?
23 Therefore, you shall be under a curse, and your stock shall not cease to be cutters of wood and carriers of water, into the house of my God.”
24 And they responded: “It was reported to us, your servants, that the Lord your God had promised his servant Moses that he would give you the entire land, and that he would destroy all its inhabitants. Therefore, we were very afraid, and we made a provision for our lives, compelled by the dread of you, and we undertook this counsel.
25 And now we are in your hand. Act toward us as it seems good and right to you.”
26 Therefore, Joshua did just as he had said, and he freed them from the hand of the sons of Israel, so that they would not be killed.
27 And he decreed on that day, that they would be in the ministry of all the people and of the altar of the Lord, cutting wood and carrying water, even until this present time, in the place which the Lord had chosen.
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27 And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the defensive walls of Ben-hadad.”
28 Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has struck down. Thus says the Lord: “Rise up and ascend to Kedar, and lay waste to the sons of the East.
29 They will seize their tabernacles and their flocks. And they will take for themselves their tents, and all their vessels, and their camels. And they will call down a terror upon them on every side.
30 Flee, go away urgently! Sit in deep pits, you who inhabit Hazor, says the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has undertaken a counsel against you, and he has devised plans against you.
31 Rise up, and ascend to a nation that is quiet and lives in confidence, says the Lord. They have neither gates nor bars. They dwell alone.
32 And their camels will be a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle will be a prey. And I will disperse, into every wind, those who have shaved their hair. And from all their confines, I will lead great destruction over them, says the Lord.
33 And Hazor will be a habitation for serpents, deserted even unto eternity. No man will abide there, nor will a son of man tend it.”
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, saying:
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, and the summit of their strength.
36 And I will lead the four winds over Elam, from the four corners of heaven. And I will scatter them into all these winds. And there will be no nation to which the fugitives of Elam will not travel.
37 And I will cause Elam to be terrified before their enemies and in the sight of those who seek their life. And I will lead an evil over them, the wrath of my fury, says the Lord. And I will send the sword after them, until I consume them.
38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and I will perish the kings and princes from there, says the Lord.
39 But in the last days, I will cause the captives of Elam to return, says the Lord.”
9 I have declared to thee my life: thou hast set my tears in thy sight, As also in thy promise.
10 Then shall my enemies be turned back. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, behold I know thou art my God.
11 In God will I praise the word, in the Lord will I praise his speech. In God have I hoped, I will not fear what man can do to me.
12 In me, O God, are vows to thee, which I will pay, praises to thee:
13 Because thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from falling: that I may please in the sight of God, in the light of the living.
22 For these are the days of retribution, so that all things may be fulfilled, which have been written.
23 Then woe to those who are pregnant or nursing in those days. For there will be great distress upon the land and great wrath upon this people.
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword. And they will be led away as captives into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles, until the times of the nations are fulfilled.
25 And there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. And there will be, on earth, distress among the Gentiles, out of confusion at the roaring of the sea and of the waves:
26 men withering away out of fear and out of apprehension over the things that will overwhelm the whole world. For the powers of the heavens will be moved.
27 And then they will see the Son of man coming on a cloud, with great power and majesty.
28 But when these things begin to happen, lift up your heads and look around you, because your redemption draws near.”
29 And he told them a comparison: “Take notice of the fig tree and of all the trees.
30 When presently they produce fruit from themselves, you know that summer is near.
31 So you also, when you will have seen these things happen, know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Amen I say to you, this lineage shall not pass away, until all these things happen.
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away. But my words shall not pass away.
34 But be attentive to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts may be weighed down by self-indulgence and inebriation and the cares of this life. And then that day may overwhelm you suddenly.
35 For like a snare it will overwhelm all those who sit upon the face of the entire earth.
36 And so, be vigilant, praying at all times, so that you may be held worthy to escape from all these things, which are in the future, and to stand before the Son of man.”
37 Now in the daytime, he was teaching in the temple. But truly, departing in the evening, he lodged on the mount that is called Olivet.
38 And all the people arrived in the morning to listen to him in the temple.
