1El SEÑOR le dijo a Josué: «No temas ni desmayes, toma contigo toda la gente de guerra, y levántate y sube a Hai. La he entregado en tus manos para que la conquistes. He entregado en tus manos al rey de Hai y a todo su pueblo, su ciudad y su tierra.2Harás con ellos lo mismo que hiciste con Jericó y su rey. Pero esta vez podrán quedarse con el botín y el ganado. Prepara una emboscada detrás de la ciudad».3-4Antes que todos los hombres de guerra emprendieran la marcha hacia Hai, Josué envió treinta mil soldados de entre los más valientes para que emboscaran por detrás a Hai y estuvieran listos para entrar en acción.5«Este es el plan —les explicó—. Cuando ataquemos, los hombres de Hai saldrán a pelear de la manera que lo hicieron antes, entonces, nosotros huiremos.6Dejaremos que nos persigan hasta que todos hayan salido de la ciudad. Dirán: “Los israelitas están huyendo nuevamente”.7Entonces ustedes saldrán de su escondite y entrarán en la ciudad, porque el SEÑOR nos la entregó.8Prendan fuego a la ciudad como el SEÑOR lo ha ordenado. Bien, ya saben lo que tienen que hacer».9Se pusieron en marcha aquella noche y tendieron una emboscada entre Betel y el lado occidental de Hai. Pero Josué y el resto de los hombres se quedaron en el campamento de Jericó.10A la mañana siguiente, temprano, Josué hizo que sus hombres se levantaran y emprendieron la marcha hacia Hai acompañados por los ancianos de Israel,11-13y se detuvieron a la orilla de un valle al norte de la ciudad. Aquella noche Josué envió otros cinco mil hombres a que se unieran a los soldados que estaban emboscados en el lado occidental de la ciudad, y él pasó la noche en el valle.14El rey de Hai, al ver a los israelitas al otro lado del valle, salió en la madrugada y los atacó en la llanura del Arabá; pero no sabía que había una emboscada detrás de la ciudad.15Josué y todo Israel huyeron a través del desierto como si estuvieran completamente derrotados,16y todos los soldados de la ciudad salieron en su persecución. La ciudad quedó indefensa.17No quedó un solo soldado en Hai, y las puertas de la ciudad quedaron abiertas de par en par.18Entonces el SEÑOR le dijo a Josué: «Levanta tu lanza hacia Hai porque te entregaré la ciudad».19Cuando los hombres que estaban ocultos vieron la señal, salieron de su escondite y entraron en la ciudad y la tomaron y sin perder tiempo le prendieron fuego.20-21Los hombres de Hai miraron hacia atrás y vieron que el humo de la ciudad llenaba el cielo, y no supieron qué hacer. Pero cuando Josué y sus soldados vieron el humo, se dieron cuenta que los hombres que habían estado listos para emboscar a Hai habían entrado en la ciudad, de modo que dieron media vuelta y comenzaron a atacar a sus perseguidores.22Los israelitas que estaban dentro de la ciudad salieron y comenzaron a atacar a sus enemigos por la retaguardia. Los hombres de Hai cayeron en la trampa y todos murieron. Ninguno sobrevivió ni escapó,23salvo el rey de Hai que fue capturado y llevado a la presencia de Josué.24Cuando Israel terminó la matanza de todos los que estaban fuera de la ciudad, regresaron y acabaron con todos los que quedaban en ella.25De esta manera todos los habitantes de Hai, doce mil en total, fueron exterminados en ese día.26Josué había mantenido su lanza señalando hacia Hai hasta que la última persona murió.27Solamente el ganado y el botín no fueron destruidos, porque los israelitas conservaron estas cosas para sí mismos. El SEÑOR le había dicho a Josué que podían hacerlo.28Así Hai se convirtió en un desolado montón de ruinas, y así permanece hasta el día de hoy.29Josué colgó al rey de Hai de un árbol hasta la tarde, pero cuando el sol estaba declinando bajó el cuerpo, lo arrojó frente al portón de la ciudad, y lo cubrió con un montón de piedras que todavía está allí.
Lectura de la ley en el monte Ebal
30Luego Josué construyó un altar al SEÑOR Dios de Israel en el monte Ebal31de la manera que Moisés le había ordenado en el libro de la ley. «Hazme un altar de piedras que no hayan sido labradas ni talladas con hierro», había dicho el SEÑOR. Entonces allí los israelitas ofrecieron holocaustos y ofrendas de paz al SEÑOR.32Y mientras el pueblo de Israel observaba, Josué grabó sobre las piedras del altar cada uno de los Diez Mandamientos.33Todo el pueblo de Israel, incluidos los ancianos, los oficiales, los jueces, y los extranjeros que vivían entre el pueblo se dividieron en dos grupos, la mitad de ellos al pie del monte Guerizín y la otra mitad al pie del monte Ebal. Entre ellos estaban de pie los sacerdotes con el cofre, listos para pronunciar la bendición. (Todo esto fue hecho de acuerdo con las instrucciones que Moisés había dejado).34Josué entonces les leyó todas las bendiciones y maldiciones que Moisés había escrito en el libro de la ley de Dios.35Cada mandamiento que Moisés les había dado fue leído delante de toda la asamblea, incluyendo a las mujeres, a los niños y a los extranjeros que vivían en medio de Israel.
1And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. (Dt 1:21; Dt 7:18; Dt 31:8; Jos 1:9; Jos 2:24; Jos 6:2; Jos 10:25)2And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.” (Dt 20:14; Jos 6:21; Jos 8:27)3So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night.4And he commanded them, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready. (Jue 20:29)5And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them. (Jos 7:5)6And they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us, just as before.’ So we will flee before them. (Jos 8:16)7Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will give it into your hand.8And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.” (2 S 13:28)9So Joshua sent them out. And they went to the place of ambush and lay between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai, but Joshua spent that night among the people.10Joshua arose early in the morning and mustered the people and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.11And all the fighting men who were with him went up and drew near before the city and encamped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. (Jos 8:5)12He took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.13So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley.14And as soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the men of the city, hurried and went out early to the appointed place[1] toward the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. (Dt 1:1; Jue 20:34)15And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. (Jue 20:36)16So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. (Jos 8:6)17Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.18Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. (Jos 8:26)19And the men in the ambush rose quickly out of their place, and as soon as he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it. And they hurried to set the city on fire.20So when the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers.21And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.22And the others came out from the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And Israel struck them down, until there was left none that survived or escaped. (Dt 7:2)23But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him near to Joshua.24When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword.25And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai.26But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction.[2] (Jos 8:18)27Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder, according to the word of the Lord that he commanded Joshua. (Jos 8:2)28So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day. (Dt 13:16)29And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day. (Dt 21:23; Jos 7:26; Jos 10:26)
Joshua Renews the Covenant
30At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, (Ex 20:24; Dt 27:4)31just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings.32And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. (Dt 27:2)33And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. (Dt 11:29; Dt 27:11; Dt 31:9; Dt 31:12; Dt 31:25)34And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. (Dt 28:2; Dt 30:19; Dt 31:11; Neh 8:2; Neh 13:1)35There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived[3] among them. (Dt 31:12; Jos 8:33)