Joshua 7:5

3 On returning to Joshua, they reported, “There is no need to send all the people; two or three thousand men are enough to go up and attack Ai. Since the people of Ai are so few, you need not wear out all our people there.”

4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled before the men of Ai.

And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

7 “O, Lord GOD,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
KJV
And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
WEB
The men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them. They chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and struck them at the descent. The hearts of the people melted, and became like water.
ASV
And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; and they chased them [from] before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them at the descent; and the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
DARBY
And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty-six men; and they pursued them from before the gate to Shebarim, and smote them on the descent. Then the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
BLB
And the men of Ai struck down from them about thirty and six men, and they chased them from the face of the gate as far as Shebarim, and they struck them down on the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became water.
ÅB
Og Ai-mennene slo ihjel omkring seks og tretti mann av dem og forfulgte dem fra porten like til stenbruddene og hugg dem ned i bakkene; da ble folkets hjerte fullt av angst, og deres mot ble rent borte.
OTB
Mennene fra Ai slo ned omkring trettiseks av dem, jaget dem fra byporten til steinbruddene og slo dem ned på skråningene. Folkets hjerter smeltet og ble som vann.
B1930
Og Ai-mennene slo ihjel omkring seks og tretti mann av dem og forfulgte dem fra porten like til stenbruddene og hugg dem ned i bakkene; da blev folkets hjerte fullt av angst, og deres mot blev rent borte.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Joshua 2:9

    and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.

    Read in context
  • Joshua 2:11

    When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.

    Read in context
  • Leviticus 26:36

    As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.

    Read in context
  • Deuteronomy 1:44

    Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.

    Read in context
  • Nahum 2:10

    She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!

    Read in context
  • Psalms 22:14

    I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 13:7

    Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.

    Read in context
  • Joshua 5:1

    Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.

    Read in context