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Joshua 8:4

2 And thou shalt do 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.

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 by night.

And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:

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, as at the first, that we will flee before them,

6 (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.

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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
with these orders: “Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready.
KJV
And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:
WEB
He commanded them, saying, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
ASV
And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city; go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:
DARBY
And he commanded them, saying, See, ye shall be in ambush against the city, behind the city: go not very far from the city, and be all of you ready.
BLB
And he commanded them, saying, “Behold, you⁺ shall lie in ambush against the city, from behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, and all of you⁺ be ready.
ÅB
Og han befalte dem og sa: Nå skal dere legge dere i bakhold mot byen, på vestsiden, ikke meget langt fra byen, og hold dere rede alle sammen!
OTB
med disse instruksene: "Se, dere skal legge et bakhold bak byen. Gå ikke langt fra den, men vær alle på vakt.
B1930
Og han bød dem og sa: Nu skal I legge eder i bakhold mot byen, på vestsiden, ikke meget langt fra byen, og hold eder rede alle sammen!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Judges 20:29

    And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.

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  • Ecclesiastes 9:16

    Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

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  • Acts 23:21

    But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.

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  • 1 Samuel 15:2

    Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

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  • Judges 9:25

    And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.

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  • 1 Samuel 15:5

    And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.

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  • Joshua 8:16

    And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.

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  • Judges 20:36

    So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.

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