There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not chase after the Israelites, and the town was left wide open.
Parallel translations
- WEB There was not a man left in Ai or Beth El who didn’t go out after Israel. They left the city open, and pursued Israel.
- KJV And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
- BSB Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.
- NKJV There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel.
- NASB So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel, but they had all gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Not a man remains in Ai or Bethel; all go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open. The enemy's total commitment ensures their destruction.
Overview
The emptying of both cities shows how thoroughly the ruse succeeded and how God hardened the enemy to their own downfall. The open, defenseless city now lies ready for the ambush to seize. The total pursuit fulfills the plan and sets up the decisive reversal that follows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Deut 2:30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as it is today.
- Josh 11:20For it was of Yahweh to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- Josh 8:3So Joshua arose, with all the warriors, to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them out by night.
- Isa 19:11–13The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?”
- Job 5:13He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
- Josh 8:24–25When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, all Israel returned to Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 8:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.