But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
Parallel translations
- WEB They captured the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua.
- KJV And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
- NKJV But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
- NASB But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
- NLT Only the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
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
The king of Ai is captured alive and brought to Joshua. The leader of the enemy is taken to face judgment.
Overview
Taking the king alive sets up the public execution that will mark the completeness of God's judgment on Ai. The capture of the head of the city symbolizes the total defeat of its power. The scene continues the pattern of God subduing the kings of Canaan before his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Sam 15:8He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.
- Josh 8:29He hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.
- Josh 10:17And Joshua was informed: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
- Rev 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
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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 8:23 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.