And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; but at sunset Joshua gave the command and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and erected over it a large heap of stones that stands to this day.
Parallel translations
- WEB He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening, and at sundown 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 a great heap of stones on it that remains to this day.
- KJV And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.
- BSB He 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.
- NKJV And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
- NLT Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.
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 hanged on a tree until evening, then taken down and buried under a heap of stones at the gate. Judgment is executed in keeping with God's law.
Overview
The taking down of the body before nightfall obeys the Mosaic law that one hanged on a tree must not remain overnight, lest the land be defiled (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). That very law is quoted by Paul to declare that Christ became a curse for us by hanging on the tree (Galatians 3:13). The heap of stones, like Achan's, stands as a lasting memorial of God's judgment on his enemies.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Deut 21:22–23If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree;
- Josh 7:26They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Yahweh turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore the name of that place was called “The valley of Achor” to this day.
- 2 Sam 18:17They took Absalom and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Then all Israel fled, each to his own tent.
- Ps 110:5The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
- Josh 10:26–28Afterward Joshua struck them, put them to death, and hanged them on five trees. They were hanging on the trees until the evening.
- Rev 19:17–18I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, “Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God,
- Esth 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
- Acts 12:23Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
- Ps 107:40He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
- Josh 10:33Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he had left him no one remaining.
- Josh 10:30Yahweh delivered it also, with its king, into the hand of Israel. He struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were in it. He left no one remaining in it. He did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
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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 8:29 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
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