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.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- 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:
- NKJV And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
- NASB He commanded them, saying, “See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
- NLT with these orders: “Hide in ambush close behind the town and be ready for action.
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
Joshua instructs the men to lie in ambush close behind the city and stay ready. Their hidden readiness is key to the plan.
Overview
The detailed instructions show Joshua exercising the leadership and strategic wisdom God granted him. The ambush depends on patience, positioning, and obedience to the appointed plan. The episode reminds readers that God often works his victories through ordinary means and the faithful obedience of his people to his appointed order.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Judg 20:29So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah.
- 1 Sam 15:5Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.
- Judg 20:33So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah.
- Judg 20:36Then the Benjamites realized they had been defeated. Now the men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin because they were relying on the ambush they had set against Gibeah.
- Acts 23:21Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”
- Josh 8:16Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
- Judg 9:25The leaders of Shechem set up an ambush against Abimelech on the hilltops, and they robbed all who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.
- Eccl 9:16And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
- Eccl 7:19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
- 1 Sam 15:2This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they ambushed them on their way up from Egypt.
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 8:4 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.