you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
Parallel translations
- WEB and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city; for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.
- KJV Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
- NKJV Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
- NASB Then you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will hand it over to you.
- NLT you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the town, for the Lord your God will give it to you.
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
Once the city is undefended, the ambush is to rise, seize Ai, and trust Yahweh to deliver it into their hand. Victory is assured by God's promise.
Overview
Joshua grounds the soldiers' confidence not in their tactics but in Yahweh who will give the city. Human strategy and divine promise work together, with the outcome resting on God's word. This union of obedient action and reliance on God's deliverance is a steady biblical pattern for those who serve him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Prov 21:30–31There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- 2 Kgs 5:1Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
- Josh 8:1Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
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 8:7 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.