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Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
Joshua 8:7 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB you are to rise from the ambush and seize 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 nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
  • 2 Kgs 5:1Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
  • Josh 8:1And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joshua videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joshua 8:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoshuaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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.