the Fourth Week of Advent
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Myles Coverdale Bible
Joshua 8
1 And ye LORDE saide vnto Iosua: Feare not, and be not afrayed. Take all the men of warre with the, and ryse, and get the vp vnto Hai. Beholde, I haue geuen in to thy hande, the kynge of Hai with his people in his cite & countre.2 And thou shalt do with Hai and the kynge of it, as thou dyddest with Iericho and the kynge therof, sauynge that ye shal deale amoge you their spoyle & catell: but set thou a preuy watch behynde the cite.
3 Then Iosua arose, and all ye men of warre, to go vp vnto Hai: and Iosua chose thirtie thousande fightinge men, and sent them out by night4 and commaunded them, and sayde: Take hede, ye shal be ye preuye watch behynde the cite, but go not to farre from the cite, and se that ye be redye alltogether.5 As for me and all the people that is with me, we wyll make vs to the cite. And whan they come forth agaynst vs ( as afore) we wyll flye before them,6 that they maye folowe out after vs, tyll we haue prouoked them forth of the cite: for they shal thinke that we flye before them, like as at ye first.7 And whyle we flye before them, ye shal get you vp out of the preuy watch, and wynne the cite. For ye LORDE youre God shal delyuer it in to youre handes.8 But whan ye haue wonne the cite, set fyre vpon it, doinge acordinge vnto the worde of the LORDE. Beholde, I haue commaunded you.9 So Iosua sent them awaye, & they wente vnto the place of the preuy watch, and laye betwixte Bethel and Hai, on the west syde of Hai. But Iosua abode that night amoge the people.
10 And in the mornynge he arose early, and set the people in order, and wente vp with the Elders of Israel before the people towarde Hai:11 and all the men of warre that were with him, wente vp, & gat them forth, and came ouer agaynst the cite, and pitched their tentes on the north syde of Hai, so yt there was but a valley betwene him and Hai.12 He had taken aboute a fyue thousande men, and set them in the hynder watch betwene Bethel and Hai, on the west syde of the cite,13 and they ordred the people of the whole hoost that was on the north syde of the cite, so that the vttemost of the people reached vnto the west ende of the cite. So Iosua wente the same nighte in to the myddes of the valley.14 But whan the kynge of Hai sawe that, he made haist, and gat him vp early, and the men out of the cite, to mete Israel to ye battayll, with all his people, euen righte before the felde: for he wyst not that there was a preuy watch behynde him on the backe syde of the cite.15 But Iosua and all Israel were feble before them, and fled by the waye to ye wyldernesse.16 Then cried all the people in the cite, that they shulde folowe vpon them, and they folowed after Iosua and rußshed out of the cite,17 so that there remayned not one man in Hai and Bethel, which wente not out to folowe vpon Israel, and they lefte the cite stondinge open, that they mighte persecute Israel.18 The sayde ye LORDE vnto Iosua: Reach out the speare that thou hast in thine hande, towarde Hai: for I wyll delyuer it in to thy hande. And whan Iosua reached out the speare that was in his hande, towarde ye cite,19 ye hinder watch brake vp out of their place, and ranne (whan he had stretched out his hande) and came in to the cite, and wanne it, and made haist, & set fyre vpon it.20 And the men of Hai turned them, and loked behynde them, and the smoke of the cite wente vp towarde heauen, and they had no place to flie vnto, nether hither ner thither: and the people that fled towarde the wyldernes turned aboute, to folowe vpon them.21 And whan Iosua and all Israel sawe, yt the hynder watch had wonne the cite (for ye smoke of the cite ascended) they turned againe, and smote the men of Hai.22 And they in the cite came forth also agaynst them, so yt they came in the myddes amonge Israel on both the sydes, and they slewe them, so that there was not one man of them left ouer or escaped:
23 and they toke the kynge of Hai alyue, and broughte him vnto Iosua.24 And wha Israel had slayne all the inhabiters of Hai, which had folowed vpon them in the felde and in the wildernesse: and whan they were all fallen thorow the edge of the swerde, tyll they were destroied, the turned all Israel vnto Hai, and smote it with the edge of ye swerde.25 And of all them which fell that daye fro man vnto woma, there were twolue thousande, all men of Hai.26 But Iosua withdrue not his hande (wherwith he reached out the speare) tyll all the inhabiters of Hai were vtterly destroyed,27 sauynge the catell and the spoyle of ye cite, dyd Israel parte amonge them selues, acordinge vnto the worde of the LORDE, which he comaunded Iosua.28 And Iosua burned vp Hai and made an heape therof for euer, which is there yet vnto this daye.29 And the kynge of Hai caused he to be hanged on a tre vntyll the euen. But wha the Sonne was gone downe, he commaunded to take his body from the tre, and to cast it vnder the gate of the cite, and made vpon him a greate heape of stones, which is there yet vnto this daye.
30 Then buylded Iosua an altare vnto the LORDE God of Israel vpon mount Ebal31 acordinge as Moses the seruaunt of ye LORDE commaunded the children of Israel, as it is wrytten in the boke of the lawe of Moses euen an altare of whole stone, whervpon there was no yron lifted: and he offred burntofferinges and healthofferinges,32 and there vpon the stones he wrote the seconde lawe of Moses, which he wrote before the childre of Israel.33 And all Israel with their Elders and officers and iudges, stode on both the sydes of the Arke, right ouer agaynst the prestes yt bare the Arke of the couenaunt of the LORDE, the straunger as well as one of them selues, the one halfe besyde mount Grysim, and the other halfe beside mount Ebal, as Moses the seruaunt of the LORDE commaunded afore, to blesse the people of Israel.34 Afterwarde caused he to proclame all the wordes of the lawe of the blessynge and cursynge, as it is wrytten in the boke of the lawe.35 There was not one worde that Moses commaunded, but Iosua caused it to be proclamed before all the congregacion of Israel, and before the weme, and children, and straugers which walked amonge them.
