Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, August 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Joshua 8:15

Joshua and the Israelite army fled toward the wilderness as though they were badly beaten.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ambush;   Armies;   Strategy;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Sieges;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ai;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ambush;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Arms;   Lot (1);   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ai;   Bethel;   Joshua, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ai;   Israel;   Joshua;   Make;   War;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Ai, Hai ;   Ambush, Ambushment;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ai;   Journeyings of israel from egypt to canaan;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Conquest of Canaan;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Make;   Natural Features;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Ai;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Wilderness;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness.
Hebrew Names Version
Yehoshua and all Yisra'el made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
King James Version
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Lexham English Bible
Then Joshua and all Israel acted like they were beaten before them, and they fled in the direction of the wilderness.
English Standard Version
And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness.
New Century Version
Joshua and all the men of Israel let the army of Ai push them back. Then they ran toward the desert.
New English Translation
Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them and they retreated along the way to the desert.
Amplified Bible
So Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them, and ran toward the wilderness.
New American Standard Bible
Then Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Ioshua and all Israel as beaten before them, fled by the way of the wildernes.
Legacy Standard Bible
And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Complete Jewish Bible
Y'hoshua and all Isra'el made as if they had been defeated before them and ran off on the road to the desert.
Darby Translation
And Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten before them; and they fled by the way of the wilderness.
Easy-to-Read Version
Joshua and all the men of Israel let the army of Ai push them back. Joshua and his men began running east toward the desert.
George Lamsa Translation
And Joshua and all Israel scattered before them to flee by way of the wilderness.
Good News Translation
Joshua and his men pretended that they were retreating, and ran away toward the barren country.
Literal Translation
And Joshua and all Israel were stricken before them, and they fled the way of the wilderness.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Iosua and all Israel were feble before them, and fled by the waye to ye wyldernesse.
American Standard Version
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Bible in Basic English
Then Joshua and all Israel, acting as if they were overcome before them, went in flight by way of the waste land.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iosuah & all Israel as beaten before them, fledde by the way of the wildernesse.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
King James Version (1611)
And Ioshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wildernesse.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joshua and Israel saw, and retreated from before them.
English Revised Version
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Berean Standard Bible
Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Josue and al the multitude `of Israel yauen place, feynynge drede, and fleynge bi the weie of wildirnesse; and thei crieden togidere,
Young's Literal Translation
And Joshua and all Israel [seem] stricken before them, and flee the way of the wilderness,
Update Bible Version
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
World English Bible
Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
New King James Version
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
New Life Bible
Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten in front of them. And they ran away into the desert.
New Revised Standard
And Joshua and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them, and fled in the direction of the wilderness.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then Joshua and all Israel suffered themselves to be smitten before them, - and fled, by the way of the wilderness;
Douay-Rheims Bible
But Josue, and all Israel gave back, making as if they were afraid, and fleeing by the way of the wilderness.
Revised Standard Version
And Joshua and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them, and fled in the direction of the wilderness.
THE MESSAGE
Joshua and all Israel let themselves be chased; they ran toward the wilderness. Everybody in the city was called to the chase. They pursued Joshua and were led away from the city. There wasn't a soul left in Ai or Bethel who wasn't out there chasing after Israel. The city was left empty and undefended as they were chasing Israel down.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

Contextual Overview

9 So they left and went to the place of ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai. But Joshua remained among the people in the camp that night. 10 Early the next morning Joshua roused his men and started toward Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel. 11 All the fighting men who were with Joshua marched in front of the town and camped on the north side of Ai, with a valley between them and the town. 12 That night Joshua sent about 5,000 men to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the town. 13 So they stationed the main army north of the town and the ambush west of the town. Joshua himself spent that night in the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw the Israelites across the valley, he and all his army hurried out early in the morning and attacked the Israelites at a place overlooking the Jordan Valley. But he didn't realize there was an ambush behind the town. 15 Joshua and the Israelite army fled toward the wilderness as though they were badly beaten. 16 Then all the men in the town were called out to chase after them. In this way, they were lured away from the town. 17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not chase after the Israelites, and the town was left wide open.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

by the way: Joshua 18:12

Reciprocal: Joshua 16:1 - the water Judges 20:32 - Let us flee Judges 20:36 - for the men

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them,.... Or smitten, as some of them might be in the pursuit:

and fled by the way of the wilderness; not a barren desert, but, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, a place for the pasture of cattle; though perhaps it is the same with the wilderness of Bethaven,

Joshua 18:12. Epiphanius w makes mention of the wilderness of Bethel and Ephraim as near Jericho.

w Contr. Haeres. l. 1. tom. 2.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile