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Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) When the men from Ay turned and looked behind them, the smoke from their city was going up into the sky, but they had nowhere to escape to. Then Yehoshua’s men who’d been fleeing towards the wilderness turned back around towards their pursuers
OET-LV And_looked the_men the_ˊAy back_them and_they_saw and_see/lo/see it_went_up the_smoke the_city the_sky_to and_not it_was in/among_them hands to_flee hither and_that and_the_people the_fleeing the_wilderness it_turned_back against the_pursuers.
UHB וַיִּפְנ֣וּ אַנְשֵׁי֩ הָעַ֨י אַחֲרֵיהֶ֜ם וַיִּרְא֗וּ וְהִנֵּ֨ה עָלָ֜ה עֲשַׁ֤ן הָעִיר֙ הַשָּׁמַ֔יְמָה וְלֹא־הָיָ֨ה בָהֶ֥ם יָדַ֛יִם לָנ֖וּס הֵ֣נָּה וָהֵ֑נָּה וְהָעָם֙ הַנָּ֣ס הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר נֶהְפַּ֖ךְ אֶל־הָרוֹדֵֽף׃ ‡
(vayyifnū ʼanshēy hāˊay ʼaḩₐrēyhem vayyirʼū vəhinnēh ˊālāh ˊₐshan hāˊīr hashshāmaymāh vəloʼ-hāyāh ⱱāhem yādayim lānūş hēnnāh vāhēnnāh vəhāˊām hannāş hammidbār nehpak ʼel-hārōdēf.)
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXX Καὶ περιβλέψαντες οἱ κάτοικοι Γαὶ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐθεώρουν καπνὸν ἀναβαίνοντα ἐκ τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν· καὶ οὐκ ἔτι εἶχον ποῦ φύγωσιν ὧδε ἢ ὧδε.
(Kai periblepsantes hoi katoikoi Gai eis ta opisō autōn, kai etheōroun kapnon anabainonta ek taʸs poleōs eis ton ouranon; kai ouk eti eiⱪon pou fugōsin hōde aʸ hōde. )
BrTr And when the inhabitants of Gai looked round behind them, then they saw the smoke going up out of the city to heaven, and they were no longer able to flee this way or that way.
ULT And the men of the Ai turned behind them and looked, and behold, the smoke of the city went up to the heavens! And it was not in their hands to flee here or there. And the people who had fled to the wilderness turned around toward the pursuers.
UST When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from their city. But they could not escape, because the Israelite troops stopped running away and had turned around and now were facing the army that had been coming after them.
BSB § When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.
OEB No OEB JOS 8:20 verse available
WEBBE When the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way. The people who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET When the men of Ai turned around, they saw the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers.
LSV And the men of Ai look behind them, and see, and behold, the smoke of the city has gone up to the heavens, and there has not been power in them to flee here and there—and the people who are fleeing to the wilderness have turned against the pursuer—
FBV When the men of Ai looked back they saw the smoke rising up into the sky from the town. They had nowhere to run to, because the Israelites who had been running away towards the wilderness now turned on their pursuers.
T4T When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from their city. But they could not escape, because the Israeli troops stopped running away.
LEB Then the men of Ai looked behind them, and they saw smoke from the city rising to the sky; they had no power to flee this way or that,[fn] and the people fleeing the wilderness turned around to the pursuers.[fn]
BBE Then the men of Ai, looking back, saw the smoke of the town going up to heaven, and were unable to go this way or that: and the people who had gone in flight to the waste land were turned back on those who were coming after them.
Moff In the morning the townsmen rose and marched out to fight Israel. They beat Joshua and all Israel, who fled in the direction of the desert; 16 all the townsmen of Ai were called out to pursue them, and in their pursuit of Joshua they left the town unguarded. Then said the Eternal to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin in your hand towards Ai, for I put Ai in your power.” And as soon as Joshua stretched out the javelin 19 towards the town, the men in ambush rushed into the town and captured it, while the Israelites who were flying towards the desert turned upon their pursuers, seeing that the men in ambush had captured the town. When the Israelites and Joshua had finished slaughtering the townsmen of Ai who had run into the desert and when they had cut them down, giving no quarter, all Israel then returned to Ai and sacked it. All the folk of Ai fell that day, both men and women, twelve thousand in all; Joshua never withdrew the hand that held his javelin until he had massacred all the folk of Ai. Only the Israelites took the spoils and cattle of the town for themselves, as the Eternal had given orders to Joshua. Ai itself Joshua burned, and made it a heap of ruins; to this day it lies desolate. When the king of Ai saw this, he and his men made an early start; not knowing that an ambush had been laid behind the town they allowed themselves to be drawn away from the town, till not a man was left in Ai who did not go out after Israel. The men in ambush then came out quickly and hurried to set the town on fire, so that when the men of Ai turned round to look, there was smoke rising from the town! They had no chance to flee this way or that, for the pursued turned upon the pursuers when they saw the smoke rising from the town, and the men in ambush rushed from the town to join them, so that the men of Ai were caught between Israelites, some on one side and some on the other; they were slaughtered till not a soul escaped or remained alive. The king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua, who hung him on a tree till evening; at sunset Joshua ordered his body to be taken down from the tree and thrown down at the entrance to the town-gate. They raised a cairn of stones over it, which is there to this day.
JPS And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way; and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
ASV And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
DRA And the men of the city, that pursued after Josue, looking back and seeing the smoke of the city rise up to heaven, had no more power to flee this way or that way: especially as they that had counterfeited flight, and were going toward the wilderness, turned back most valiantly against them that pursued.
YLT And the men of Ai look behind them, and see, and lo, the smoke of the city hath gone up unto the heavens, and there hath not been in them power to flee hither and thither — and the people who are fleeing to the wilderness have turned against the pursuer, —
Drby And the men of Ai turned and saw, and behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way; and the people that fled to the wilderness turned upon the pursuers.
RV And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
Wbstr And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
KJB-1769 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.[fn]
8.20 power: Heb. hand
KJB-1611 [fn]And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended vp to heauen, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wildernesse, turned backe vpon the pursuers.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)
8:20 Heb. hand.
Bshps And when the men of Ai loked backe after them, they sawe the smoke of the citie ascend vp to heauen, and they had no place to flee either this way or that: and the people that fled to the wildernes, turned backe againe vpon the folowers.
(And when the men of Ai looked back after them, they saw the smoke of the city ascend up to heaven, and they had no place to flee either this way or that: and the people that fled to the wildernes, turned back again upon the folowers.)
Gnva And the men of Ai looked behinde them, and sawe it: for loe, the smoke of the citie ascended vp to heauen, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: for the people that fled to the wildernesse, turned backe vpon the pursuers.
(And the men of Ai looked behind them, and saw it: for lo, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: for the people that fled to the wilderness, turned back upon the pursuers. )
Cvdl 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.
(And the men of Hai turned them, and looked behind them, and the smoke of the cite went up towarde heaven, and they had no place to flie unto, neither hither nor thither/there: and the people that fled towarde the wilderness turned about, to follow upon them.)
Wycl Forsothe the men of the citee, that pursueden Josue, bihelden, and siyen the smoke of the citee stie `til to heuene; and thei myyten no more fle hidur and thidur; most sithen thei that hadden feyned fliyt, and yeden to wildirnesse, withstoden stronglieste `ayens the pursueris.
(Forsothe the men of the city, that pursuedn Yosue, bihelden, and siyen the smoke of the city stie `til to heaven; and they myyten no more flee hidur and thither/there; most since they that had feyned fliyt, and went to wilderness, withstoden stronglieste `ayens the pursueris.)
Luth Und die Männer von Ai wandten sich und sahen hinter sich und sahen den Rauch der Stadt aufgehen gen Himmel und hatten nicht Raum zu fliehen, weder hin noch her. Und das Volk, das zur Wüste floh, kehrete sich um, ihnen nachzujagen.
(And the men from Ai wandten itself/yourself/themselves and saw behind itself/yourself/themselves and saw the Rauch the/of_the city aufgehen to/toward heaven and hatten not space to fliehen, weder there still her. And the people, the to desert floh, returned itself/yourself/themselves um, to_them nachzujagen.)
ClVg Viri autem civitatis, qui persequebantur Josue, respicientes et videntes fumum urbis ad cælum usque conscendere, non potuerunt ultra huc illucque diffugere: præsertim cum hi qui simulaverant fugam, et tendebant ad solitudinem, contra persequentes fortissime restitissent.
(Viri however of_the_city, who persequebantur Yosue, respicientes and videntes fumum urbis to the_sky until conscendere, not/no potuerunt ultra huc illucque diffugere: præsertim when/with hi who simulaverant fugam, and tendebant to solitudinem, on_the_contrary persequentes fortissime restitissent. )
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations
וְהִנֵּ֨ה
and=see/lo/see!
The author is using the term behold to focus attention on what happens next in this story. Your language may have a comparable expression that you could use in your translation.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
וְלֹא־הָיָ֨ה בָהֶ֥ם יָדַ֛יִם לָנ֖וּס הֵ֣נָּה וָהֵ֑נָּה
and=not it_became in/among=them power to,flee (Some words not found in UHB: and,looked men_of the,Ai back,them and=they_saw and=see/lo/see! rising smoke the=city the,sky,to and=not it_became in/among=them power to,flee they(f) and,that and,the,people the,fleeing the,wilderness turned_back to/towards the,pursuers )
Here, hand represents the capability of a person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. This statement seems to introduce the action that the author describes in the rest of this verse and in the next two verses, in which the soldiers from Ai and Bethel become surrounded by the Israelite soldiers. Alternate translation: “and it was not possible for them to flee here or there”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
הֵ֣נָּה וָהֵ֑נָּה
(Some words not found in UHB: and,looked men_of the,Ai back,them and=they_saw and=see/lo/see! rising smoke the=city the,sky,to and=not it_became in/among=them power to,flee they(f) and,that and,the,people the,fleeing the,wilderness turned_back to/towards the,pursuers )
The author is speaking of two things in order to mean them and everything in between. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: “anywhere”
Joshua 8
[Author’s note: This map and article assume that Ai was located at Khirbet al-Maqatir and Bethel was located at al-Bira. It is beyond the scope of this article to present all the convincing reasons for these assumptions, but they are well summarized in the following articles: “Traditional Site of Bethel Questioned,” “Location of Biblical Bethel and Ai Reconsidered,” and “The Khirbet el-Maqatir Excavations.” The expected locations for Roman mile markers are also included on this map, which confirm that al-Bira is located precisely at the twelfth mile marker from Jerusalem, as Eusebius and Jerome both asserted. All other maps in this Atlas have been recently updated to use these same locations for Ai and Bethel.
Soon after the Israelites entered the Promised Land and captured the city of Jericho, they sent a force of only three thousand men to capture the much smaller fortified town of Ai (Joshua 7). They suffered defeat, however, and the Lord revealed to them that this happened because a man named Achan had taken some of the devoted items from Jericho. So Joshua took Achan and his family to the Valley of Achor and executed them there (see Israel Enters the Promised Land map). Later the Lord told Joshua to attack Ai again, because this time he was going to give them the town. It appears that Ai, which had a direct line of sight to the more powerful city of Jerusalem to the south, must have served as a sort of early warning outpost for the larger city. Thus, capturing Ai was critical to staging an effective battle campaign throughout southern Canaan. So Joshua advanced with thirty thousand troops during the night and camped north of the city, and he positioned a force of five thousand men in ambush between Bethel and Ai, just to the west of Ai. The men in ambush were also just east of the mountain where Abraham had pitched his tent centuries earlier (Genesis 12:8). Joshua himself spent the night in the valley between Ai and the main Israelite camp. Early the next morning, the king of Ai led all the inhabitants of the town in an attack on the main camp of the Israelites, who feigned retreat into the wilderness. After the Israelite army had drawn the people of Ai away from the town, the Israelites hiding in ambush rose up and captured Ai. They set the town on fire, sending a signal to the the main army of Israelites to turn back upon the forces of Ai. The Israelites completely destroyed the people of Ai and reduced the town to a burning heap of ruins.