Joshua 8:4

4 He gave them orders. He said, "Listen carefully to what I'm saying. You must hide behind the city. Don't go very far away from it. All of you must be ready to attack it.

Joshua 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:4

And he commanded them, saying
At the time he sent them away;

behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, [even] behind the city;
that is, on the west side of it, ( Joshua 8:9 ) ;

go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready;
to enter into it, as soon as the forces are drawn out eastward to meet the army of Israel.

Joshua 8:4 In-Context

2 "Remember what you did to Jericho and its king. You will do the same thing to Ai and its king. But this time you can keep for yourselves the livestock and everything else you take from them. Have some of your fighting men hide behind the city and take them by surprise."

3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent them out at night.

4 He gave them orders. He said, "Listen carefully to what I'm saying. You must hide behind the city. Don't go very far away from it. All of you must be ready to attack it.

5 "I and all of the men who are with me will go up to the city. The men of Ai will come out to fight against us, just as they did before. Then we'll run away from them.

6 They'll chase us until we've drawn them away from the city. They'll say, 'They are running away from us, just as they did before.' "When we run away from them,