7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho 1 to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel 2 ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. 7:3 They returned and reported to Joshua, 3 “Don’t send the whole army. 4 About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. 5 Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.” 6
7:4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. 7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures 7 and defeated them on the steep slope. 8 The people’s 9 courage melted away like water. 10