God’s Word Translation
Joshua 8:28
28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a deserted mound of ruins. It is still in ruins today.
Joshua 8:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.
- New International Version (NIV)So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day.
Context of Joshua 8:28
26Joshua did not lower his hand holding the spear until he had completely destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27Israel took the loot and the livestock of that city for themselves, as the Lord had commanded Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a deserted mound of ruins. It is still in ruins today. 29Joshua hung the king of Ai’s ⌞dead body⌟ on a pole and left him there until evening. When the sun went down, Joshua gave the order to take his body down. They threw it in the entrance of the city and made a large pile of stones over it. That pile is still there today. 30At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord God of Israel.
Read all of Joshua 8Joshua 8:28 word by word
וַיִּשְׂרֹ֥ף יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ אֶת־הָעָ֑י וַיְשִׂימֶ֤הָ תֵּל־עוֹלָם֙ שְׁמָמָ֔ה עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- Aiעַי‛ay ‛ayâ' ‛ayâth · AiH5857
- and madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- it an heapתֵּלtêl · moundH8510
- for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- a desolationשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
- unto this dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
Cross-references for Joshua 8:28
- Deuteronomy 13:16Gather their goods into the middle of the city square. Then burn their city and all their goods as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. It must remain a mound of ruins and never be rebuilt.
- 2 Kings 19:25“ ‘Haven’t you heard? I did this long ago. I planned it in the distant past. Now I make it happen so that you will turn fortified cities into piles of rubble.
- Isaiah 17:1This is the divine revelation about Damascus. “Damascus will no longer be a city. It will become a pile of rubble.
- Isaiah 25:2You have turned cities into ruins, fortified cities into piles of rubble, and foreigners’ palaces into cities that will never be rebuilt.
- Jeremiah 9:11I will turn Jerusalem into a pile of rubble, a home for jackals. I will destroy the cities of Judah so that no one can live there.
- Jeremiah 49:2That is why the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah, where the people of Ammon live. It will become a pile of rubble. Its villages will be burned down. Then Israel will take possession of its inheritance, says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 50:26Attack them from a distance, open their storehouses, pile up their corpses like piles of grain, claim them for me by destroying them, and don’t leave anyone behind.
- Micah 3:12Because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble, and the temple mountain will become a worship site covered with trees.
- Joshua 4:9Joshua also set 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan River, where the priests who carried the ark of the promise had stood. The stones are still there today.
Commentaries on Joshua 8:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Unto this day - This last clause was probably added by a later hand.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-29Verses 23-29 God, the righteous Judge, had sentenced the Canaanites for their wickedness; the Israelites only executed his doom. None of their conduct can be drawn into an example for others. Especial reason no doubt there was for this severity to the king of Ai; it is likely he had been notoriously wicked and vile, and a blasphemer of the God of Israel.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28Before its destruction, the town of Ai had a different name that is now unknown. The writer of the book of Joshua always called the town Ai, which means “ruin.” This name reflects what the town became after it was destroyed.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever--"For ever" often signifies "a long time" (Ge 6:3). One of the remarkable things with regard to the tell we have identified with Ai is its name--the tell of the heap of stones--a name which to this day remains [Van De Velde].Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 8:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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