New International Version
Joshua 8:28
28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So Joshua burned the town of Ai, and it became a permanent mound of ruins, desolate to this very day.
Context of Joshua 8:28
26For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. 27But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day. 30Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the 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 13:16You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt,
- 2 Kings 19:25“ ‘Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone.
- Isaiah 17:1A prophecy against Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.
- Isaiah 25:2You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
- Jeremiah 9:11“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”
- Jeremiah 49:2But the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it will become a mound of ruins, and its surrounding villages will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 50:26Come against her from afar. Break open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain. Completely destroy her and leave her no remnant.
- Micah 3:12Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
- Joshua 4:9Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries