Joshua 8:3-11

³So Joshua and the fighting-men got ready to go up against Ai; and Joshua took thirty thousand men of war, and sent them out by night.

⁴And he gave them their orders, saying, Go and take up your position secretly at the back of the town: do not go very far away, and let all of you be ready:

⁵And I and all the people with me will come near the town, and when they come out against us as they did before, we will go in flight from them;

⁶And they will come out after us, till we have got them away from the town; for they will say, They have gone in flight from us as before; so we will go in flight before them;

⁷Then you will get up from your secret position and take the town, for the Lord your God will give it up into your hands.

⁸And when you have taken the town, put fire to it, as the Lord has said: see, I have given you your orders.

⁹So Joshua sent them out: and they took up a secret position between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua kept with the people that night.

¹⁰And early in the morning Joshua got up, and put the people in order, and he and the chiefs of Israel went up before the people to Ai.

¹¹And all the fighting-men who were with him went up and came near the town, and took up a position on the north side of Ai facing the town, with a valley between him and the town.