Joshua himself, with his men, will attack Ai frontally, that is, from the east, and when its soldiers come out to fight the Israelites, Joshua and his men will flee, as they did in the first attempt to capture the city (7.4-5). This will draw the soldiers of Ai away from the city, and then the Israelite soldiers who have been in ambush west of the city will be able to capture it unopposed; it will be the Lord’s victory (verse 7). The city is to be set on fire (verse 8).

My men and I may be more clearly translated “The rest of the men and I” or “The men who are with me.”

Will approach the city may need to be further described by “from the front.”

Come out against us means “come out and attack us.” Instead of beginning this sentence with a subordinate temporal clause (When …), it is possible to begin “The men of Ai will come out and attack us, but we will turn and run, just as we did the first time.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .