Joshua 8:17

Modern

Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.

Traditional

And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth–el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

Literal

And there was left not a man in Ai and Bethel who did not go out after Israel. And they left the city open and pursued after Israel.

Latin

…et ne unus quidem in urbe Hai et Bethel remansisset qui non persequeretur Israël (sicut eruperant aperta oppida relinquentes),

Hebrew

English

Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.

Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel: Soldiers often gained from war by taking trophies from defeated enemies or receiving rewards from their king for each enemy killed.
The warriors of Bethel likely joined those of Ai because they feared Israel's advance.

Theme notes and profiles

Joshua 8:3
So Joshua and the whole army set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out at night
Joshua 11:20
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Isaiah 19:11–13
The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
Deuteronomy 2:30
But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.
Job 5:13
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
Joshua 8:24–25
When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had pursued them into the field and wilderness, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and put it to the sword as well.

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes

Ai: A Canaanite city conquered by Joshua after initial defeat Bethel: Important city in Israel, associated with Abraham and Jacob