Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageHe also positioned about five thousand men as a second ambush force between Bethel and Ai, on the western side of the city.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GHe took about five thousand men and posted them in ambush between Beit-El and Ha-Ai—to the west of the city.
KJV
King James VersionAnd he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleNow Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
Footnotes
The thirty thousand of v. 3 and the five thousand here have long puzzled interpreters. The most defensible reading is that the thirty thousand (*sheloshim elef*) represents the main assault force sent ahead by night, while the five thousand is a distinct inner ambush contingent positioned closer to the city gate. The LXX reads five thousand in v. 3 as well, suggesting a possible scribal expansion in the Hebrew MT. FOG and FOG Message both preserve the MT figures; the broader strategic sense holds in either reading.