And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
They came back to Joshua and told him, 'Don't send all our people up there. Just send about two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Don't make everyone work hard by going there, because there aren't very many enemies.'
The spies are telling Joshua that conquering the city of Ai will be easy and they only need a small army because the enemy is weak.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs after Israel's victory at Jericho, when Joshua sent spies to scout the small city of Ai before attacking it. The spies were reporting back with what seemed like good military intelligence - that Ai was lightly defended and could be taken with minimal effort. However, they were unaware that Achan had secretly kept forbidden items from Jericho, which had broken Israel's covenant with God.
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