35 Bible Verses about Ambush

And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed; take all the people of war with thee and arise; go up to Ai. See, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai and his people and his city and his land. And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king; only the spoil thereof and the cattle thereof, ye shall take for yourselves. Lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. So Joshua arose and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour and sent them away by night.read more.
And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city; do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. And I and all the people that are with me, will approach the city; and when they come out against us, as at the first, we will flee before them (for they will come out after us) until we have raptured them out of the city; for they will say, They flee before us as at the first. Therefore, we will flee before them. Then ye shall rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city; for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And when ye have taken the city, ye shall set the city on fire. Ye shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you. Then Joshua sent them forth, and they went to lie in ambush and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; and Joshua lodged that night in the midst of the people. And Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people and went up he and the elders of Israel, before the people against Ai. And all the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew near and came before the city and pitched camp on the north side of Ai; now there was a valley between them and Ai. And he took about five thousand men and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. And the people, all the camp that was on the side of the north came near to the city, and their ambush on the west of the city. And Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. When the king of Ai saw it, he rose up early in the morning and made haste with the men of the city to go out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. Then Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them and fled by the way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Joshua and were raptured from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel that did not go out after Israel; and because they pursued after Israel, they left the city open. Then the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And those of the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand; and they entered into the city and took it and made haste to set the city on fire. And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way; and the people that were fleeing into the wilderness turned back upon their pursuers. Then Joshua and all Israel, seeing that those of the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned and slew the men of Ai. And the others issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they smote them so that they let none of them remain or escape. And they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. And when Israel had finished slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword until they were consumed, all the Israelites returned unto Ai and smote it with the edge of the sword.

And he sent messengers unto Abimelech astutely, saying, Behold, Gaal, the son of Ebed, and his brethren have come to Shechem; and, behold, they have fortified the city against thee. Now, therefore, rise up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and put an ambush in the field. And in the morning as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early and set upon the city; and, behold, when he and the people that are with him come out against thee, then thou may do to them as thou shalt find occasion.read more.
And Abimelech rose up and all the people that were with him, by night, and they put an ambush against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal, the son of Ebed, went out and stood in the entering of the gate of the city; and Abimelech and all the people that were with him rose up from the ambush. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold people that come down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. And Gaal spoke again and said, See there come people who descend through the middle of the land, and another company comes along by the plain of Meonenim. Then Zebul said unto him, Where is now thy mouth, with which thou didst say, Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Is not this the people that thou hast despised? Go out now and fight with them. And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.

And Israel set ambushes round about Gibeah. And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and put themselves in order against Gibeah as at the other times. And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to smite of the people and kill as at the other times in the highways, one of which goes up to the house of God and the other to Gibeah by the field, and they killed about thirty men of Israel.read more.
And the sons of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee and draw them from the city unto the highways. Then all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and put themselves in order at Baaltamar, and also those of the ambushes of Israel came forth out of their place, out of the meadows of Gibeah. And ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was sore; but they did not know that evil was near them. And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men; all these drew the sword. So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, for the men of Israel had given place to the Benjamites because they trusted those of the ambushes which they had set behind Gibeah. Then the men of the ambushes rushed upon Gibeah and spread out and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men of the ambushes that they should make a great signal by causing much smoke to rise up out of the city. Then when the men of Israel turned their backs in the battle and those of Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons, for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battle. But when the signal began to arise up out of the city, a pillar of smoke, those of Benjamin looked behind them, and, behold, the whole consumption of the city ascended up to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned again, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that evil was come upon them. Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them. Thus they inclosed those of Benjamin round about and chased them and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising. And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour. And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon; and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour. But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. And the men of Israel turned again upon the sons of Benjamin and smote them with the edge of the sword, men and beasts in every city and all that was found; they also set on fire all the cities that they came to.

And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up, but go around behind them and come upon them over against the mulberry trees, and when thou hearest thunder going through the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt move, for then the LORD shall go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. And David did so as the LORD had commanded him and smote the Philistines from Geba unto Gazer.

So Joshua arose and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city; do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. And I and all the people that are with me, will approach the city; and when they come out against us, as at the first, we will flee before themread more.
(for they will come out after us) until we have raptured them out of the city; for they will say, They flee before us as at the first. Therefore, we will flee before them. Then ye shall rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city; for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And when ye have taken the city, ye shall set the city on fire. Ye shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you. Then Joshua sent them forth, and they went to lie in ambush and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; and Joshua lodged that night in the midst of the people. And Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people and went up he and the elders of Israel, before the people against Ai. And all the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew near and came before the city and pitched camp on the north side of Ai; now there was a valley between them and Ai. And he took about five thousand men and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. And the people, all the camp that was on the side of the north came near to the city, and their ambush on the west of the city. And Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. When the king of Ai saw it, he rose up early in the morning and made haste with the men of the city to go out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. Then Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them and fled by the way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Joshua and were raptured from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel that did not go out after Israel; and because they pursued after Israel, they left the city open.

And the men of Shechem set ambushers for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them; and it was told Abimelech.

And when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly and smote him there under the fifth rib that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

And the Philistines came up yet again and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up, but go around behind them and come upon them over against the mulberry trees, and when thou hearest thunder going through the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt move, for then the LORD shall go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.read more.
And David did so as the LORD had commanded him and smote the Philistines from Geba unto Gazer.

They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps when they wait for my soul.

For among my people were found wicked men: they lay in wait as he that sets snares; they set a trap of perdition to catch men.

Do not go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, when no one knew of it yet that there came certain men of Shechem, of Shiloh, and of Samaria, eighty men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.read more.
And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them and cast them into the midst of a pit, he, and the men that were with him.

If they say, Come with us, let us lay in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without cause.

And if a man did not lie in wait but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint thee a place where he shall flee.

The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

She also lies in wait as for a prey and increases the transgressors among men.

Koph Our persecutors were swifter than the eagles of the heaven; they pursued us upon the mountains; they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

Daleth He was unto me as a bear lying in wait and as a lion in secret places.

Do not lay in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not spoil his resting place.

And when Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush, he went and entered into the fortress and told Paul.

And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king; only the spoil thereof and the cattle thereof, ye shall take for yourselves. Lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. So Joshua arose and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city; do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.read more.
And I and all the people that are with me, will approach the city; and when they come out against us, as at the first, we will flee before them (for they will come out after us) until we have raptured them out of the city; for they will say, They flee before us as at the first. Therefore, we will flee before them. Then ye shall rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city; for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And when ye have taken the city, ye shall set the city on fire. Ye shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you. Then Joshua sent them forth, and they went to lie in ambush and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; and Joshua lodged that night in the midst of the people.

And he took about five thousand men and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. And the people, all the camp that was on the side of the north came near to the city, and their ambush on the west of the city. And Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. When the king of Ai saw it, he rose up early in the morning and made haste with the men of the city to go out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.read more.
Then Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them and fled by the way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Joshua and were raptured from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel that did not go out after Israel; and because they pursued after Israel, they left the city open. Then the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And those of the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand; and they entered into the city and took it and made haste to set the city on fire. And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way; and the people that were fleeing into the wilderness turned back upon their pursuers. Then Joshua and all Israel, seeing that those of the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned and slew the men of Ai.

And he took the people and divided them into three companies and set ambushes in the field and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them.

And Israel set ambushes round about Gibeah. And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and put themselves in order against Gibeah as at the other times. And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to smite of the people and kill as at the other times in the highways, one of which goes up to the house of God and the other to Gibeah by the field, and they killed about thirty men of Israel.read more.
And the sons of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee and draw them from the city unto the highways. Then all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and put themselves in order at Baaltamar, and also those of the ambushes of Israel came forth out of their place, out of the meadows of Gibeah. And ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was sore; but they did not know that evil was near them. And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men; all these drew the sword. So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, for the men of Israel had given place to the Benjamites because they trusted those of the ambushes which they had set behind Gibeah. Then the men of the ambushes rushed upon Gibeah and spread out and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men of the ambushes that they should make a great signal by causing much smoke to rise up out of the city.

And Saul came to a city of Amalek and laid wait in the valley.

For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul; the strong are gathered against me; I am not in rebellion, nor in sin, O LORD.

Set up the banner upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for the LORD has deliberated and shall put into effect that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.

And it was told unto those of Gaza, Samson is come here. And they compassed him in and laid in wait for him all night in the gate of the city and were quiet all that night, saying, In the morning when it is light, we shall kill him.

Now there were men lying in wait in a chamber of her house. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he broke the wicker strands as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

Delilah therefore took new ropes and bound him with them and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And there were men lying in wait abiding in a chamber. But he broke them from off his arms like a thread.

that all of you have conspired against me, and there is no one that shows me that my son has made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me or shows unto me that my son has stirred up my slave against me, to lie in wait against me, as at this day?

And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread and a sword and hast enquired of God for him that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

But do not believe them, for more than forty of them lie in wait to ambush him, who have vowed under a curse that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him, and now they are ready, looking for a promise from thee.

asking for grace against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, they placing an ambush in the way to kill him.

And they lay in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own souls.