35 Bible Verses about Ambush

And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be dismayed: take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: And you shall do to Ai and her king as you did unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall you take for a prey unto yourselves: lay you 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 valor, and sent them away by night.read more.
And he commanded them, saying, Behold, you shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be you all ready: And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush, and seize the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And it shall be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall you do. See, I have commanded you. Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among 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 to Ai. And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew near, and came before the city, and camped 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 when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and those lying in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city. And 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 drawn away from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And 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 hurried 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 fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai. And the others came 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 struck them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword.

And he sent messengers unto Abimelech secretly, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against you. Now therefore come up by night, you and the people that are with you, and lie in wait in the field: And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you shall find occasion.read more.
And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid in wait against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, you see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. And Gaal spoke again and said, See there come people down from the middle of the land, and another company comes along by the oak of Meonenim. Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now your mouth, with which you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that you have despised? go out, I pray 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 entrance of the gate.

And Israel set men in ambush round about Gibeah. And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, by which one goes up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.read more.
And the children of Benjamin said, They are struck down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways. And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the men in ambush from Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was fierce: but Benjamin knew not that evil was near them. And the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword. So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the men in ambush which they had set beside Gibeah. And the men in ambush hastened, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the men in ambush moved out, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush, that they should make a great flame with smoke rising up out of the city. And when the men of Israel retreated in the battle, Benjamin began to strike and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle. But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven. And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: 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 surrounded the Benjamites, and chased them, and trod them down with ease opposite Gibeah toward the east. And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor. And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they cut down 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 and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor. 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 children of Benjamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword, the men of every city, as also the beasts, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, You shall not go up; but go around behind them, and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees. And let it be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then you shall move quickly: for then shall the LORD go out before you, to strike the army of the Philistines. And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and struck the Philistines from Geba until you come to Gezer.

So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valor, and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, you shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be you all ready: And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,read more.
(For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush, and seize the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And it shall be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall you do. See, I have commanded you. Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among 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 to Ai. And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew near, and came before the city, and camped 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 when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and those lying in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city. And 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 drawn away from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

And the men of Shechem set men in ambush 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 struck him there under the fifth rib, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread out in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, You shall not go up; but go around behind them, and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees. And let it be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then you shall move quickly: for then shall the LORD go out before you, to strike the army of the Philistines.read more.
And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and struck the Philistines from Geba until you come to Gezer.

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

For among my people are found wicked men: they lie in wait, as he that sets snares; they set a trap, they catch men.

Go not 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, and no man knew it, That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes torn, 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 killed 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 lie in wait for blood, let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause:

And if a man lie not in wait, but God delivers him into his hand; then I will appoint you 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 unfaithful among men.

Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

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

Lie not in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:

And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the barracks, and told Paul.

And you shall do to Ai and her king as you did unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall you take for a prey unto yourselves: lay you 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 valor, and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, you shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be you all ready:read more.
And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush, and seize the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And it shall be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall you do. See, I have commanded you. Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among 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 when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and those lying in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city.read more.
And 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 drawn away from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And 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 hurried 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 fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.

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

And Israel set men in ambush round about Gibeah. And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, by which one goes up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.read more.
And the children of Benjamin said, They are struck down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways. And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the men in ambush from Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was fierce: but Benjamin knew not that evil was near them. And the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword. So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the men in ambush which they had set beside Gibeah. And the men in ambush hastened, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the men in ambush moved out, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush, that they should make a great flame with smoke rising up out of the city.

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

For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD.

Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD has both purposed and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.

And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson has come here. And they surrounded the place, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon you, Samson. And he broke the cords, as a thread of yarn is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.

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

That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none 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 servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

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

But do not yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from you.

And desired a favor from him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, plotting to kill him along the way.

And they lie in wait for their own blood; they lurk secretly for their own lives.