And it shall be, when ye have taken the city,.... Entered it and become masters of it:
[that] ye shall set the city on fire; not the whole city, only some outlying houses of it, to make a smoke which might be seen both by Israel and the men of Ai, for different purposes; for the spoil of the city was first to be taken before it was utterly burnt with fire:
according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do; plunder the city, destroy the inhabitants of it, and then burn it:
see I have commanded you; delivered the command of the Lord unto them, and therefore were left without excuse, and could not plead ignorance; besides, he was their general, and he expected his orders to be obeyed, as they ought to have been.
And it shall be, when ye have taken the city,.... Entered it and become masters of it:
[that] ye shall set the city on fire; not the whole city, only some outlying houses of it, to make a smoke which might be seen both by Israel and the men of Ai, for different purposes; for the spoil of the city was first to be taken before it was utterly burnt with fire:
according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do; plunder the city, destroy the inhabitants of it, and then burn it:
see I have commanded you; delivered the command of the Lord unto them, and therefore were left without excuse, and could not plead ignorance; besides, he was their general, and he expected his orders to be obeyed, as they ought to have been.