13. All the troops were positioned. The main camp was north of the city, and the other troops were hiding west of the city. That night Joshua went down into the middle of the valley.
14. When the king of Ai saw the main camp, he and all his troops got up early in the morning. They rushed out toward the plains to meet Israel for battle, just where ⌊Joshua⌋ expected. However, the king didn’t know there were troops behind the city waiting to attack him.
15. Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated. They ran away toward the desert.
16. All the troops in the city were called out to chase them. As they chased Joshua, they were lured away from the city.
17. Not one man was left in Ai or Bethel; they all went after Israel. So the city was left unprotected as they chased Israel.
18. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out the spear in your hand toward the city, because I am handing Ai over to you.” So Joshua held out his spear.
19. The men who were hiding got up as soon as he stretched out his hand. They entered the city, captured it, and quickly set it on fire.
20. When the men of Ai looked back, they could see the city going up in smoke. They had no place to go, since the Israelites, who had been running toward the desert, had now turned back on them.