6. They’ll come out after us, and we will lure them away from the city. They’ll say, ‘They’re running away from us just like the first time.’ As we run away from them,
7. you come out of hiding and capture the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you.
8. When you have captured the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord says. These are your orders.”
9. So Joshua sent them out, and they hid. They took their position west of Ai, between Bethel and Ai. Joshua spent the night with the troops.
10. Joshua got up early in the morning and assembled the troops. Then he and the leaders of Israel led the army to Ai.
11. All the troops with him marched until they were near the city. They camped north of Ai with the ravine between them and Ai.
12. Joshua had taken about five thousand men and had them hide between Bethel and Ai, west of the city.
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.
21. When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men who had been hiding had captured the city and that it was going up in smoke, they turned and attacked the men of Ai.
22. The men who had captured the city also came out and attacked them. The men of Ai were caught between the battle lines of Israel. So Israel attacked them on both sides. None of them survived or escaped.
23. But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.