16. All of the people who were in the city were called to pursue after them. As they pursued after Joshua, they were drawn away from the city.
17. Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel; they left the city open and pursued after Israel.
18. And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stretch out the sword that is in your hand to Ai, because I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand to the city.
19. The moment he stretched out his hand, those in the ambush stood up quickly from their place and ran. And they went into the city and captured it, quickly setting the city ablaze with fire.
20. Then the men of Ai looked behind them, and they saw smoke from the city rising to the sky; they had no power to flee this way or that, and the people fleeing the wilderness turned around to the pursuers.
21. And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city was rising; they returned and struck down the men of Ai.
22. Then the others from the city came out to meet them, and they found themselves surrounded by Israel, some on one side, and others on the other side. And they struck them down until no survivor or fugitive was left.
23. But they captured the king of Ai alive, and they brought him to Joshua.
24. When Israel finished slaughtering all the inhabitants of Ai in the open field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they all had perished, all Israel returned to Ai and attacked it with the edge of the sword.
25. All the people that fell on that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the inhabitants of Ai.
26. For Joshua did not draw back his hand that was stretched out with the sword until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27. Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of Yahweh that Joshua commanded.
28. So Joshua burned Ai and made it an everlasting heap of rubbish, a desolate place until this day.
29. The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the time of evening, and as the sun went down Joshua commanded them, and they brought down his dead body from the tree. Then they threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and they raised over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.