When the king of Ai saw this he and all his people, the men of the city, made haste and went out early to the descent toward the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. He did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

Joshua and all of Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. All the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city.

There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel. The Lord said to Joshua, stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.

Joshua stretch out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. The ambush rose quickly out of their place, and as soon as he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and took it, and they made haste to set the city on fire.

When the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that, for the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.

When Joshua and all of Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned back and smote the men of Ai.

The others came forth from the city against them, so they were amid Israel, some on this side, and some on that side, and Israel smote them until there was left none that survived or escaped.
They took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

When Israel had finished slaughtering all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and smote it with the edge of the sword.

All who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand, all the people of Ai. Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

The cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took as their booty, according to the word of the lord which he commanded Joshua. Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day.

He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from The tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.

Beloved, please let keep on visiting for more articles. Thanks for being with us.