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.