15. Joshua and all of his men let the men of Ai drive them back. The men of Israel ran away toward the desert.
16. All of the men of Ai were called out to chase them. They chased Joshua. So they were drawn away from the city.
17. Not even one man remained in Ai or Bethel. All of them went out to chase Israel. When they did, they left the city wide open.
18. Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Point the javelin that is in your hand at Ai. I will hand the city over to you." So Joshua pointed his javelin at Ai.
19. As soon as he did, the men who were hiding behind the city got up quickly. They came out of their hiding places and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it. They quickly set it on fire.
20. The men of Ai looked back. They saw smoke rising up from the city into the sky. But they couldn't escape in any direction. The men of Israel had been running away toward the desert. But now they turned around to face those who were chasing them.
21. Joshua and all of his men saw that the men who had been hiding behind the city had captured it. They also saw the smoke that was going up from it. So they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.
22. The men who had set Ai on fire came out of the city. They also fought against the men of Ai. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle. The army of Israel was on both sides of them. Israel struck them down. They didn't let anyone remain alive or get away.
23. But they took the king of Ai alive. They brought him to Joshua.
24. Israel finished killing all of the men of Ai. They destroyed them in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them. They struck every one of them down with their swords. Then all of the men of Israel returned to Ai. And they killed those who were left in it.
25. The total number of men and women they killed that day was 12,000. They put to death all of the people of Ai.
26. Joshua kept the javelin that was in his hand pointed at Ai. He didn't lower his hand until he and his men had totally destroyed everyone who lived there.
27. But this time Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they had taken from the city. The Lord had directed Joshua to let them do it.
28. So Joshua burned Ai down. He tore it down so it could never be built again. It has been deserted to this very day.