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21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again and slew the men of Ai.

22 And the others issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape;

23 and the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they had all fallen on the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai and smote it with the edge of the sword.

25 And so it was that all who fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

26 For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the Lord which He commanded Joshua.

28 And Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.

29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide; and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones that remaineth unto this day.

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21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around(A) and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives.(B) 23 But they took the king of Ai alive(C) and brought him to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai.(D) 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin(E) until he had destroyed[a](F) all who lived in Ai.(G) 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.(H)

28 So Joshua burned(I) Ai[b](J) and made it a permanent heap of ruins,(K) a desolate place to this day.(L) 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset,(M) Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks(N) over it, which remains to this day.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 8:26 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  2. Joshua 8:28 Ai means the ruin.