¹⁰ When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields.

⁹ When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields. ¹⁰ He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. ¹¹ “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,” Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. ¹² Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”

¹³ When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. ¹⁴ And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. After the battle was over, Joab returned to Jerusalem.

⁴² So they turned around and fled before the Israelites toward the wilderness. But they couldn’t escape the battle, and the people who came out of the nearby towns were also killed.^{[a] 43} The Israelites surrounded the men of Benjamin and chased them relentlessly, finally overtaking them east of Gibeah.^[b]

²² Meanwhile, the Israelites who were inside the town came out and attacked the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle, with Israelite fighters on both sides. Israel attacked them, and not a single person survived or escaped.