²⁰ When the men of Ai turned around, they saw^[a] the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction.^[b] In the meantime the men who were retreating to the wilderness turned against their pursuers. ²¹ When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke,^[c] they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. ²² At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle.^[d] The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees.