10And Joshua rose up early in the morning, numbered the men, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11And all the men of war who were with him went up, and came near the city, and encamped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between them and Ai. 12And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. 13And when they had set all the men that were on the north of the city, and their ambushers on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the middle of the valley. 14And when the king of Ai saw it, they quickly rose up, and the men of the city went out to battle against Israel, the king and all his men, at a time appointed, before the Arabah; but knew not that there was an ambush set against him behind the city. 15And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by way of the wilderness. 16And all the men who were in Ai were mustered together to pursue Joshua and those with him, and were drawn away from the city. 17There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, who did not pursue after Israel; and they left the city open in their pursuit of Israel.

18And the LORD said to Joshua, “Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it to you.” And Joshua stretched out the spear in his hand toward the city. 19And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and ran, as soon as he had stretched out his hand; and they entered the city, took it, and quickly set the city on fire. 20And when the men of Ai looked behind them and saw the smoke of the city rising toward heaven, and they had no way to flee this way or that; and the men who had fled to the wilderness turned back upon them. 21And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that smoke of the city rose, then they turned around, and slew the men of Ai. 22And the others rushed out of the city against them; so they were caught in the middle of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And Israel smote them, letting none of them remain or escape. 23And they captured the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua. 24And, when Israel had finished slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field and in the wilderness where they chased them, and were all fallen at the edge of the sword, that all the Israelites returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. 25And so it was, that all that fell that day, of both men and women, were twelve thousand, all the men of Ai. 26For Joshua did not draw his hand back which held the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27But the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took to themselves for plunder, according to the what the LORD had commanded Joshua. 28And Joshua burned Ai, and made it a heap of rubble forever, even unto this day. 29And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; 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 upon it a huge pile of stones, that remains to this day.

30Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 31As Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses (Deut.11:26-32, 27:2-3), an altar of whole stones, over which no man has lifted up any iron; and they offered on it burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, in the presence of the children of Israel. Then all the Israelites, as well the sojourners, along with the elders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood in front of Mount Gerizim; the other group in front of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests that carried the Ark of the covenant of the LORD. This was all done according to the commands that Moses, the servant of the LORD, had previously given (Deut.11:29, 27:12) for blessing the people of Israel. 34Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law - the blessings and curses – just as it is written in the book of the law. 35There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the whole congregation of Israel, including the women, their little ones, and the sojourners among them.