Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way:

He told them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready!

They will attack us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them.

Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered the army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched at the head of it to Ai.

He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai.

No men were left in Ai or Bethel; they all went out after Israel. They left the city wide open and chased Israel.

When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked. They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.

Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai.

But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the Lord’s orders to Joshua.

There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses.

Then Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll.

They told him, “Your subjects have come from a very distant land because of the reputation of the Lord your God, for we have heard the news about all he did in Egypt

and all he did to the two Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan – King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in Ashtaroth.

We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.”

Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you trick us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby?

“Come to my aid so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”

But don’t you delay! Chase your enemies and catch them! Don’t allow them to retreat to their cities, for the Lord your God is handing them over to you.”

Then the whole army safely returned to Joshua at the camp in Makkedah. No one dared threaten the Israelites.

That day they captured it and put the sword to all who lived there. That day they annihilated it just as they had done to Lachish.

But Israel did not burn any of the cities located on mounds, except for Hazor; it was the only one Joshua burned.