^25-26 Joshua kept his sword pointed at the town of Ai until every last one of Ai's 12,000 people was dead. ²⁷ But the Israelites took the animals and the other possessions of the people of Ai, because this was what the Lord had told Joshua to do.

^28-29 Joshua made sure every building in Ai was burned to the ground. He told his men to kill the king of Ai and hang his body on a tree. Then at sunset he told the Israelites to take down the body,^[a] throw it in the gateway of the town, and cover it with a big pile of rocks. Those rocks are still there, and the town itself has never been rebuilt.