Verses 22-23 describe the complete annihilation of the enemy force: the Israelites who have set Ai on fire leave the city and advance against the enemy. The men of Ai are caught between the two Israelite bodies, and they are killed, with the exception of the king, who is taken alive and delivered to Joshua.

The Israelites in the city now came down to join the battle translates “And the others came forth from the city against” (Revised Standard Version). It may be necessary to be even more explicit: “The Israelite men who had gone into the city and had set it on fire now came out and attacked the men of Ai.”

The second sentence of Good News Translation (So the men … were all killed) may be formulated as an active sentence: “So the Israelite army completely surrounded the men of Ai and killed every one of them.”

No one got away, and no one lived through it translates “until there was left none that survived or escaped” (Revised Standard Version). It may also be translated, “None of them escaped with his life” or “All the men of Ai were killed.”

He was captured and taken to Joshua may also be changed into an active: “The men of Israel captured him and took him to Joshua.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .