8:20a

When the men of Ai turned and looked back: The soldiers of Ai were chasing the Israelite soldiers. At some point, they turned around and looked back towards their town. The story does not say why they looked back. Perhaps they heard noise coming from the direction of the town.

8:20b

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but some English versions translate as “behold” is used to emphasize what happens next. You may have a word or particle in your language that is used for emphasis. Many English versions do not translate this word. It may be more natural to leave this word implicit.

the smoke of the city was rising into the sky: The clause the smoke of the city was rising into the sky indicates that the sky was filled with smoke because the town was burning.

8:20c

They could not escape in any direction: The clause They could not escape in any direction indicates that the soldiers of Ai were surrounded, and so could not escape. They were caught between the two parts of the Israelite army.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

There was no way for them to escape (Good News Translation)
-or-
they had no chance to escape in any direction (New International Version)
-or-
they had nowhere to go (New Living Translation (2004))

They could not escape: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as They could not implies a loss of courage. Some English versions make this explicit. For example:

None of them had the courage to run (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
were so shocked they were unable to flee (NET Bible)

8:20d

and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers: The clause and the troops who had fled to the wilderness refers to Joshua and the Israelite soldiers who had pretended to run away. These are the same people referred to in 8:15.

now became the pursuers: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as became the pursuers is translated as “turned back against the pursuers” in most English versions. With either interpretation, the Israelite soldiers who had run away from the town now turned around and fought with the soldiers of Ai.

the pursuers: According to the Berean Standard Bible interpretation, the phrase the pursuers refers to Joshua and the Israelite soldiers who had pretended to run away. However, most English versions indicate that the pursuers refers to the soldiers of Ai.

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