Joshua 9–10

The Gibeonite Deception

9As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan ^jin the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast ^kof the Great Sea toward Lebanon, ^lthe Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, ²they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

³But when the inhabitants of ^mGibeon heard what Joshua had done ⁿto Jericho and ^oto Ai, ⁴they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, ⁵with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. ⁶And they went to Joshua in ^pthe camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” ⁷But the men of Israel said to ^qthe Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then ^rhow can we make a covenant with you?” ⁸They said to Joshua, ^s“We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” ⁹They said to him, ^t“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. ^uFor we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, ^10vand all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in ^wAshtaroth. ¹¹So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.” ’ ¹²Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. ¹³These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” ¹⁴So the men took some of their provisions, but ^xdid not ask counsel from the Lord. ¹⁵And Joshua ^ymade peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

¹⁶At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors ^zand that they lived among them. ¹⁷And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. ^aNow their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. ¹⁹But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. ²⁰This we will do to them: let them live, lest ^bwrath be upon us, ^cbecause of the oath that we swore to them.” ²¹And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became ^dcutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders ^ehad said of them.

²²Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ^f‘We are very far from you,’ when ^gyou dwell among us? ²³Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, ^hcutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” ²⁴They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had ⁱcommanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so ^jwe feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. ²⁵And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” ²⁶So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. ²⁷But Joshua made them that day ^kcutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, ^lin the place that he should choose.

The Sun Stands Still

10As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,^{1 m}doing to Ai and its king ⁿas he had done to Jericho and its king, and ^ohow the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ^2phe² feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. ³So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴“Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For ^qit has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” ⁵Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, ^rgathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua ^sat the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” ⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^tall the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸And the Lord said to Joshua, ^u“Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. ^vNot a man of them shall stand before you.” ⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. ^10wAnd the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who³ struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of ^xthe ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹And as they fled before Israel, while they were ^xgoing down the ascent of Beth-horon, ^ythe Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹²At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

^z“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. ^14aThere has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for ^bthe Lord fought for Israel.

¹⁵So ^cJoshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

¹⁶These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at ^dMakkedah. ¹⁷And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, ¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; ^eattack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow ^funtil they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, ²¹then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. ^gNot a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵And Joshua said to them, ^h“Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. ⁱFor thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” ²⁶And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And ^jthey hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and ^kthey took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸As for ^lMakkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah ^mjust as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Conquest of Southern Canaan

²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to ⁿLibnah and fought against Libnah. ³⁰And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king ^mas he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to ^oLachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. ³²And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of ^pGezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

³⁴Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to ^qEglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. ³⁵And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish. …