Joshua 9–10

The Gibeonites Deceive Joshua

9The victories of Israel became known to all the kings west of the Jordan—in the hills, in the foothills, and all along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as Lebanon; these were the kings of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ²They all came together and joined forces to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.

³But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴and they decided to deceive him. They went and got some food and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and patched-up wineskins. ⁵They put on ragged clothes and worn-out sandals that had been mended. The bread they took with them was dry and mouldy. ⁶Then they went to the camp at Gilgal and said to Joshua and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant land. We want you to make a treaty with us.”

^7*But the Israelites said, “Why should we make a treaty with you? Maybe you live nearby.”

⁸They said to Joshua, “We are at your service.”

Joshua asked them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

⁹Then they told him this story: “We have come from a very distant land, sir, because we have heard of the Lord your God. We have heard about everything that he did in Egypt ^10*and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan: King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. ¹¹Our leaders and all the people that live in our land told us to get some food ready for a journey and to go and meet you. We were told to put ourselves at your service and ask you to make a treaty with us. ¹²Look at our bread. When we left home with it and started out to meet you, it was still warm. But look! Now it is dry and mouldy. ¹³When we filled these wineskins, they were new, but look! They are torn. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long journey.”

¹⁴The Israelites accepted some food from them, but did not consult the Lord about it. ¹⁵Joshua made a treaty of friendship with the people of Gibeon and allowed them to live. The leaders of the community of Israel gave their solemn promise to keep the treaty.

¹⁶Three days after the treaty had been made, the Israelites learnt that these people did indeed live nearby. ¹⁷So the people of Israel started out and three days later arrived at the cities where these people lived: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸But the Israelites could not kill them, because their leaders had made a solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord, Israel’s God. All the people complained to the leaders about this, ¹⁹but they answered, “We have made our solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Now we cannot harm them. ²⁰We must let them live because of our promise; if we don’t, God will punish us. ²¹Let them live, but they will have to cut wood and carry water for us.” This was what the leaders suggested.

²²Joshua ordered the people of Gibeon to be brought to him, and he asked them, “Why did you deceive us and tell us that you were from far away, when you live right here? ²³Because you did this, God has condemned you. Your people will always be slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the sanctuary of my God.”

²⁴They answered, “We did it, sir, because we learnt that it was really true that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to kill the people living in it as you advanced. We did it because we were terrified of you; we were in fear of our lives. ²⁵Now we are in your power; do with us what you think is right.” ²⁶So this is what Joshua did: he protected them and did not allow the people of Israel to kill them. ²⁷But at the same time he made them slaves, to cut wood and carry water for the people of Israel and for the Lord’s altar. To this day they have continued to do this work in the place where the Lord has chosen to be worshipped.

The Amorites Are Defeated

10Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem,^e heard that Joshua had captured and totally destroyed Ai and had killed its king, just as he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites and were living among them. ²The people of Jerusalem were greatly alarmed at this because Gibeon was as large as any of the cities that had a king; it was larger than Ai, and its men were good fighters. ³So Adonizedek sent the following message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon: ⁴“Come and help me attack Gibeon, because its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” ⁵These five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces, surrounded Gibeon, and attacked it.

⁶The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Do not abandon us, sir! Come at once and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings in the hill country have joined forces and have attacked us!”

⁷So Joshua and his whole army, including the best troops, started out from Gilgal. ⁸The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have already given you the victory. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.” ⁹All night Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal to Gibeon, and they made a surprise attack on the Amorites. ¹⁰The Lord made the Amorites panic at the sight of Israel’s army. The Israelites slaughtered them at Gibeon and pursued them down the mountain pass at Beth Horon, keeping up the attack as far south as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹While the Amorites were running down the pass from the Israelite army, the Lord made large hailstones fall down on them all the way to Azekah. More were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites.

¹²On the day that the Lord gave the men of Israel victory over the Amorites, Joshua spoke to the Lord. In the presence of the Israelites he said,

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;

Moon, stop over Aijalon Valley.”

^13*The sun stood still and the moon did not move until the nation had conquered its enemies. This is written in The Book of Jashar. The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not go down for a whole day. ¹⁴Never before, and never since, has there been a day like it, when the Lord obeyed a human being. The Lord fought on Israel’s side!

¹⁵After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua Captures the Five Amorite Kings

¹⁶The five Amorite kings, however, had escaped and were hiding in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷Someone found them, and Joshua was told where they were hiding. ¹⁸He said, “Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Place some guards there, ¹⁹but don’t stay there yourselves. Keep on after the enemy and attack them from the rear; don’t let them get to their cities! The Lord your God has given you victory over them.” ²⁰Joshua and the men of Israel slaughtered them, although some managed to find safety inside their city walls and were not killed. ²¹Then all of Joshua’s men came back safe to him at the camp at Makkedah.

No one in the land dared even to speak against the Israelites.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” ²³So the cave was opened, and the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon were brought out ²⁴and taken to Joshua. Joshua then called all the men of Israel to him and ordered the officers who had gone with him to come and put their feet on the necks of the kings. They did so. ²⁵Then Joshua said to his officers, “Don’t be afraid or discouraged. Be determined and confident because this is what the Lord is going to do to all your enemies.” ²⁶Then Joshua killed the kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies stayed until evening. ²⁷At sunset Joshua gave orders, and their bodies were taken down and thrown into the same cave where they had hidden earlier. Large stones were placed at the entrance to the cave, and they are still there.

Joshua Captures More Amorite Territory

²⁸Joshua attacked and captured Makkedah and its king that day. He put everyone in the city to death; no one was left alive. He did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹After this, Joshua and his army went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. ³⁰The Lord also gave the Israelites victory over this city and its king. They spared no one, but killed every person in it. They did to the king what they had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹After this, Joshua and his army went on from Libnah to Lachish, surrounded it and attacked it. ³²The Lord gave the Israelites victory over Lachish on the second day of the battle. Just as they had done at Libnah, they spared no one, but killed every person in the city. ³³King Horam of Gezer came to the aid of Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army and left none of them alive.

³⁴Next, Joshua and his army went on from Lachish to Eglon, surrounded it and attacked it. ³⁵They captured it the same day and put everyone there to death, just as they had done at Lachish.

³⁶After this, Joshua and his army went from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, attacked it ³⁷and captured it. They killed the king and everyone else in the city as well as in the nearby towns. Joshua condemned the city to total destruction, just as he had done to Eglon. No one in it was left alive.

³⁸Then Joshua and his army turned back to Debir and attacked it. ³⁹He captured it, with its king and all the nearby towns. They put everyone there to death. Joshua did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰Joshua conquered the whole land. He defeated the kings of the hill country, the eastern slopes, and the western foothills, as well as those of the dry country in the south. He spared no one; everyone was put to death. This was what the Lord God of Israel had commanded. ⁴¹Joshua’s campaign took him from Kadesh Barnea in the south to Gaza near the coast, including all the area of Goshen, and as far…