^10:2All Jerusalem was terrified⁵ because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors. ^10:3So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon: ^10:4“Come to my aid⁶ so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” ^10:5So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon.⁷

^10:6The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon⁸ your subjects!⁹ Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.”¹⁰^10:7So Joshua and his whole army, including the bravest warriors, marched up from Gilgal.¹¹^10:8The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I am handing them over to you.¹² Not one of them can resist you.”¹³^10:9Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all night from Gilgal.¹⁴^10:10The Lord routed¹⁵ them before Israel. Israel¹⁶ thoroughly defeated them¹⁷ at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass¹⁸ of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ^10:11As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from¹⁹ Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky,²⁰ all the way to Azekah. They died—in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

^10:12The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel:²¹

“O sun, stand still over Gibeon!

O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”

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Footnotes

5 This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek … they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.
6 Heb “Come up to me and help me.”
7 Heb “and they camped against Gibeon and fought against it.”
8 Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”
9 Heb “your servants!”
10 Heb “have gathered against us.”
11 Heb “And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the brave warriors.”
12 Heb “I have given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.
13 Heb “and not a man [or “one”] of them will stand before you.”
14 Heb “Joshua came upon them suddenly, all the night he went up from Gilgal.”
15 Or “caused to panic.”
16 Heb “he.” The referent is probably Israel (mentioned at the end of the previous sentence in the verse; cf. , ), but it is also possible that the Lord should be understood as the referent (cf. “and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon”), or even Joshua (cf. “and Joshua defeated them utterly in Gibeon”).
17 Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
18 Or “ascent.”
19 Heb “on the descent of.”
20 Or “heaven” (also in v. 13). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
21 Heb “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day the Lord placed the Amorites before the sons of Israel and he said in the eyes of Israel.” It is uncertain whether the phrase “before the sons of Israel” modifies the verb “placed” (as in the present translation, “delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites”) or the verb “spoke” (“Joshua spoke to the Lord before the sons of Israel in the day the Lord delivered over the Amorites”).