Joshua 9–10

The Gibeonites Act with Cunning

9Now^a when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the Shephelah,^b and on all the coast of the great sea toward Lebanon^c—the Hittites,^d the Amorites,^e the Canaanites,^f the Perizzites,^g the Hivites,^h and the Jebusitesⁱ—heard of this, ²they gathered themselves together to fight with one accord against^j Joshua and Israel.

³But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai, ⁴and they acted on their part with cunning: they went and prepared provisions,^k and took worn-out sacks^l for their donkeys and old wineskins that were torn and mended. ⁵The sandals on their feet were patched and old, their clothes were old, and their food was dry and crumbled. ⁶And they went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far land; so then make a covenant with us.”^{m 7}And the men of Israel said to the Hivites,ⁿ “Perhaps you are living among us; how can we make a covenant^o with you?” ⁸They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and from where do you come?” ⁹And they said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far land because of the name of Yahweh your God; we have heard of his reputation, of all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰and of all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. ¹¹So our elders said to us and all the inhabitants of our land, ‘Take in your hand provisions for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; so then make a covenant with us.” ’^{p 12}This is our bread; it was hot when we took it from our houses as provisions on the day we set out to come to you. But now, look, it is dry and crumbled. ¹³These are the wineskins that we filled new, but look, they have burst; and these are our clothes and sandals that have worn out from the very long journey.” ¹⁴So the leaders^q took from their provisions, but they did not ask direction from Yahweh.^{r 15}And Joshua made peace with them, and he made a covenant with them^s to allow them to live happily, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

¹⁶And it happened that at the end of three days, after they made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors^t and living among them. ¹⁷And the Israelites^u set out and went to their cities on the third day (their cities were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim). ¹⁸But the Israelites^v did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against their leaders.^{w 19}But all the leaders of the congregation said, “We have sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel, and so we cannot touch them. ²⁰This we will do to them: we will let them live so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath we swore to them.” ²¹And the leaders^x said to them, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said to them.

²²And Joshua summoned them and said, “Why have you deceived us saying, ‘We are very far from you’ when you are living among us? ²³Therefore you are cursed; some of you will always be slaves as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” ²⁴And they answered Joshua and said, “Because it was told with certainty to your servants that Yahweh your God commanded Moses his servant to give to you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, so we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and so we did this thing. ²⁵So then, look, we are in your hand; do with us whatever seems good and right in your eyes.” ²⁶So he did this to them: he saved them from the hand of the Israelites,^y and they did not kill them. ²⁷And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of Yahweh, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

The Sun Stands Still at Gibeon

10And it happened that when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua captured Ai and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he did to Ai and its king) and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ²he^a became very afraid because Gibeon was a very large city, like one of the royal cities,^b and because it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty warriors. ³So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hohman king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴“Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”^{c 5}And the five kings of the Amorites,^d the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their forces, and they laid siege to Gibeon^e and made war against it.

⁶And the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon^f your servant. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, for all the kings of the Amorites^g who dwell in the hill country have gathered against us.” ⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting men^h with him, all the best warriors.^{i 8}And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have given them into your hand; no one will withstand you.^{j 9}Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching up^k all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰And Yahweh threw them into panic before Israel, who^l struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹And as they were fleeing from Israel, they were on the slope of Beth-horon, and Yahweh threw huge stones from the heavens on them as far as Azekah; and more died by the hail stones than those whom the Israelites^m killed by the sword.

¹²Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh, on the day Yahweh gave the Amoritesⁿ over to the Israelites,^o and he said in the sight of Israel,

“Sun in Gibeon, stand still,

and moon, in the valley of Aijalon.”

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

until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.

Is it not written in the scroll of Jashar? The sun stood still in the middle of the heaven and was not in haste to set for about a full day. ¹⁴There has not been a day like this before it or after, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for Yahweh fought for Israel. ¹⁵And Joshua returned and all Israel with him to the camp at Gilgal.

The Kings of the Amorites Are Killed

¹⁶But these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷And it was told to Joshua, saying, “The five kings were found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men in front of it to guard them. ¹⁹But do not stay there; pursue after your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not allow them to go into their cities, for Yahweh your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰When Joshua and the Israelites^p had finished striking them with a very great blow, until they perished, those of them who survived^q went into the fortified cities, ²¹and all the people returned to the camp safely^r to Joshua at Makkedah. No one spoke^s against the Israelites.^t

²²And Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring to me those five kings from the cave.” ²³And they did so, and brought him these five kings 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 these kings to Joshua, Joshua called all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the fighting men^u who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed! Be strong and bold, for thus Yahweh will do to all your enemies whom you are about to fight. ²⁶And after this Joshua struck them down and killed them, and he hanged them on five trees. And they were hanging on the trees until the evening. ²⁷And it happened at the time of sunset,^v Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they put large stones against the mouth of the cave, which are there to this very day.

²⁸Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and he struck it and its king with the edge of the sword;^w he utterly destroyed it and everyone that was in it. He did not leave behind a survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he did to the king of Jericho.

Joshua’s Conquest of the South

²⁹And Joshua passed on, and all of Israel with him, from Makkedah to Libnah, and he fought against Libnah. ³⁰And Yahweh also gave it into the hand of Israel, and its king and all the people in it he struck with the edge of the sword.^x He left in it no survivor. He did to its king just as he did to the king of Jericho.

³¹And Joshua passed on, and all of Israel with him, from Libnah to Lachish, and he laid siege to it^y and fought against it. ³²And Yahweh gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day. He struck it with the edge of the sword,^z and everyone in it, just as he did to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people until he left no survivor behind.

³⁴And Joshua passed on, and all of Israel with him, from Lachish to Eglon, and they laid siege to it^a and fought against it. ³⁵And they captured it on that day, and he struck it with the edge of the sword,^b and all the people that were in it on that day he utterly destroyed as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶And Joshua went up, and all Israel with him, from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it ³⁷and captured it, and they…