Joshua 10

The Sun Stands Still

10Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem ^aheard how Joshua had taken ^bAi and had utterly destroyed it—^cas he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to ^dAi and its king—and ^ehow the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ²that they ^ffeared 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 mighty. ³Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴“Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for ^git has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” ⁵Therefore the five kings of the ^hAmorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, ⁱgathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp ^jat Gilgal, saying, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us.”

⁷So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and ^kall the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸And the Lord said to Joshua, ^l“Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; ^mnot a man of them shall ⁿstand before you.” ⁹Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰So the Lord ^orouted them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes ^pto Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as ^qAzekah and Makkedah. ¹¹And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, ^rthat the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

¹²Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:

^s“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;

And Moon, in the Valley of ^tAijalon.”

¹³So the sun stood still,

And the moon stopped,

Till the people had revenge

Upon their enemies.

^uIs this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. ¹⁴And there has been ^vno day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for ^wthe Lord fought for Israel.

^15xThen Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

The Amorite Kings Executed

¹⁶But these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in a cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷And it was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”

¹⁸So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them. ¹⁹And do not stay there yourselves, but pursue your enemies, and attack their rear guard. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand.” ²⁰Then it happened, while Joshua and the children of Israel made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they had finished, that those who escaped entered fortified cities. ²¹And all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah, in peace.

^yNo one ¹moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings to me from the cave.” ²³And they did so, and brought out those five kings 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.

²⁴So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near and ^zput their feet on their necks. ²⁵Then Joshua said to ²them, ^a“Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for ^bthus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” ²⁶And afterward Joshua struck ³them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they ^cwere hanging on the trees until evening. ²⁷So it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua commanded, and they ^dtook them down from the trees, cast them into the cave where they had been hidden, and laid large stones against the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.

Conquest of the Southland

²⁸On that day Joshua took Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly ^edestroyed ⁴them—all the people who were in it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah ^fas he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to ^gLibnah; and they fought against Libnah. ³⁰And the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword. He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹Then Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish; and they encamped against it and fought against it. ³²And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day, and struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah. ³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he left him none remaining.

³⁴From Lachish Joshua passed to Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it and fought against it. ³⁵They took it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; all the people who were in it he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

³⁶So Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to ^hHebron; and they fought against it. ³⁷And they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword—its king, all its cities, and all the people who were in it; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon, but utterly destroyed it and all the people who were in it.

³⁸Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to ⁱDebir; and they fought against it. ³⁹And he took it and its king and all its cities; they struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed all the people who were in it. He left none remaining; as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had done also to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua conquered all the land: the ^jmountain country and the ⁵South and the lowland and the wilderness slopes, and ^kall their kings; he left none remaining, but ^lutterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. ⁴¹And Joshua conquered them from ^mKadesh Barnea as far as ⁿGaza, ^oand all the country of Goshen, even as far as Gibeon. ⁴²All these kings and their land Joshua took at one time, ^pbecause the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. ⁴³Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.