< Joshua 10 >

1 Now when it came to the ears of Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, that Joshua had taken Ai, and had given it up to the curse (for as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king); and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them;
Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction —doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.
2 He was in great fear, because Gibeon was a great town, like one of the king's towns, greater than Ai, and all the men in it were men of war.
So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty.
3 So Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, and to Piram, king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia, king of Lachish, and to Debir, king of Eglon, saying,
Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word 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 give me help, and let us make an attack on Gibeon: for they have made peace with Joshua and the children of Israel.
“Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 So 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, were banded together, and went up with all their armies and took up their position before Gibeon and made war against it.
So the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and advanced with all their armies. They camped before Gibeon and made war against it.
6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the tent-circle at Gilgal, saying, Be not slow to send help to your servants; come up quickly to our support and keep us safe: for all the kings of the Amorites from the hill-country have come together against us.
Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal with all his army and all his men of war.
So Joshua and his whole army, including all the mighty men of valor, came from Gilgal.
8 And the Lord said to Joshua, Have no fear of them, for I have given them into your hands; they will all give way before you.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.”
9 So Joshua, having come up from Gilgal all night, made a sudden attack on them.
After marching all night from Gilgal, Joshua caught them by surprise.
10 And the Lord made them full of fear before Israel, and they put great numbers of them to death at Gibeon, and went after them by the way going up to Beth-horon, driving them back to Azekah and Makkedah
And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
11 And in their flight before Israel, on the way down from Beth-horon, the Lord sent down great stones from heaven on them all the way to Azekah, causing their death: those whose death was caused by the stones were more than those whom the children of Israel put to death with the sword.
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
12 It was on the day when the Lord gave up the Amorites into the hands of the children of Israel that Joshua said to the Lord, before the eyes of Israel, Sun, be at rest over Gibeon; and you, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon.
On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 And the sun was at rest and the moon kept its place till the nation had given punishment to their attackers. (Is it not recorded in the book of Jashar?) So the sun kept its place in the middle of the heavens, and was waiting, and did not go down, for the space of a day.
So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”
14 And there was no day like that, before it or after it, when the Lord gave ear to the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.
There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel.
15 And Joshua, with all Israel, went back to the tent-circle at Gilgal.
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
16 But these five kings went in flight secretly to a hole in the rock at Makkedah.
Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah.
17 And word was given to Joshua that the five kings had been taken in a hole in the rock at Makkedah.
And Joshua was informed: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
18 And Joshua said, Let great stones be rolled against the mouth of the hole, and let men keep watch by it:
So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men there to guard them.
19 But do you, without waiting, go after their army, attacking them from the back; do not let them get into their towns, for the Lord your God has given them into your hands.
But you, do not stop there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.”
20 Now when Joshua and the children of Israel had come to the end of their war of complete destruction, and had put to death all but a small band who had got safely into the walled towns,
So Joshua and the Israelites continued to inflict a terrible slaughter until they had finished them off, and the remaining survivors retreated to the fortified cities.
21 All the people went back to Joshua to the tent-circle at Makkedah in peace: and no one said a word against the children of Israel.
The whole army returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one dared to utter a word against the Israelites.
22 Then Joshua said, Take away the stones from the mouth of the hole in the rock, and make those five kings come out to me.
Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.”
23 And they did so, and made those five kings come out of the hole to him, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.
24 And when they had made those kings come out to Joshua, Joshua sent for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, Come near and put your feet on the necks of these kings. So they came near and put their feet on their necks.
When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.
25 And Joshua said to them, Have no fear and do not be troubled; be strong and take heart: for so will the Lord do to all against whom you make war.
“Do not be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua said. “Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all the enemies you fight.”
26 Then Joshua had them put to death, hanging them on five trees, where they were till evening.
After this, Joshua struck down and killed the kings, and he hung their bodies on five trees and left them there until evening.
27 And when the sun went down, they were taken down from the trees, by Joshua's orders, and put into the hole where they had gone to be safe; and great stones were placed at the mouth of the hole, where they are to this day.
At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah, and put it and its king to the sword; every soul in it he gave up to the curse without mercy: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, along with its king. He devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. So he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Makkedah and came to Libnah, and made an attack on it;
Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.
30 And again the Lord gave it and its king into the hands of Israel; and he put it and every person in it to the sword, till their destruction was complete; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
And the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel, and Joshua put all the people to the sword, leaving no survivors. And he did to the king of Libnah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Libnah to Lachish, and took up their position against it and made an attack on it,
And Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish. They laid siege to it and fought against it.
32 And the Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel, and on the second day he took it, putting it and every person in it to the sword without mercy, as he had done to Libnah.
And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day. He put all the people to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.
33 Then Horam, king of Gezer, came up to the help of Lachish; and Joshua overcame him and his people, putting all of them to death.
At that time Horam king of Gezer went to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors.
34 And Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Lachish to Eglon: and they took up their position against it and made an attack on it;
So Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon, and all Israel with him. They laid siege to it and fought against it.
35 And that day they took it, putting it and every person in it to the sword, as he had done to Lachish.
That day they captured Eglon and put it to the sword, and Joshua devoted to destruction everyone in the city, just as he had done to Lachish.
36 And Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and made an attack on it;
Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it.
37 And took it, overcoming it and putting it and its king and its towns and every person in it to the sword: as he had done to Eglon, he put them all to death, and gave it up to the curse with every person in it.
They captured it and put to the sword its king, all its villages, and all the people. Joshua left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon; he devoted to destruction Hebron and everyone in it.
38 And Joshua and all Israel with him went on to make an attack on Debir;
Finally Joshua and all Israel with him turned toward Debir and fought against it.
39 And he took it, with its king and all its towns: and he put them to the sword, giving every person in it to the curse; all were put to death: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king.
And they captured Debir, its king, and all its villages. They put them to the sword and devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. Joshua did to Debir and its king as he had done to Hebron and as he had done to Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua overcame all the land, the hill-country and the South and the lowland and the mountain slopes, and all their kings; all were put to death: and every living thing he gave up to the curse, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had given him orders.
So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
41 Joshua overcame them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
42 And all these kings and their land Joshua took at the same time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.
And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign.
43 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went back to their tents at Gilgal.
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

< Joshua 10 >