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Joshua 10
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Joshua 10
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Sun Stands Still
10 When Ado′ni-ze′dek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2 he[a] feared 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. 3 So Ado′ni-ze′dek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhi′a king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me, and help me, and let us smite Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” 5 Then 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, gathered their forces, and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it.
6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; there shall not a man of them stand before you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-hor′on, and smote them as far as Aze′kah and Makke′dah. 11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-hor′on, the Lord threw down great stones from heaven upon them as far as Aze′kah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the men of Israel killed with the sword.
12 Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the men of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand thou still at Gibeon,
and thou Moon in the valley of Ai′jalon.”
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.[b]
15 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
Five Kings Defeated
16 These five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makke′dah. 17 And it was told Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makke′dah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll great stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them; 19 but do not stay there yourselves, pursue your enemies, fall upon their rear, do not let them enter their cities; for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the men of Israel had finished slaying them with a very great slaughter, until they were wiped out, and when the remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, 21 all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makke′dah; not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.
22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought those five kings out 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. 24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings.” Then they came near, and put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and of good courage; for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 26 And afterward Joshua smote them and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees. And they hung upon the trees until evening; 27 but at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees, and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set great stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.
28 And Joshua took Makke′dah on that day, and smote it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it, he left none remaining; and he did to the king of Makke′dah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua passed on from Makke′dah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah; 30 and the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 And Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and assaulted it: 32 and the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.
33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he left none remaining.
34 And Joshua passed on with all Israel from Lachish to Eglon; and they laid siege to it, and assaulted it; 35 and they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword; and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; and they assaulted it, 37 and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it; he left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it.
38 Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it, 39 and he took it with its king and all its towns; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left none remaining; as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.
40 So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded. 41 And Joshua defeated them from Ka′desh-bar′nea to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. 42 And Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:2 Heb they
- 10.12-14 Joshua’s apostrophe to the sun occurs in a fragment quoted from an old collection of epic material, and the quotation goes on beyond verse 12. This would make a literal interpretation of this event undesirable. It appears from the narrative that a great storm occurred at the same time as the attack and powerfully helped toward the Israelite victory (verse 11). It is this sign of divine aid that is so graphically apostrophized in the following poetic fragment (verses 12-13).
Joshua 10
New International Version
Joshua 10
New International Version
The Sun Stands Still
10 Now Adoni-Zedek(A) king of Jerusalem(B) heard that Joshua had taken Ai(C) and totally destroyed[a](D) it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon(E) had made a treaty of peace(F) with Israel and had become their allies. 2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron,(G) Piram king of Jarmuth,(H) Japhia king of Lachish(I) and Debir(J) king of Eglon.(K) 4 “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace(L) with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 Then the five kings(M) of the Amorites(N)—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal:(O) “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army,(P) including all the best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid(Q) of them; I have given them into your hand.(R) Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”(S)
9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion(T) before Israel,(U) so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon.(V) Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon(W) and cut them down all the way to Azekah(X) and Makkedah.(Y) 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones(Z) down on them,(AA) and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(AB) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.(AC)”
13 So the sun stood still,(AD)
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on[b] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.(AE)
The sun stopped(AF) in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting(AG) for Israel!
15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.(AH)
Five Amorite Kings Killed
16 Now the five kings had fled(AI) and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, 18 he said, “Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. 19 But don’t stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don’t let them reach their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”
20 So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely,(AJ) but a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities.(AK) 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 When they had brought these kings(AL) to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put your feet(AM) on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet(AN) on their necks.
25 Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.(AO) This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” 26 Then Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were left hanging on the poles until evening.
27 At sunset(AP) Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.(AQ)
Southern Cities Conquered
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors.(AR) And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.(AS)
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah(AT) and attacked it. 30 The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish;(AU) he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into Israel’s hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer(AV) had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.
34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon;(AW) they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron(AX) and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone(AY) in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir.(AZ) 39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.(BA)
40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev,(BB) the western foothills and the mountain slopes,(BC) together with all their kings.(BD) He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.(BE) 41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea(BF) to Gaza(BG) and from the whole region of Goshen(BH) to Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought(BI) for Israel.
43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.(BJ)
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 28, 35, 37, 39 and 40.
- Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
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