Add parallel Print Page Options

10 ¶ Now it came to pass when Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had taken Ai and that he had utterly destroyed it (as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king) and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them;

they feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

Therefore Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, sent unto Hoham, king of Hebron, and unto Piram, king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia, king of Lachish, and unto Debir, king of Eglon, saying,

Come up unto me and help me that we may smite Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.

Therefore, the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together and went up, they and all their hosts and encamped before Gibeon and made war against it.

And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy slaves; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.

¶ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him and all the mighty men of valour.

And the LORD said unto Joshua, Do not fear them; for I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.

Joshua, therefore, came unto them suddenly, for he went up from Gilgal all night.

10 And the LORD discomfited them before Israel and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon and chased them along the way that goes up to Bethhoron and smote them to Azekah and unto Makkedah.

11 And when they were fleeing from before Israel in the descent to Bethhoron, the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel slew with the sword.

12 Then Joshua spoke unto the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the nation had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of righteousness? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hastened not to go down about a whole day.

14 And there was no day like that before it or after it that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.

15 ¶ And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

16 But the five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.

17 And it was told unto Joshua that the five kings had been found hidden in a cave at Makkedah.

18 Then Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them;

19 and do not stop, but pursue after your enemies and smite their rearguard without allowing them to enter into their cities; for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.

20 And it came to pass when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished slaying them with a very great slaughter until they were consumed, that those who remained of them entered into strong cities.

21 And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace; there was no one to move his tongue against any of the sons of Israel.

22 Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.

23 And they did so and brought forth those five kings unto him out of 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 had brought those kings out unto Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel and said unto the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come near; put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near and put their feet upon the necks of them.

25 And Joshua said unto them, Do not fear, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage; for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

26 And afterward Joshua smote them and slew them and caused them to be hanged on five trees; and they hung upon the trees until the evening.

27 And at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded that they take them down off the trees and cast them into the cave in which they had been hid, and they laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.

28 ¶ In that same day Joshua took Makkedah and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them and all the souls that were therein; he let no one remain; and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.

29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him unto Libnah and fought against Libnah;

30 and the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hands of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword and all the souls that were therein; he let no one remain in it, but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.

31 And Joshua passed from Libnah and all Israel with him unto Lachish and encamped against it and fought against it;

32 and the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day and smote it with the edge of the sword and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

33 Then Horam, king of Gezer, came up to help Lachish, and Joshua smote him and his people until none of them were left.

34 And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon and all Israel with him, and they encamped against it and fought against it;

35 and they took it that same day and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were in it he utterly destroyed that same day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

36 And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it;

37 and they took it and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof and all the cities thereof and all the souls that were in it; he left no one remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon, but destroyed it utterly and all the souls that were therein.

38 And Joshua returned and all Israel with him to Debir and fought against it;

39 and he took it and the king thereof and all the cities thereof, and they smote them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed all the souls that were in it; he left no one remaining; as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and to the king thereof, as he had done also to Libnah and to her king.

40 So Joshua smote all the country of the hills and of the Negev and of the vale and of the springs and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded.

41 And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza and all the country of Goshen even unto Gibeon.

42 All these kings and their lands Joshua took at one time because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

43 And Joshua returned and all Israel with him unto the camp to Gilgal.

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. 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. 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) “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace(L) with Joshua and the Israelites.”

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.

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.”

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army,(P) including all the best fighting men. 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)

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

  1. 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.
  2. Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over