Joshua 10

10 ¹ Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and set it apart for destruction—handling Ai and its king just as he had Jericho and its king—and that Gibeon's people had made peace with Israel, now settled among them. ² the people of Jerusalem were terrified, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. ³ So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ "Come up to me and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, because it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel." ⁵ Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and went up with all their armies. They encamped against Gibeon and made war against it. ⁶ The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the Gilgal camp: "Don't desert your servants! Come quickly and rescue us—help us! Every Amorite king in the hill country has joined forces against us."

⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with all his fighting men—his mighty warriors.

⁸ And our Father told Joshua, "Don't fear them—I've given them over to you. Not one will stand before you."

⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched all night up from Gilgal. ¹⁰ And our Father threw them into a panic before Israel, striking them with a great blow at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes up to Beth-horon, and cut them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel down the slope of Beth-horon, our Father hurled great stones on them from the sky, all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hailstones than the people of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² Then Joshua spoke to our Father on the day our Father gave the Amorites over to the people of Israel, and before all Israel he said: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." ¹³ And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation had avenged itself on its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to set for about a full day. ^a a v13 The Book of Jashar was an ancient Hebrew collection of poems and songs, now lost. ¹⁴ There has never been a day like it, before or since, when our Father heeded the word of a man—for our Father fought for Israel.

¹⁵ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

The Five Kings Brought Low

¹⁶ Now these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ And Joshua was told, "The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah."

¹⁸ So Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men beside it to guard them. ¹⁹ But do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies and strike them from behind. Do not let them reach their cities, for your Father has given them into your hand."

²⁰ When Joshua and the people of Israel had struck them with a crushing blow and wiped them out—though a few survivors escaped into the fortified cities ²¹ Then all the people returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one dared speak against any Israelite. ²² Then 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 to him: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. ²⁴ When they had brought these kings out to Joshua, he called all Israel's men and told the war commanders who'd gone with him, 'Come near, put your feet on these kings' necks.' So they came near and put their feet on their necks.

²⁵ Joshua told them, "Don't fear or be terrified. Be strong and brave—this is what our Father will do to all the enemies you fight."

²⁶ After that, Joshua struck the kings, killed them, and hung them on five trees, where they stayed until evening. ²⁷ At sunset Joshua ordered the bodies taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave where the kings had hidden. They set large stones over the cave's mouth, still there today.

²⁸ That day Joshua took Makkedah, struck it and its king with the sword, and destroyed everyone in it—no survivor left. He did to Makkedah's king as he had done to Jericho's king.

Our Father Gives the Southern Cities

²⁹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. ³⁰ And our Father also gave it, with its king, to Israel. Joshua struck it and every person in it with the sword's edge, leaving no survivor. He did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him marched from Libnah to Lachish, camped against it, and fought against it. ³² Israel took Lachish, given by our Father, when Joshua captured it on the second day, striking it and everyone in it with the sword, as he had done to Libnah. ³³ Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him and his people down, leaving no survivor.

³⁴ Joshua and all Israel with him moved from Lachish to Eglon, camped against it, and fought against it. ³⁵ They captured it that day, struck it with the sword's edge, and destroyed every person in it that day, just as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶ Then Joshua, with all Israel, went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. ³⁷ They captured it, struck it with the sword's edge—its king, all its towns, everyone in it. He left no survivor, just as he had done to Eglon, devoting it and everyone in it to destruction.

³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and fought against it. ³⁹ He captured it, its king, and all its villages, struck them with the sword, and devoted every person in it to destruction—no survivors. He did to Debir and its king as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king. ⁴⁰ Joshua struck the whole land—the hill country, the Negev, the lowlands, the slopes—and all their kings. He left no survivor; he destroyed everything that breathed, as our Father, the God of Israel, commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen, to Gibeon. ⁴² Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because our Father, God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.