JoshuaChapter 10

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¹Adoni-zedek was king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had taken Ai and destroyed it completely. Joshua had done to Ai and its king what he did to Jericho and its king. Adoni-zedek also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel. They were now living near the Israelites. ²So Adoni-zedek and his people were very afraid, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the cities that had a king. It was bigger than Ai, and all its men were strong fighters. ³So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent a message to four kings. They were Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon. He said, ⁴"Come up and help me. Let's attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." ⁵So the five kings of the Amorites joined their forces. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. They marched out with all their armies. They camped around Gibeon and attacked it. ⁶Then the men of Gibeon sent a message to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal. "Don't leave us, your servants, on our own. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined together against us." ⁷So Joshua and his whole army went up from Gilgal. All his bravest fighting men went with him. ⁸The LORD said to Joshua, "Don't be afraid of them, because I have given them to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you." ⁹Joshua marched all night from Gilgal. He took them by surprise. ¹⁰The LORD threw them into a panic in front of Israel. Israel beat them badly and killed many at Gibeon. Israel chased them up the road to Beth-horon. They struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹The enemy ran from Israel down the road from Beth-horon to Azekah. As they ran, the LORD threw large hailstones down on them from the sky. More of them died from the hail than from the swords of the Israelites. ¹²On that day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites. That day Joshua spoke to the LORD in front of all Israel. He said,
"Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon." ¹³So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped. They stayed there until the nation paid back its enemies. This is written in the Book of Jashar, isn't it? It says, "So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It waited about a whole day before going down." ¹⁴There has never been a day like it, before or since, when the LORD listened to a man's voice. This was because the LORD fought for Israel! ¹⁵Then Joshua went back with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal. ¹⁶Now the five kings had run away. They hid in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷Someone told Joshua, "The five kings have been found. They are hiding in the cave at Makkedah." ¹⁸So Joshua said, "Roll large stones over the opening of the cave. Put men there to guard the kings. ¹⁹But don't stop there yourselves. Chase your enemies. Attack them from behind. Don't let them get back to their cities, because the LORD your God has given them to you." ²⁰So Joshua and the Israelites kept on killing them. They killed a great many of them until they had finished them off. The few who were left alive escaped into their walled cities. ²¹The whole army came back safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. After that, no one dared to say a word against the Israelites. ²²Then Joshua said, "Open the cave. Bring those five kings out to me." ²³So they brought the five kings out of the cave. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. ²⁴They brought the kings to Joshua. Then he called all the men of Israel together. He said to the army leaders who had gone with him, "Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings." So the leaders came and put their feet on the kings' necks. ²⁵Joshua said to them, "Don't be afraid. Don't lose heart. Be strong and courageous, because this is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you fight." ²⁶Then Joshua struck the kings and killed them. He hung their bodies on five trees. They stayed there until evening. ²⁷At sunset Joshua gave an order. The bodies were taken down from the trees. They were thrown into the cave where the kings had hidden. Then large stones were put over the opening of the cave. The stones are still there today. ²⁸That day Joshua took Makkedah. He killed its king and its people with the sword. He destroyed everyone in the city completely. No one was left alive. He did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho. ²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Makkedah to Libnah. They attacked Libnah. ³⁰The LORD gave that city and its king to Israel too. Joshua killed all its people with the sword. No one was left alive. He did to the king of Libnah what he had done to the king of Jericho. ³¹Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Libnah to Lachish. They surrounded it and attacked it. ³²The LORD gave Lachish to Israel. Joshua took it on the second day. He killed all its people with the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. ³³At that time Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish. But Joshua defeated him and his army. No one was left alive. ³⁴Then Joshua went on from Lachish to Eglon. All Israel went with him. They surrounded it and attacked it. ³⁵They took Eglon that same day and killed its people with the sword. Joshua destroyed everyone in the city completely, just as he had done to Lachish. ³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron. They attacked it. ³⁷They took it. They killed its king with the sword. They also killed the people of all its villages and everyone else there. Joshua left no one alive, just as at Eglon. He destroyed Hebron and everyone in it completely. ³⁸Last of all, Joshua and all Israel with him turned back toward Debir. They attacked it. ³⁹They took Debir, its king, and all its villages. They killed them with the sword. They destroyed everyone in the city completely. No one was left alive. Joshua did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron. He did what he had done to Libnah and its king. ⁴⁰So Joshua took over the whole region. He took the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes. He defeated all their kings. He left no one alive. He destroyed everything that breathed. This was what the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹Joshua conquered the land from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza. He took the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon. ⁴²Joshua took all these kings and their land in one campaign. He did it because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³Then Joshua went back with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.