Chapter 10

¹Now it happened, when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and 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; ²that 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 of it were mighty. ³Therefore 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, ⁴Come up to me, and help me, and let us strike Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. ⁵Therefore 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 armies, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it. ⁶The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Don’t slack 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 together against us. ⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸Yahweh said to Joshua, Don’t fear them: for I have delivered them into your hands; there shall not a man of them stand before you. ⁹Joshua therefore came on them suddenly; for he went up from Gilgal all the night. ¹⁰Yahweh confused them before Israel, and he killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them to Azekah, and to Makkedah. ¹¹It happened, as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth Horon, that Yahweh cast down great stones from the sky on them to Azekah, and they died: they were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel killed with the sword. ¹²Then spoke Joshua to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand you still on Gibeon; You, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. ¹³The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the midst of the sky, and didn’t hurry to go down about a whole day. ¹⁴There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man: for Yahweh fought for Israel. ¹⁵Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal. ¹⁶These five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷It was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁸Joshua said, Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them: ¹⁹but don’t stay; pursue after your enemies, and strike the hindmost of them; don’t allow them to enter into their cities: for Yahweh your God has delivered them into your hand. ²⁰It happened, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of killing them with a very great slaughter, until they were consumed, and the remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, ²¹that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. ²²Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth those five kings to me out of the cave. ²³They did so, and brought forth those five kings to him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon. ²⁴It happened, when they brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings. They came near, and put their feet on the necks of them. ²⁵Joshua said to them, Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage: for thus shall Yahweh do to all your enemies against whom you fight. ²⁶Afterward Joshua struck them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging on the trees until the evening. ²⁷It happened at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave in which they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, to this very day. ²⁸Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and the king of it: he utterly destroyed them and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining; and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho. ²⁹Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah: ³⁰and Yahweh delivered it also, and the king of it, into the hand of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining in it; and he did to the king of it as he had done to the king of Jericho. ³¹Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: ³²and Yahweh delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel; and he took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah. ³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he had left him none remaining. ³⁴Joshua passed from Lachish, and all Israel with him, to Eglon; and they encamped against it, and fought against it; ³⁵and they took it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and all the souls who were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. ³⁶Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron; and they fought against it: ³⁷and they took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and the king of it, and all the cities of it, and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls who were therein. ³⁸Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it: ³⁹and he took it, and the king of it, and all the cities of it; and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king of it; as he had done also to Libnah, and to the king of it. ⁴⁰So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, and the South, and the lowland, and the slopes, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but he utterly destroyed all that breathed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded. ⁴¹Joshua struck them from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon. ⁴²All these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal.