Joshua 10
10
Joshua 10
1¶ 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;
2they 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.
3Therefore 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,
4Come up unto me and help me that we may smite Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons 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 hosts and encamped before Gibeon and made war against it.
6And 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.
7¶ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him and all the mighty men of valour.
8And 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.
9Joshua, therefore, came unto them suddenly, for he went up from Gilgal all night.
10And 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.
11And 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.
12Then 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.
13And 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.
14And 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.
16But the five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.
17And it was told unto Joshua that the five kings had been found hidden in a cave at Makkedah.
18Then Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them;
19and 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.
20And 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.
21And 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.
22Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
23And 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.
24And 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.
25And 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.
26And 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.
27And 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.
29Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him unto Libnah and fought against Libnah;
30and 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.
31And Joshua passed from Libnah and all Israel with him unto Lachish and encamped against it and fought against it;
32and 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.
33Then Horam, king of Gezer, came up to help Lachish, and Joshua smote him and his people until none of them were left.
34And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon and all Israel with him, and they encamped against it and fought against it;
35and 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.
36And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it;
37and 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 thatwere therein.
38And Joshua returned and all Israel with him to Debir and fought against it;
39and 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.
40So 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.
41And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza and all the country of Goshen even unto Gibeon.
42All these kings and their lands Joshua took at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.
43And Joshua returned and all Israel with him unto the camp to Gilgal.
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Joshua 10: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Joshua 10
10
Joshua Commands the Sun To Stand Still
1King Adonizedek of Jerusalem#10.1 Jerusalem: Jerusalem was not an Israelite city at this time. heard that Joshua had captured and destroyed the town of Ai, and then killed its king as he had done at Jericho. He also learned that the Gibeonites had signed a peace treaty with Israel. 2This frightened Adonizedek and his people. They knew that Gibeon was a large town, as big as the towns that had kings, and even bigger than the town of Ai had been. And all of the men of Gibeon were warriors. 3So Adonizedek sent messages to the kings of four other towns: King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. The messages said, 4“The Gibeonites have signed a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelites. Come and help me attack Gibeon!”
5When these five Amorite kings called their armies together and attacked Gibeon, 6the Gibeonites sent a message to the Israelite camp at Gilgal: “Joshua, please come and rescue us! The Amorite kings from the hill country have joined together and are attacking us. We are your servants, so don't let us down. Please hurry!”
7Joshua and his army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal. 8“Joshua,” the Lord said, “don't be afraid of the Amorites. They will run away when you attack, and I will help you defeat them.”
9Joshua marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon and made a surprise attack on the Amorite camp. 10The Lord made the enemy panic, and the Israelites started killing them right and left. They#10.10 They: Or “The Lord.” chased the Amorite troops up the road to Beth-Horon and kept on killing them, until they reached the towns of Azekah and Makkedah.#10.10 Makkedah: A total distance of about 40 kilometers. 11And while these troops were going down through Beth-Horon Pass,#10.11 Beth-Horon Pass: A three-kilometer long, steeply-sloping valley between the towns of Upper Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon. the Lord made huge hailstones fall on them all the way to Azekah. More of the enemy soldiers died from the hail than from the Israelite weapons.
12-13 #
2 S 1.18; Si 46.4-6. The Lord was helping the Israelites defeat the Amorites that day. So about noon, Joshua prayed to the Lord loud enough for the Israelites to hear:
“Our Lord, make the sun stop
in the sky over Gibeon,
and the moon stand still
over Aijalon Valley.”#10.12,13 Aijalon Valley: A valley southwest of Beth-Horon Pass.
So the sun and the moon
stopped and stood still
until Israel defeated its enemies.
This poem can be found in The Book of Jashar.#10.12,13 Book of Jashar: This book may have been a collection of ancient war songs. The sun stood still and didn't go down for about a whole day. 14Never before and never since has the Lord done anything like that for someone who prayed. The Lord was really fighting for Israel.
15After the battle, Joshua and the Israelites went back to their camp at Gilgal.
Joshua Kills the Five Enemy Kings
16While the enemy soldiers were running from the Israelites, the five enemy kings ran away and hid in a cave near Makkedah. 17Joshua's soldiers told him, “The five kings have been found in a cave near Makkedah.”
18Joshua answered, “Roll some big stones over the mouth of the cave and leave a few soldiers to guard it. 19But you and everyone else must keep going after the enemy troops, because they will be safe if they reach their walled towns. Don't let them get away! The Lord our God is helping us get rid of them.” 20So Joshua and the Israelites almost wiped out the enemy soldiers. Only a few safely reached their walled towns.
21The Israelite army returned to their camp at Makkedah, where Joshua was waiting for them. No one around there dared say anything bad about the Israelites. 22Joshua told his soldiers, “Now, move the rocks from the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings to me.”
23The soldiers opened the entrance to the cave and brought out the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24After Joshua had called the army together, he forced the five kings to lie down on the ground. Then he called his officers forward and told them, “You fought these kings along with me, so put your feet on their necks.” The officers did this, 25and Joshua continued, “Don't ever be afraid or discouraged. Be brave and strong. This is what the Lord will do to all your enemies.”
26Joshua killed the five kings and told his men to hang each body on a tree. Then at sunset 27he told some of his troops, “Take the bodies down and throw them into the cave where the kings were found. Cover the entrance to the cave with big rocks.”
Joshua's troops obeyed his orders, and those rocks are still there.
Joshua Continues the Fighting
28Later that day, Joshua captured Makkedah and killed its king and everyone else in the town, just as he had done at Jericho.
29Joshua and his army left Makkedah and attacked the town of Libnah. 30The Lord let them capture the town and its king, and they killed the king and everyone else, just as they had done at Jericho.
31Joshua then led his army to Lachish, and they set up camp around the town. They attacked, 32and the next day the Lord let them capture the town. They killed everyone, as they had done at Libnah. 33King Horam of Gezer arrived to help Lachish, but Joshua and his troops attacked and destroyed him and his army.
34From Lachish, Joshua took his troops to Eglon, where they set up camp surrounding the town. They attacked, 35captured it that same day, then killed everyone, as they had done at Lachish.
36Joshua and his army left Eglon and attacked Hebron. 37They captured the town and the nearby villages, then killed everyone, including the king. They destroyed Hebron in the same way they had destroyed Eglon.
38Joshua and the Israelite army turned and attacked Debir. 39They captured the town, and its nearby villages. Then they destroyed Debir and killed its king, together with everyone else, just as they had done with Hebron and Libnah.
40Joshua captured towns everywhere in the land: In the central hill country and the foothills to the west, in the Southern Desert and the region that slopes down toward the Dead Sea. Whenever he captured a town, he would kill the king and everyone else, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41Joshua wiped out towns from Kadesh-Barnea to Gaza, everywhere in the region of Goshen,#10.41 Goshen: A region between the hill country of Judah and the desert further south. Not the same Goshen as in Genesis 47.4-6. and as far north as Gibeon. 42-43The Lord fought on Israel's side, so Joshua and the Israelite army were able to capture these kings and take their land. They fought one battle after another, then they went back to their camp at Gilgal after capturing all that land.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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