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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Joshua 10: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Joshua 10
10
The Day the Sun Stood Still
1Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and completely destroyed # Jos 8:26; 10:28,35-40; 11:11-12,20-21; 24:20; Jdg 1:17; 21:11 it, treating Ai and its king as he had Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon # Jos 8:22 had made peace with Israel and were living among them. # Jos 9:15 2So Adoni-zedek and his people were # One Hb ms, Syr, Vg read So he was greatly alarmed because Gibeon was a large city like one of the royal cities; # Jos 13:31; 1Sm 27:5 it was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4“Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 5So the five Amorite kings — the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon — joined forces, advanced with all their armies, besieged Gibeon, and fought against it.
6Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t abandon # Lit Don’t let your hand go from your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.” 7So Joshua and his whole military force, including all the fighting men, came from Gilgal. # Jos 8:1
8The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, # Jos 1:5 for I have handed them over to you. # Gn 14:20; Nm 21:34; Dt 2:30; 7:24 Not one of them will be able to stand against you.” # Dt 7:24; 11:25; Jos 1:5; 21:44; 23:9
9So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal. 10The Lord threw them into confusion # Ex 14:24; 23:27; 1Sm 7:10 before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11As they fled before Israel, the Lord threw large hailstones on them # Ps 18:12-14 from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, # Hab 3:11 stand still over Gibeon,
and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13And the sun stood still
and the moon stopped
until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.
Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? # Or of the Upright
So the sun stopped
in the middle of the sky
and delayed its setting
almost a full day.
14There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, because the Lord fought for Israel. # Ex 14:14,25; Dt 1:30; 3:22; 20:4; Jos 10:42; 23:3,10; 2Ch 20:29; 32:8; Ps 35:1; Zch 14:3 15Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Execution of the Five Kings
16Now the five defeated kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17It was reported to Joshua: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
18Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and station men by it to guard the kings. 19But as for the rest of you, don’t stay there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Don’t let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has handed them over to you.” 20So Joshua and the Israelites finished inflicting a terrible slaughter on them until they were destroyed, although a few survivors ran away to the fortified cities. 21The people returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. And no one dared to threaten # Lit No one sharpened his tongue against the Israelites.
22Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings to me out of there.” 23That is what they did. They brought the five kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon to Joshua out of the cave. 24When they had brought the kings to him, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the military commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks. 25Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous, # Dt 31:7; Jos 1:6-7,9,18 for the Lord will do this to all the enemies you fight.”
26After this, Joshua struck them down and executed them. He hung # Or impaled their bodies on five trees # Or wooden stakes and they were there until evening. # Jos 8:29 27At sunset Joshua commanded that they be taken down from the trees # Or wooden stakes # Dt 21:22-23 and thrown into the cave where they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day. # Jos 6:25
Conquest of Southern Cities
28On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and struck it down with the sword, including its king. He completely destroyed it # Some Hb mss read them and everyone in it, leaving no survivors. So he treated the king of Makkedah as he had the king of Jericho. # Jos 6:21
29Joshua and all Israel with him # Jos 7:24; 10:15,31,36 crossed from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. # Jos 21:13 30The Lord also handed it and its king over to Israel. He struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword, and left no survivors in it. He treated Libnah’s king as he had the king of Jericho.
31From Libnah, Joshua and all Israel with him crossed to Lachish. They laid siege to it and attacked it. 32The Lord handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day. He struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33At that time Horam king of Gezer went to help Lachish, # Jos 16:10; Jdg 1:29; 1Kg 9:16-17 but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors in it.
34Then Joshua crossed from Lachish to Eglon and all Israel with him. They laid siege to it and attacked it. 35On that day they captured it and struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword. He completely destroyed it that day, just as he had done to Lachish.
36Next, Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron # Jdg 1:10 and attacked it. 37They captured it and struck down its king, all its villages, and everyone in it with the sword. He left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon. He completely destroyed Hebron and everyone in it.
38Finally, Joshua turned toward Debir # Jos 15:15; Jdg 1:11 and attacked it. And all Israel was with him. 39He captured it — its king and all its villages. They struck them down with the sword and completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He treated Debir and its king as he had treated Hebron and as he had treated Libnah and its king.
40So Joshua conquered the whole region # Dt 19:8; 34:1; Jos 2:24; 9:24; 11:16,23; 21:43 — the hill country, the Negev, the Judean foothills, # Or the Shephelah and the slopes — with all their kings, leaving no survivors. He completely destroyed every living being, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. # Dt 20:16 41Joshua conquered everyone from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen # Jos 15:50 as far as Gibeon. 42Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign, # Lit land at one time because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. # Jos 10:14 43Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
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