Joshua 10
10
1And it cometh to pass, when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heareth that Joshua hath captured Ai, and doth devote it (as he had done to Jericho and to her king so he hath done to Ai and to her king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon have made peace with Israel, and are in their midst, —
2that they are greatly afraid, because Gibeon [is] a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it [is] greater than Ai, and all its men — heroes.
3And Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sendeth unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,
4‘Come up unto me, and help me, and we smite Gibeon, for it hath made peace with
5And five kings of the Amorite (the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon) are gathered together, and go up, they and all their camps, and encamp against Gibeon, and fight against it.
6And the men of Gibeon send unto Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal, saying, ‘Let not thy hand cease from thy servants; come up unto us [with] haste, and give safety to us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorite, dwelling in the hill-country, have been assembled against us.’
7And Joshua goeth up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, even all the mighty men of valour.
8And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, ‘Be not afraid of them, for into thy hand I have given them, there doth not stand a man of them in thy presence.’
9And Joshua cometh in unto them suddenly (all the night he hath gone up from Gilgal),
10and Jehovah doth crush them before Israel, and it smiteth them — a great smiting — at Gibeon, and pursueth them the way of the ascent of Beth-Horon, and smiteth them unto Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
11And it cometh to pass, in their fleeing from the face of Israel — they [are] in the descent of Beth-Horon — and Jehovah hath cast upon them great stones out of the heavens, unto Azekah, and they die; more are they who have died by the hailstones than they whom the sons of Israel have slain by the sword.
12Then speaketh Joshua to Jehovah in the day of Jehovah's giving up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he saith, before the eyes of Israel, ‘Sun — in Gibeon stand still; and moon — in the valley of Ajalon;’
13and the sun standeth still, and the moon hath stood — till the nation taketh vengeance [on] its enemies; is it not written on the Book of the Upright, ‘and the sun standeth in the midst of the heavens, and hath not hasted to go in — as a perfect day?’
14And there hath not been like that day before it or after it, for Jehovah's hearkening to the voice of a man; for Jehovah is fighting for Israel.
15And Joshua turneth back, and all Israel with him, unto the camp at Gilgal.
16And these five kings flee, and are hidden in a cave at Makkedah,
17and it is declared to Joshua, saying, ‘The five kings have been found hidden in a cave at Makkedah.’
18And Joshua saith, ‘Roll great stones unto the mouth of the cave, and appoint over it men to watch them;
19and ye, stand not, pursue after your enemies, and ye have smitten the hindmost of them; suffer them not to go in unto their cities, for Jehovah your God hath given them into your hand.’
20And it cometh to pass, when Joshua and the sons of Israel finish to smite them — a very great smiting, till they are consumed, and the remnant who have remained of them go in unto the fenced cities,
21that all the people turn back to the camp, unto Joshua, [at] Makkedah, in peace; none moved sharply his tongue against the sons of Israel.
22And Joshua saith, ‘Open ye the mouth of the cave, and bring out unto me these five kings from the cave;’
23and they do so, and bring out unto him these five kings from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.
24And it cometh to pass, when they bring out these kings unto Joshua, that Joshua calleth unto every man of Israel, and saith unto the captains of the men of war, who have gone with him, ‘Draw near, set your feet on the necks of these kings;’ and they draw near, and set their feet on their necks.
25And Joshua saith unto them, ‘Fear not, nor be affrighted; be strong and courageous; for thus doth Jehovah do to all your enemies with whom ye are fighting;’
26and Joshua smiteth them afterwards, and putteth them to death, and hangeth them on five trees; and they are hanging on the trees till the evening.
27And it cometh to pass, at the time of the going in of the sun, Joshua hath commanded, and they take them down from off the trees, and cast them unto the cave where they had been hid, and put great stones on the mouth of the cave till this very day.
28And Makkedah hath Joshua captured on that day, and he smiteth it by the mouth of the sword, and its king he hath devoted, them and every person who [is] in it — he hath not left a remnant; and he doth to the king of Makkedah as he did to the king of Jericho.
29And Joshua passeth over, and all Israel with him, from Makkedah [to] Libnah, and fighteth with Libnah;
30and Jehovah giveth also it into the hand of Israel, and its king, and it smiteth it by the mouth of the sword, and every person who [is] in it — it left not in it a remnant; and it doth to its king as it did to the king of Jericho.
31And Joshua passeth over, and all Israel with him, from Libnah to Lachish, and encampeth against it, and fighteth against it;
32And Jehovah giveth Lachish into the hand of Israel, and it captureth it on the second day, and smiteth it by the mouth of the sword, and every person who [is] in it, according to all that it did to Libnah.
33Than hath Horam king of Gezer come up to help Lachish, and Joshua smiteth him and his people, till he hath not left to him a remnant.
34And Joshua passeth over, and all Israel with him, from Lachish to Eglon, and they encamp against it, and fight against it,
35and capture it on that day, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and every person who [is] in it on that day he hath devoted, according to all that he did to Lachish.
36And Joshua goeth up, and all Israel with him, from Eglon to Hebron, and they fight against it,
37and capture it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and its king, and all its cities, and every person who [is] in it — he hath not left a remnant — according to all that he did to Eglon — and doth devote it, and every person who [is] in it.
38And Joshua turneth back, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fighteth against it,
39and captureth it, and its king, and all its cities, and they smite them by the mouth of the sword, and devote every person who [is] in it — he hath not left a remnant; as he did to Hebron so he did to Debir, and to its king, and as he did to Libnah, and to its king.
40And Joshua smiteth all the land of the hill-country, and of the south, and of the lowcountry, and of the springs, and all their kings — he hath not left a remnant, and all that doth breathe he hath devoted, as Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded.
41And Joshua smiteth them from Kadesh-Barnea, even unto Gaza, and all the land of Goshen, even unto Gibeon;
42and all these kings and their land hath Joshua captured [at] one time, for Jehovah, God of Israel, is fighting for Israel.
43And Joshua turneth back, and all Israel with him, unto the camp at Gilgal.
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Joshua 10: YLT98
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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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