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.
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