The Gibeonite Deception

9 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan ^(A)in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast ^(B)of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, ^(C)the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, ² they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

³ But when the inhabitants of ^(D)Gibeon heard what Joshua had done ^(E)to Jericho and ^(F)to Ai, ⁴ they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, ⁵ with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. ⁶ And they went to Joshua in ^(G)the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” ⁷ But the men of Israel said to ^(H)the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then ^(I)how can we make a covenant with you?” ⁸ They said to Joshua, ^(J)“We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” ⁹ They said to him, ^(K)“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. ^(L)For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, ^10 (M)and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in ^(N)Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ ¹² Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. ¹³ These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” ¹⁴ So the men took some of their provisions, but ^(O)did not ask counsel from the Lord. ¹⁵ And Joshua ^(P)made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

¹⁶ At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors ^(Q)and that they lived among them. ¹⁷ And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. ^(R)Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸ But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. ¹⁹ But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them: let them live, lest ^(S)wrath be upon us, ^(T)because of the oath that we swore to them.” ²¹ And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became ^(U)cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders ^(V)had said of them.

²² Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ^(W)‘We are very far from you,’ when ^(X)you dwell among us? ²³ Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, ^(Y)cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” ²⁴ They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had ^(Z)commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so ^(AA)we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. ²⁵ And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” ²⁶ So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. ²⁷ But Joshua made them that day ^(AB)cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, ^(AC)in the place that he should choose.

The Sun Stands Still

10 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,^{[a] (AD)}doing to Ai and its king ^(AE)as he had done to Jericho and its king, and ^(AF)how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ^2 (AG)he^[b] feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. ³ So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For ^(AH)it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” ⁵ Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, ^(AI)gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua ^(AJ)at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” ⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^(AK)all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(AL)“Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. ^(AM)Not a man of them shall stand before you.” ⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. ^10 (AN)And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who^[c] struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of ^(AO)the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And as they fled before Israel, while they were ^(AP)going down the ascent of Beth-horon, ^(AQ)the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. ^14 (AS)There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for ^(AT)the Lord fought for Israel.

¹⁵ So ^(AU)Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

¹⁶ These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at ^(AV)Makkedah. ¹⁷ And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸ And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, ¹⁹ but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; ^(AW)attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰ When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow ^(AX)until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, ²¹ then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. ^(AY)Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

²² Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³ And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴ And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵ And Joshua said to them, ^(AZ)“Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. ^(BA)For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” ²⁶ And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And ^(BB)they hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷ But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and ^(BC)they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸ As for ^(BD)Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah ^(BE)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Conquest of Southern Canaan

²⁹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to ^(BF)Libnah and fought against Libnah. ³⁰ And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king ^(BG)as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to ^(BH)Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. ³² And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

³³ Then Horam king of ^(BI)Gezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

³⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to ^(BJ)Eglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. ³⁵ And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to ^(BK)Hebron. And they fought against it ³⁷ and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to ^(BL)Debir and fought against it ³⁹ and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

⁴⁰ So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland ^(BM)and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, ^(BN)but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. ⁴¹ And Joshua struck them from ^(BO)Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of ^(BP)Goshen, as far as Gibeon. ⁴² And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, ^(BQ)because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. ^43 (BR)Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Conquests in Northern Canaan

11 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he ^(BS)sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the ^(BT)Arabah south of ^(BU)Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and ^(BV)in Naphoth-dor on the ^(BW)west, ³ to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the ^(BX)Jebusites in the hill country, and the ^(BY)Hivites under ^(BZ)Hermon in the land of ^(CA)Mizpah. ⁴ And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number ^(CB)like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵ And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

⁶ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(CC)“Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall ^(CD)hamstring their horses and burn their ^(CE)chariots with fire.” ⁷ So Joshua and all his warriors came ^(CF)suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. ⁸ And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as ^(CG)Great Sidon and ^(CH)Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of ^(CI)Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. ⁹ And Joshua did to them ^(CJ)just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

¹⁰ And Joshua turned back at that time and captured ^(CK)Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹ And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;^{[d] (CL)}there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. ¹² And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, ^(CM)just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. ¹³ But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. ¹⁴ And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. ^15 (CN)Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, ^(CO)so Moses commanded Joshua, ^(CP)and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁶ So Joshua took all that land, ^(CQ)the hill country and all the Negeb and ^(CR)all the land of Goshen ^(CS)and the lowland ^(CT)and the Arabah ^(CU)and the hill country of Israel and its lowland ^17 (CV)from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as ^(CW)Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below ^(CX)Mount Hermon. And he captured ^(CY)all their kings and struck them and put them to death. ¹⁸ Joshua made war ^(CZ)a long time with all those kings. ¹⁹ There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except ^(DA)the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. ²⁰ For it was the Lord's doing ^(DB)to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, ^(DC)just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²¹ And Joshua came at that time and cut off ^(DD)the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. ²² There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, ^(DE)in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. ²³ So Joshua took the whole land, ^(DF)according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. ^(DG)And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel ^(DH)according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

The Crucifixion

^26 (A)And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were ^(B)mourning and lamenting for him. ²⁸ But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For behold, ^(C)the days are coming when they will say, ^(D)‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ^30 (E)Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ For ^(F)if they do these things when ^(G)the wood is green, what will happen ^(H)when it is dry?”

^32 (I)Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ^33 (J)And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, ^(K)one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, ^(L)forgive them, ^(M)for they know not what they do.”^[a] And they cast lots ^(N)to divide his garments. ³⁵ And ^(O)the people stood by, watching, ^(P)but ^(Q)the rulers ^(R)scoffed at him, saying, ^(S)“He saved others; ^(T)let him save himself, ^(U)if he is ^(V)the Christ of God, ^(W)his Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and ^(X)offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, ^(Y)“If you are ^(Z)the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ^38 (AA)There was also an inscription over him,^[b] “This is ^(AB)the King of the Jews.”

^39 (AC)One of the criminals who were hanged ^(AD)railed at him,^[c] saying, “Are you not ^(AE)the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me ^(AF)when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in ^(AG)paradise.”

The Death of Jesus

^44 (AH)It was now about the sixth hour,^[d] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,^{[e] 45} while the sun's light failed. And ^(AI)the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Then Jesus, ^(AJ)calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, ^(AK)into your hands I ^(AL)commit my spirit!” And having said this ^(AM)he breathed his last. ⁴⁷ Now ^(AN)when the centurion saw what had taken place, ^(AO)he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home ^(AP)beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ And all ^(AQ)his acquaintances and ^(AR)the women who had followed him from Galilee ^(AS)stood at a distance watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

^50 (AT)Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action; and he ^(AU)was looking for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and ^(AV)laid him in a tomb cut in stone, ^(AW)where no one had ever yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was the day of ^(AX)Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.^{[f] 55 (AY)}The women ^(AZ)who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(BA)prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested ^(BB)according to the commandment.

¹⁷ and ^(A)he went out, ^(B)bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ^18 (C)There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. ¹⁹ Pilate ^(D)also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for ^(E)the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, ^(F)“What I have written I have written.”

^23 (G)When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.^[a] But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, ²⁴ so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” ^(H)This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

So the soldiers did these things, ^25 (J)but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and ^(K)the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ^(L)“Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to ^(M)his own home.

The Death of Jesus

²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now ^(N)finished, said (^(O)to fulfill the Scripture), ^(P)“I thirst.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine stood there, ^(Q)so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. ³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ^(R)“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and ^(S)gave up his spirit.

Jesus' Side Is Pierced

³¹ Since it was ^(T)the day of Preparation, and ^(U)so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was ^(V)a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other ^(W)who had been crucified with him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out ^(X)blood and water. ^35 (Y)He who saw it has borne witness—^(Z)his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—^(AA)that you also may believe. ^36 (AB)For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ^(AC)“Not one of his bones ^(AD)will be broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, ^(AE)“They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Jesus Is Buried

^38 (AF)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly ^(AG)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. ^39 (AH)Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus^[b] by night, came ^(AI)bringing a mixture of ^(AJ)myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds^[c] in weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and ^(AK)bound it in ^(AL)linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a ^(AM)garden, and ^(AN)in the garden a new tomb ^(AO)in which no one had yet been laid.