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] (A)}doing to Ai and its king ^(B)as he had done to Jericho and its king, and ^(C)how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 For this ^(A)Melchizedek, king of ^(B)Salem, priest of ^(C)the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

¹⁹ There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except ^(A)the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. ²⁰ For it was the Lord's doing ^(B)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, ^(C)just as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁵ And Joshua ^(A)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 ^(B)and that they lived among them. ¹⁷ And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. ^(C)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 ^(D)wrath be upon us, ^(E)because of the oath that we swore to them.” ²¹ And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became ^(F)cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders ^(G)had said of them.

²² Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ^(H)‘We are very far from you,’ when ^(I)you dwell among us? ²³ Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, ^(J)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 ^(K)commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so ^(L)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 ^(M)cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, ^(N)in the place that he should choose.

²² And the others came out from the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And Israel struck them down, until there was ^(A)left none that survived or escaped. ²³ But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him near to Joshua.

²⁴ When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword. ²⁵ And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai. ²⁶ But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he ^(B)stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction.^{[a] 27} Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder, according to the word of the Lord that he ^(C)commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a ^(D)heap of ruins, as it is to this day. ^29 (E)And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. ^(F)And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and ^(G)raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.

² And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did ^(A)to Jericho and its king. Only ^(B)its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”

²¹ Then they ^(A)devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

¹⁸ And ^(A)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was ^(B)priest of ^(C)God Most High.)