Joshua 10:1-27
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 10
Conspiracy against Gibeon.[a] 1 Now Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had taken Ai and had totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king what he had already done to Jericho and its king, and also how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them. 2 He and his people were shocked, for Gibeon was one of the larger cities, large enough to be one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty warriors. 3 Adoni-zedek appealed to Hoham, the king of Hebron, Piram, the king of Jarmuth, Japhia, the king of Lachish, and Debir, the king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up and assist me with an attack on Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 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, and all of their armies went up and encamped outside of Gibeon to attack it. 6 The Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua who was in his camp at Gilgal saying, “Do not abandon your servants! Come up quickly to us and save us. All of the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have gathered forces against us.”
Joshua Rescues Gibeon. 7 So Joshua and all of his fighting men went up along with his most valiant warriors. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have delivered them into your hands. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.” 9 Joshua marched from Gilgal all night and took them by surprise. 10 The Lord routed them before Israel. They killed many at Gibeon, chasing after them on the road leading up to Beth-horon, slaying them all the way up to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they were fleeing before the Israelites on the road from Beth-horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled down large hailstones upon them, so that more of them were killed by the hailstones than had been killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12 On the day that the Lord delivered the Amorites up to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in front of the Israelites saying, “O Sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation had taken vengeance upon their enemies. Is this not written about in the Book of Jashar?[b] The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and delayed going down for a full day. 14 There had never before been a day like this, and never will be again, a day when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. 15 Joshua and all the Israelites with him then returned to the camp in Gilgal.
16 Five Kings Executed. These five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17 Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found hidden in a cave at Makkedah.” 18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and assign men to guard it, 19 but do not stay there yourselves. You must chase after your enemies and attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter into their cities, for the Lord, your God, has delivered them over into your hands.” 20 When the Israelites had finished all but wiping them out, and those few who remained had slipped into fortified cities, 21 all the people returned safely to Joshua at the camp in Makkedah. No one uttered a sound against the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out of the cave to me.” 23 So they brought those five kings out of the cave to him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 When they had brought those five kings to Joshua, Joshua summoned all of the men of Israel and said to the leaders of the army who had gone out with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.”[c] So they drew near and put their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all of your enemies against whom you are going to fight.” 26 Joshua then struck and killed them, hanging them from five trees. They were left hanging from the trees until the evening. 27 At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and cast into the cave where they had been hiding. They placed large stones at the mouth of the cave that are still there today.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 10:1 A tradition worthy of being celebrated in an epic poem tells how the miracle of the hailstones and of the sun halting brought victory to Israel during a memorable battle. With this tradition is combined a systematic and simplified description of the conquest of southern and northern Palestine. Yet other passages in the Book of Joshua (Jos 13:1-6; 14:6-13; 15:13-19; 17:12, 16) and the entire Book of Judges record an often slow penetration of the country by tribes that were scattered and sometimes even in conflict with one another.
- Joshua 10:13 The Book of Jashar: an ancient collection of poems (see 2 Sam 1:18) that is now lost.
- Joshua 10:24 Put your feet on the necks of these kings: this was a common demonstration of power among the military that announced to all who were victorious in battle. Here it is the Lord’s triumph over the proud kings that is being proclaimed.
