Joshua 10:12-14
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
12 Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the men of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand thou still at Gibeon,
and thou Moon in the valley of Ai′jalon.”
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.[a]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 10.12-14 Joshua’s apostrophe to the sun occurs in a fragment quoted from an old collection of epic material, and the quotation goes on beyond verse 12. This would make a literal interpretation of this event undesirable. It appears from the narrative that a great storm occurred at the same time as the attack and powerfully helped toward the Israelite victory (verse 11). It is this sign of divine aid that is so graphically apostrophized in the following poetic fragment (verses 12-13).
Joshua 10:12-14
New International Version
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(A) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.(B)”
13 So the sun stood still,(C)
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on[a] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.(D)
The sun stopped(E) in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting(F) for Israel!
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over
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