Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

Joshua 10:1-15
New English Translation

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

10 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho and its king.[a] He also heard how[b] the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them. 2 All Jerusalem was terrified[c] because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors. 3 So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon: 4 “Come to my aid[d] so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 5 So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon.[e]

6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon[f] your subjects![g] Come up here quickly and rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.”[h] 7 So Joshua and his whole army, including the bravest warriors, marched up from Gilgal.[i] 8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I am handing them over to you.[j] Not one of them can resist you.”[k] 9 Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all night from Gilgal.[l] 10 The Lord routed[m] them before Israel. Israel[n] thoroughly defeated them[o] at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass[p] of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from[q] Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky,[r] all the way to Azekah. They died—in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

12 The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel:[s]

“O sun, stand still over Gibeon;
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”

13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One.[t] The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day.[u] 14 There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord listened to a human being, for the Lord fought for Israel! 15 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 10:1 tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”
  2. Joshua 10:1 tn Heb “and how.”
  3. Joshua 10:2 tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.
  4. Joshua 10:4 tn Heb “Come up to me and help me.”
  5. Joshua 10:5 tn Heb “and they camped against Gibeon and fought against it.”
  6. Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”
  7. Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “your servants!”
  8. Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “have gathered against us.”
  9. Joshua 10:7 tn Heb “And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the brave warriors.”
  10. Joshua 10:8 tn Heb “I have given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.
  11. Joshua 10:8 tn Heb “and not a man [or “one”] of them will stand before you.”
  12. Joshua 10:9 tn Heb “Joshua came upon them suddenly, all the night he went up from Gilgal.”
  13. Joshua 10:10 tn Or “caused to panic.”
  14. Joshua 10:10 tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Israel (mentioned at the end of the previous sentence in the verse; cf. NIV, NRSV), but it is also possible that the Lord should be understood as the referent (cf. NASB “and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon”), or even Joshua (cf. NEB “and Joshua defeated them utterly in Gibeon”).
  15. Joshua 10:10 tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
  16. Joshua 10:10 tn Or “ascent.”
  17. Joshua 10:11 tn Heb “on the descent of.”
  18. Joshua 10:11 tn Or “heaven” (also in v. 13). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
  19. Joshua 10:12 tn Heb “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day the Lord placed the Amorites before the sons of Israel and he said in the eyes of Israel.” It is uncertain whether the phrase “before the sons of Israel” modifies the verb “placed” (as in the present translation, “delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites”) or the verb “spoke” (“Joshua spoke to the Lord before the sons of Israel in the day the Lord delivered over the Amorites”).
  20. Joshua 10:13 tn Heb “Is it not written down in the Scroll of the Upright One?” Many modern translations render this as “the Book of Jashar.” Yashar (יָשָׁר) means “Upright One.”sn The Scroll of the Upright One was apparently an ancient Israelite collection of songs and prayers (see also 2 Sam 1:18), but it has not been preserved.
  21. Joshua 10:13 tn Heb “and did not hurry to set [for] about a full day.”sn The nature of the event described here is debated. Various options have been suggested, including (1) the earth stopped rotating, (2) the light of the sun somehow shone longer than normal, (3) the light of the sun was blocked by an eclipse, (4) the position of the sun and moon in the sky was interpreted as an omen, or (5) the language is figurative and metaphorical, describing the battle in poetic terms. For a good discussion of these options, see D. M. Howard, Jr., Joshua (NAC), 241-49.
Listen to Joshua 10:1-15
Close NIV

Joshua 10:1-15
New International Version

The Sun Stands Still

10 Now Adoni-Zedek(A) king of Jerusalem(B) heard that Joshua had taken Ai(C) and totally destroyed[a](D) it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon(E) had made a treaty of peace(F) with Israel and had become their allies. 2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron,(G) Piram king of Jarmuth,(H) Japhia king of Lachish(I) and Debir(J) king of Eglon.(K) 4 “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace(L) with Joshua and the Israelites.”

5 Then the five kings(M) of the Amorites(N)—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal:(O) “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army,(P) including all the best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid(Q) of them; I have given them into your hand.(R) Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”(S)

9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion(T) before Israel,(U) so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon.(V) Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon(W) and cut them down all the way to Azekah(X) and Makkedah.(Y) 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones(Z) down on them,(AA) and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(AB) 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.(AC)”
13 So the sun stood still,(AD)
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on[b] its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.(AE)

The sun stopped(AF) 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(AG) for Israel!

15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.(AH)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 10:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 28, 35, 37, 39 and 40.
  2. Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over
Next
Joshua 9
Joshua 11
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV