The Sun Stands Still

10 Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem ^(A)heard how Joshua had taken ^(B)Ai and had utterly destroyed it—^(C)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to ^(D)Ai and its king—and ^(E)how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ² that they ^(F)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 mighty. ³ Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ “Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for ^(G)it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” ⁵ Therefore the five kings of the ^(H)Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, ^(I)gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp ^(J)at Gilgal, saying, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us.”

⁷ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and ^(K)all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(L)“Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; ^(M)not a man of them shall ^(N)stand before you.” ⁹ Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰ So the Lord ^(O)routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes ^(P)to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as ^(Q)Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, ^(R)that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:

^(U)Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. ¹⁴ And there has been ^(V)no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for ^(W)the Lord fought for Israel.

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

The Amorite Kings Executed

¹⁶ But these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in a cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ And it was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”

¹⁸ So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them.

The Northern Conquest

11 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things, that he ^(A)sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king ^(B)of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain south of ^(C)Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights ^(D)of Dor on the west, ³ to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the ^(E)Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, ^(F)and the Hivite below ^(G)Hermon ^(H)in the land of Mizpah. ⁴ So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people ^(I)as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵ And when all these kings had ^[a]met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

⁶ But the Lord said to Joshua, ^(J)“Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall ^(K)hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” ⁷ So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. ⁸ And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to ^[b]Greater ^(L)Sidon, to the ^[c]Brook ^(M)Misrephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining. ⁹ So Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

¹⁰ Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹ And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, ^(N)utterly destroying them. There was none left ^(O)breathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire.

¹² So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them, ^(P)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. ¹³ But as for the cities that stood on their ^[d]mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. ¹⁴ And all the ^(Q)spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. ^15 (R)As the Lord had commanded Moses His servant, so ^(S)Moses commanded Joshua, and ^(T)so Joshua did. ^[e]He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

Summary of Joshua’s Conquests

¹⁶ Thus Joshua took all this land: ^(U)the mountain country, all the South, ^(V)all the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan ^[f]plain—the mountains of Israel and its lowlands, ^17 (W)from ^[g]Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured ^(X)all their kings, and struck them down and killed them. ¹⁸ Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. ¹⁹ There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except ^(Y)the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle. ²⁰ For ^(Z)it was of the Lord ^[h]to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, ^(AA)as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²¹ And at that time Joshua came and cut off ^(AB)the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. ²² None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only ^(AC)in Gaza, in Gath, ^(AD)and in Ashdod.

²³ So Joshua took the whole land, ^(AE)according to all that the Lord had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel ^(AF)according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land ^(AG)rested from war.