Joshua 10
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
The Day the Sun Stood Still
10 Now King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and completely destroyed(A) it, treating Ai and its king as he had Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon(B) had made peace with Israel and were living among them.(C) 2 So Adoni-zedek and his people were[a] greatly alarmed because Gibeon was a large city like one of the royal cities;(D) it was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 Therefore King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent word to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon, saying, 4 ‘Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.’ 5 So the five Amorite kings – the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon – joined forces, advanced with all their armies, besieged Gibeon, and fought against it.
6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: ‘Don’t give up on your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.’ 7 So Joshua and all his troops, including all his best soldiers, came from Gilgal.(E)
8 The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them,(F) for I have handed them over to you.(G) Not one of them will be able to stand against you.’(H)
9 So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion(I) before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel, the Lord threw large hailstones on them(J) from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
‘Sun,(K) stand still over Gibeon,
and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’
13 And the sun stood still
and the moon stopped
until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.
Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar?[b]
So the sun stopped
in the middle of the sky
and delayed its setting
almost a full day.
14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to a man, because the Lord fought for Israel.(L) 15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Execution of the Five Kings
16 Now the five defeated kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 It was reported to Joshua, ‘The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.’
18 Joshua said, ‘Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and station men by it to guard the kings. 19 But as for the rest of you, don’t stay there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Don’t let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has handed them over to you.’ 20 So Joshua and the Israelites finished inflicting a terrible slaughter on them until they were destroyed, although a few survivors ran away to the fortified cities. 21 The people returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. And no one dared to threaten the Israelites.
22 Then Joshua said, ‘Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings to me out of there.’ 23 That is what they did. They brought the five kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon to Joshua out of the cave. 24 When they had brought the kings to him, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the military commanders who had accompanied him, ‘Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.’ So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous,(M) for the Lord will do this to all the enemies you fight.’
26 After this, Joshua struck them down and executed them. He hung[c] their bodies on five trees[d] and they were there until evening.(N) 27 At sunset Joshua commanded that they be taken down from the trees(O) and thrown into the cave where they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are still there today.(P)
Conquest of Southern Cities
28 On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and struck it down with the sword, including its king. He completely destroyed it[e] and everyone in it, leaving no survivors. So he treated the king of Makkedah as he had the king of Jericho.(Q)
29 Joshua and all Israel with him(R) crossed from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.(S) 30 The Lord also handed it and its king over to Israel. He struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword, and left no survivors in it. He treated Libnah’s king as he had the king of Jericho.
31 From Libnah, Joshua and all Israel with him crossed to Lachish. They laid siege to it and attacked it. 32 The Lord handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day. He struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 At that time King Horam of Gezer went to help Lachish,(T) but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors.
34 Then Joshua crossed from Lachish to Eglon and all Israel with him. They laid siege to it and attacked it. 35 On that day they captured it and struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword. He completely destroyed it that day, just as he had done to Lachish.
36 Next, Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron(U) and attacked it. 37 They captured it and struck down its king, all its villages, and everyone in it with the sword. He left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon. He completely destroyed Hebron and everyone in it.
38 Finally, Joshua turned towards Debir(V) and attacked it. And all Israel was with him. 39 He captured it – its king and all its villages. They struck them down with the sword and completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He treated Debir and its king as he had treated Hebron and as he had treated Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua conquered the whole region(W) – the hill country, the Negev, the Judean foothills,[f] and the slopes – with all their kings, leaving no survivors. He completely destroyed every living being, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.(X) 41 Joshua conquered everyone from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen(Y) as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.(Z) 43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua 10
EasyEnglish Bible
The Amorite kings
10 The king of Jerusalem was called Adoni-Zedek. He heard how Joshua had taken Ai city, as he had also taken Jericho city. He heard that Joshua had destroyed those cities and their kings. He also heard that the Israelites had made an agreement with the Gibeonites. They promised that they would not attack the Gibeonites. He knew that the Gibeonites now lived among the Israelites.
2 The king and the people of Jerusalem were very afraid, because Gibeon was a great city. It was bigger than Ai, like a city with a king. All its men were brave soldiers. 3 So King Adoni-Zedek asked some other kings to join with him to attack Gibeon. They were Hoham, king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish and Debir, king of Eglon. 4 Adoni-Zedek said to them, ‘The Gibeonites have made an agreement with Joshua and the Israelites not to fight them. So please come and help me to attack Gibeon.’
5 So the five Amorite kings with their armies met together. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. They put their soldiers near Gibeon city, and they began to attack it.
6 The Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua at Gilgal. They said, ‘Please sir, do not refuse to help us! Come quickly and save us. All the Amorite kings from the hills have joined together to attack us.’
7 So Joshua took his whole army and they marched up from Gilgal. He had all his best soldiers with him. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them. I will cause you to win against their armies. They will not be strong enough to fight against you.’
9 The Israelite soldiers marched all night from Gilgal. When they reached Gibeon, they quickly attacked the Amorite armies by surprise. 10 The Lord caused the Amorites to become confused when they saw the Israelite army. So the Israelites won a great battle there at Gibeon. They chased their enemies along the road to Beth Horon. They continued to kill the Amorite soldiers as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As the Amorites ran down the hill from Beth Horon, the Lord sent large stones of hail down from the sky. The hail killed them all the way to Azekah. More of the Amorite soldiers died because of the heavy stones of hail, than because the Israelite soldiers killed them.
12 So the Lord caused the Israelites to win the fight against the Amorites. After the battle that day, Joshua stood in front of Israel and he prayed to the Lord. He said,
‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon city.
Moon, stand still over Aijalon valley.’
13 So the sun stood still and the moon stopped moving across the sky. They stayed still while the Israelites punished their enemies. People wrote about this in the Scroll of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It did not go down for about a whole day. 14 A day like that had never happened before, and it has not happened since then. The Lord answered the prayer of a man in such a great way! The Lord himself was fighting the battle on behalf of the Israelites!
15 Then Joshua and all the Israelite army went back to their tents at Gilgal.
The Israelites kill the five Amorite kings
16 The five kings had run away from the Israelite soldiers. They had hidden in a cave at Makkedah. 17 Joshua heard that they were hiding there. 18 He said to his men, ‘Take some big stones and cover the front of the cave. Put some men there to watch the cave.[a] 19 But you must continue to chase after your enemies. Do not stop now! Catch them! Do not let them reach their cities where they will be safe. Remember that the Lord your God has caused you to win against them.’
20 So Joshua and the Israelites destroyed nearly all the Amorite armies. But a few of the Amorites escaped and they reached their strong cities. 21 Then the whole Israelite army returned to Joshua at Makkedah. All the people in the land were too afraid to speak against the Israelites.
22 Then Joshua said to his men, ‘Take away the stones to open the cave where the five kings are. Bring them out here to me.’ 23 So they brought the five kings to Joshua. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he called the men of Israel to meet there. He said to the officers of his army, ‘Put your feet on the necks of these kings.’ They did as he told them.
25 Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Be very strong and brave. Look at these kings! This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies that you will fight against.’ 26 Then Joshua killed the five kings with his sword. He hung their bodies on five trees. They remained there until evening time.
27 At sunset, Joshua told his men to take the kings down from the trees. They threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. They put big stones over the front of the cave. The stones are still there today.
Joshua attacks other cities[b]
28 That day, Joshua attacked Makkedah city. He took it, together with its king. He destroyed everyone who lived in it. He did not leave anyone alive. He did the same thing to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 After that, Joshua and his army marched from Makkedah to Libnah. They attacked Libnah city. 30 The Lord gave them power over that city and its king. Joshua destroyed the city and everyone who lived in it. He did not leave anyone alive. They did the same thing to Libnah's king as they had done to the king of Jericho.
31 After this, Joshua and all the Israelite army marched from Libnah to Lachish. They attacked Lachish city from all sides. 32 The Lord gave them power over the city. They fought for two days and then they took the city. They killed everyone who lived in it, as they had done at Libnah. 33 Then Horam, king of Gezer, came to help the people of Lachish. But Joshua's army fought against him and his army. He killed them all, with nobody left alive.
34 Then Joshua and his army marched from Lachish to Eglon. They attacked Eglon city from all sides. 35 They took it on the same day. They killed everyone who lived in that city, as they had done at Lachish.
36 After this, Joshua and all the Israelite army marched up from Eglon to Hebron. They attacked Hebron city. 37 They took the city and they killed its king. They killed all the people who lived there, and the people in the towns near to it. They destroyed the whole city, as they had done at Eglon. They did not leave anyone alive.
38 Then Joshua and his army turned round and they marched to Debir. They attacked Debir city. 39 They took the city, its king and all the towns near to it. They killed everyone who lived there. They did the same thing to Debir and its king as they had done to Hebron, and to Libnah and its king.
40 In that way, Joshua took the whole land and all the kings who ruled there. He took the hill country, the Negev in the south, the low hills in the west and the mountains in the east. He killed all the people who lived there. He did not leave anyone alive. The Lord God of Israel had told him to do this. 41 Joshua took the whole region, from Kadesh-Barnea in the south to Gaza near the sea. This included all of Goshen, as far as Gibeon in the north. 42 Joshua won all these battles in one long fight. He won against all these kings and their lands. He won because the Lord, Israel's God, was fighting on Israel's behalf.
43 After this, Joshua and all Israel's army went back to their tents at Gilgal.
Joshua 10
New King James Version
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:
(S)“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of (T)Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.
(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. 19 And do not stay there yourselves, but pursue your enemies, and attack their rear guard. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand.” 20 Then it happened, while Joshua and the children of Israel made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they had finished, that those who escaped entered fortified cities. 21 And all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah, in peace.
(Y)No one [a]moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.
22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought out those five kings to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
24 So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near and (Z)put their feet on their necks. 25 Then Joshua said to [b]them, (AA)“Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for (AB)thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 26 And afterward Joshua struck [c]them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they (AC)were hanging on the trees until evening. 27 So it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua commanded, and they (AD)took them down from the trees, cast them into the cave where they had been hidden, and laid large stones against the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
Conquest of the Southland
28 On that day Joshua took Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly (AE)destroyed [d]them—all the people who were in it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah (AF)as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to (AG)Libnah; and they fought against Libnah. 30 And the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword. He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish; and they encamped against it and fought against it. 32 And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day, and struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah. 33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he left him none remaining.
34 From Lachish Joshua passed to Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it and fought against it. 35 They took it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; all the people who were in it he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36 So Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to (AH)Hebron; and they fought against it. 37 And they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword—its king, all its cities, and all the people who were in it; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon, but utterly destroyed it and all the people who were in it.
38 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to (AI)Debir; and they fought against it. 39 And he took it and its king and all its cities; they struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed all the people who were in it. He left none remaining; as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had done also to Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua conquered all the land: the (AJ)mountain country and the [e]South and the lowland and the wilderness slopes, and (AK)all their kings; he left none remaining, but (AL)utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41 And Joshua conquered them from (AM)Kadesh Barnea as far as (AN)Gaza, (AO)and all the country of Goshen, even as far as Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their land Joshua took at one time, (AP)because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:21 criticized, lit. sharpened his tongue
- Joshua 10:25 The captains
- Joshua 10:26 The kings
- Joshua 10:28 So with MT and most authorities; many Heb. mss., some LXX mss., and some Tg. mss. it
- Joshua 10:40 Heb. Negev, and so throughout the book
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
