Joshua 10
Legacy Standard Bible
Five Kings Attack Gibeon
10 Now it happened that when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction (just (A)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had (B)made peace with Israel and were [a]within their land, 2 they (C)feared exceedingly 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 word (D)to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon, for it has (E)made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” 5 So the five kings of (F)the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.
6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not [b]abandon your slaves; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and (G)all the people of war with him and all the valiant warriors. 8 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “(H)Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not [c]one of them shall stand before you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly—he had gone up, marching all night from Gilgal. 10 (I)And Yahweh threw them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them with a great slaughter at Gibeon and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 Now it happened as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, that (J)Yahweh threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died [d]from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
12 Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh gave over the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“O (K)sun, stand still at Gibeon,
And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.”
13 (L)So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.
Is it not written in (M)the book of Jashar? And (N)the sun stood in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, when Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for (O)Yahweh fought for Israel.
15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp to Gilgal.
Joshua Captures Makkedah
16 And these (P)five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Then it was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and assign men by it to keep watch over them, 19 but as for you, do not stand there; pursue your enemies and [e]attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for Yahweh your God has given them into your hand.” 20 Now it happened when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a very great slaughter (Q)until they were completely destroyed, and the survivors—those of them who survived—[f]had entered the fortified cities, 21 that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one so much as [g]lifted his tongue against any of the sons of Israel.
22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so and (R)brought these five kings out 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 Now it happened that when they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near, (S)put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua then said to them, “(T)Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus Yahweh will do to all your enemies with whom you fight.” 26 So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he (U)hanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening. 27 Now it happened that at [h]sunset Joshua gave a command, and (V)they took them down from the trees and threw them down into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.
28 Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; (W)he [i]devoted [j]it to destruction and every [k]person who was in it. He left no survivor. Thus he did to the king of Makkedah (X)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Israel Captures Kings by Yahweh’s Sword
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to (Y)Libnah and fought against Libnah. 30 And Yahweh gave it also with its king into the hands of Israel, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor remaining in it. Thus he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. 32 And Yahweh gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and he captured it on the second day and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
33 Then Horam king of (Z)Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people down until [l]there was no survivor remaining for him.
34 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. 35 And they captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person who was in it, he devoted to destruction on that day according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to (AA)Hebron, and they fought against it. 37 And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he devoted it and every person who was in it to destruction.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to (AB)Debir, and they fought against it. 39 And he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted every person who was in it to destruction. He left no survivor remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.
40 Thus Joshua struck all the land—(AC)the hill country and the [m]Negev and the [n]Shephelah and the slopes—as well as (AD)all their kings. He left no survivor remaining, but (AE)he devoted to destruction all who breathed, just as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of (AF)Goshen even as far as Gibeon. 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time because (AG)Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:1 Lit among them
- Joshua 10:6 Lit slacken your hands from
- Joshua 10:8 Lit a man
- Joshua 10:11 Lit with
- Joshua 10:19 Lit smite their tail
- Joshua 10:20 Lit and had
- Joshua 10:21 Lit sharpened
- Joshua 10:27 Lit the time of the going of the sun
- Joshua 10:28 Or put under the ban, so in ch
- Joshua 10:28 Some mss them
- Joshua 10:28 Lit soul, so in ch
- Joshua 10:33 Lit he had no survivor
- Joshua 10:40 South country
- Joshua 10:40 Or lowland
Joshua 10
Names of God Bible
The Day the Sun Stood Still
10 King Adoni Zedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and claimed it for the Lord the same way he had destroyed Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the people of Israel and were living with them. 2 He and his people were terribly afraid because Gibeon was a large city. It was like one of the royal cities, larger than Ai. 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, help me destroy Gibeon because it has made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.” 5 So the five Amorite kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon combined their armies. They marched to Gibeon, camped there, and attacked it.
6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Don’t abandon us! Come quickly, and save us. Help us because all the Amorite kings who live in the mountains have united against us.”
7 So Joshua, with all his soldiers and best warriors, set out from Gilgal. 8 Yahweh told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. None of them can stand up to you.” 9 So Joshua marched all night from Gilgal and took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw the enemy into disorder in front of Israel and defeated them decisively at Gibeon. He chased them along the road that goes to the slope of Beth Horon and continued to defeat them all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
11 As they fled from the Israelites down the slope of Beth Horon toward Azekah, Yahweh threw huge hailstones on them. More died from the hailstones than from Israelite swords.
12 The day Yahweh handed the Amorites over to the people of Israel, Joshua spoke to Yahweh while Israel was watching,
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and moon, stand still over the valley of Aijalon!”
13 The sun stood still,
and the moon stopped
until a nation got revenge on its enemies.
Isn’t this recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and for nearly a day the sun was in no hurry to set. 14 Never before or after this day was there anything like it. Yahweh did what a man told him to do, because Yahweh fought for Israel.
15 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
16 The five kings ran away and hid in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Someone told Joshua, “The five kings have been found. They are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
18 Joshua replied, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post a guard there. 19 But don’t stop. Chase your enemies! Cut off their rear guard. Don’t let them get back into their own cities, because Yahweh your Elohim has handed them over to you.”
20 Joshua and the Israelites defeated them decisively, almost destroying them. But some who survived got back into the fortified cities. 21 Then the whole army returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a single person dared to speak against any of the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, “Open the cave, and bring me the five kings!” 23 So they brought him the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.
24 When they brought them to Joshua, he called for all the men of Israel. He told the officers who had gone with him, “Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So that’s what they did. 25 Joshua told them, “Don’t be afraid or terrified! Be strong and courageous, because this is what Yahweh will do to all the enemies you’re fighting against.”
26 After this, Joshua put them to death and hung their bodies on five poles until evening. 27 When the sun went down, Joshua gave the order to take them down from the poles. Then they threw them into the cave where they had been hiding and put large stones over the mouth of the cave. These stones are still there today.
Joshua Defeats the Southern Kings
28 That same day Joshua captured Makkedah, and the Israelites killed its people and king with swords. He claimed them for the Lord by destroying them. There were no survivors. He did the same thing to the king of Makkedah that he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Joshua and all Israel marched from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 Yahweh also handed Libnah and its king over to Israel. He killed all the people. There were no survivors. He did the same thing to the king of Libnah that he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Joshua and all Israel marched from Libnah to Lachish, camped there, and attacked it. 32 Yahweh handed Lachish over to Israel. He captured it on the next day and killed all the people, the same way he had captured Libnah. 33 At that time King Horam of Gezer had come to help Lachish. But Joshua killed him and his troops. There were no survivors.
34 Joshua and all Israel marched from Lachish to Eglon, camped there, and attacked it. 35 They captured it that day and killed everyone in it. He claimed it for the Lord by destroying it the same way he had destroyed Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel marched from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They captured it and its neighboring villages and killed its king and all the people. There were no survivors, the same as at Eglon. He claimed the city and all its people for the Lord by destroying them.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel went back to Debir and attacked it. 39 He captured it and its king and all its neighboring villages and killed everyone. So they claimed them all for the Lord by destroying them. There were no survivors. He did the same thing to Debir and its king that he had done to Hebron and Libnah and their kings.
40 So Joshua captured the whole land—the mountains, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes. There were no survivors. He claimed every living creature for the Lord by destroying it, as Yahweh Elohim of Israel had commanded. 41 So Joshua defeated the people from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from all the country of Goshen as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua captured all these kings and their territories in one campaign because Yahweh Elohim of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua 10
Common English Bible
Gibeonites under attack
10 Jerusalem’s King Adoni-zedek heard that Joshua had captured Ai and had wiped it out as something reserved for God. Joshua did the same thing to Ai and its king that he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the population of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them. 2 Adoni-zedek and his people[a] were very afraid, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai. All its men were soldiers. 3 So Jerusalem’s King Adoni-zedek sent word to Hebron’s King Hoham, Jarmuth’s King Piram, Lachish’s King Japhia, and Eglon’s King Debir: 4 “Come up and help me. We will strike at Gibeon, because it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites.” 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites gathered. These were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. They went up with all their armies, camped against Gibeon, and attacked it. 6 The people of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t desert your servants! Come to us quickly. Rescue us! Help us! All the Amorite kings from the highlands have assembled together against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal with the entire army and all the bravest soldiers.
The Lord fights for Israel
8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. I have given them into your power. Not a single one of them can stand up against you.” 9 Joshua quickly attacked them, having come up overnight from Gilgal. 10 Then the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel. Joshua struck a mighty blow against them at Gibeon. He chased them on the way up to Beth-horon and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 When they were fleeing from Israel and were on the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones from the sky all the way to Azekah. So they died. More died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites into the power of Israel, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of the Israelites:
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon!
and Moon, at the Aijalon Valley!”
13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless
until a nation took revenge on its enemies.
Isn’t this written in the Jashar scroll? So the sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky. For a whole day, it was in no hurry to go down. 14 There hasn’t been a day like it before or since, when the Lord responded to a human voice. The Lord fought for Israel. 15 Then Joshua along with all Israel came back to the camp at Gilgal.
Israel executes five kings
16 Then those five kings fled and hid in the cave at Makkedah. 17 It was reported to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”
18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave. Station some men by it to guard them, 19 but don’t you stay there. Chase after your enemies and attack them from the rear. Don’t let them enter their cities, because the Lord your God has given them into your power.” 20 Joshua and the Israelites finished dealing them a stunning blow until they were finished off. Some survivors among them escaped into the fortified cities. 21 Then the whole people came back safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a single person threatened the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, “Open up the mouth of the cave. Bring those five kings out of the cave to me.” 23 They did so. They brought the five kings out of the cave to him: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24 When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for every Israelite. He said to the military commanders who had gone out with him, “Come forward. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they went forward and put their feet on their necks. 25 Then Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid or terrified. Be brave and strong, because this is how the Lord will deal with all the enemies you fight.” 26 Next, Joshua struck them down. He put them to death and then hanged them on five trees. They were hanging on the trees until evening. 27 At sundown, Joshua gave an order, and they took them down from the trees. They threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones over the mouth of the cave. The stones are still there to this very day.
Victories in the south
28 On that day, Joshua captured Makkedah. With a sword, he struck it and its king without mercy. He wiped them out, treating everyone in the city as something reserved for God. He left no survivors. He did to the king of Makkedah exactly as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua along with all Israel moved on from Makkedah to Libnah. They attacked Libnah. 30 The Lord also gave it and its king into the power of Israel. With a sword, he struck it and everyone in it without mercy. He left no survivors in it. He did to its king exactly as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Joshua along with all Israel moved on from Libnah to Lachish. They camped near it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into the power of Israel. Joshua captured it on the second day. With a sword, he struck it and everyone in it without mercy, just exactly as he had done to Libnah. 33 Then Gezer’s King Horam came up to help Lachish. But Joshua struck him and his people down, until no survivors were left.
34 Joshua along with all Israel moved on from Lachish to Eglon. They camped against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it on the same day and struck it down without mercy. On that day, he wiped out everyone in it as something reserved for God, just exactly as he had done to Lachish.
36 Joshua along with all Israel went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They captured it and struck it down without mercy, along with its king, all its towns, and everyone in it. He left no survivors, just exactly as he had done to Eglon. He wiped out the city and everyone in it as something reserved for God.
38 Joshua along with all Israel turned back to Debir and attacked it. 39 He captured it along with its king and all its cities. They struck them down without mercy and wiped out everyone in it as something reserved for God. He left no survivors. Exactly as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king—exactly as he had done to Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua struck at the whole land: the highlands, the arid southern plains, the lowlands, the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivors. He wiped out everything that breathed as something reserved for God, exactly as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua struck them down from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole land of Goshen as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua captured all these kings and their land all at the same time. This was because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua along with all Israel came back to the camp at Gilgal.
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:2 Or they
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