Joshua 10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 10
Conspiracy against Gibeon.[a] 1 Now Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had taken Ai and had totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king what he had already done to Jericho and its king, and also how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them. 2 He and his people were shocked, for Gibeon was one of the larger cities, large enough to be one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty warriors. 3 Adoni-zedek appealed to Hoham, the king of Hebron, Piram, the king of Jarmuth, Japhia, the king of Lachish, and Debir, the king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up and assist me with an attack on Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 The five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, and all of their armies went up and encamped outside of Gibeon to attack it. 6 The Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua who was in his camp at Gilgal saying, “Do not abandon your servants! Come up quickly to us and save us. All of the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have gathered forces against us.”
Joshua Rescues Gibeon. 7 So Joshua and all of his fighting men went up along with his most valiant warriors. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have delivered them into your hands. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.” 9 Joshua marched from Gilgal all night and took them by surprise. 10 The Lord routed them before Israel. They killed many at Gibeon, chasing after them on the road leading up to Beth-horon, slaying them all the way up to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they were fleeing before the Israelites on the road from Beth-horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled down large hailstones upon them, so that more of them were killed by the hailstones than had been killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12 On the day that the Lord delivered the Amorites up to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in front of the Israelites saying, “O Sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation had taken vengeance upon their enemies. Is this not written about in the Book of Jashar?[b] The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and delayed going down for a full day. 14 There had never before been a day like this, and never will be again, a day when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. 15 Joshua and all the Israelites with him then returned to the camp in Gilgal.
16 Five Kings Executed. These five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17 Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found hidden in a cave at Makkedah.” 18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and assign men to guard it, 19 but do not stay there yourselves. You must chase after your enemies and attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter into their cities, for the Lord, your God, has delivered them over into your hands.” 20 When the Israelites had finished all but wiping them out, and those few who remained had slipped into fortified cities, 21 all the people returned safely to Joshua at the camp in Makkedah. No one uttered a sound against the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out of the cave to me.” 23 So they brought those five kings out of the cave to him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 When they had brought those five kings to Joshua, Joshua summoned all of the men of Israel and said to the leaders of the army who had gone out with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.”[c] So they drew near and put their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all of your enemies against whom you are going to fight.” 26 Joshua then struck and killed them, hanging them from five trees. They were left hanging from the trees until the evening. 27 At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and cast into the cave where they had been hiding. They placed large stones at the mouth of the cave that are still there today. 28 That same day Joshua conquered Makkedah. He put it and its king to the sword, wiping out all of them. He did not leave any survivors. He treated the king of Makkedah the same way he had treated the king of Jericho.
29 The Conquest of Southern Canaan. Joshua and all the Israelites then moved on from Makkedah to Libnah, and once there they attacked Libnah. 30 The Lord handed it and its king over into the hands of the Israelites. They put everyone in it to the sword. He left no survivors. He treated its king the same way he had treated the king of Jericho.
31 Joshua and all of the Israelites then traveled from Libnah to Lachish, making camp outside of it and attacking it. 32 The Lord handed Lachish over[d] into the hands of the Israelites who took it on the second day. They put everyone in it to the sword, just as they had done at Libnah.
33 Horam, the king of Gezer, had come up to assist Lachish. Joshua defeated him and his army, leaving no survivors. 34 Joshua and all of the Israelites then traveled from Lachish to Eglon. They camped outside of it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day, putting everyone in it to the sword. He totally wiped it out, just as he had done at Lachish.
36 Joshua and all of the Israelites went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They took it and put everyone to the sword, including its king, its dependent towns, and all of its inhabitants. He totally destroyed it and killed everyone in it, just as he had done at Eglon.
38 Then Joshua and all of the Israelites turned back to Debir and attacked it. 39 He took it and its king and all of its dependent towns. He put them all to the sword. He totally destroyed it and killed everyone in it. He left no survivors. He treated Debir and its king the same way he had treated Hebron and also Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua struck down the entire land, the hill country, the Negeb, the western slopes and the mountain slopes and all of their kings. He left no survivors, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua conquered from Kadesh-barnea up to Gaza, and the whole territory of Goshen up to Gibeon. 42 Joshua captured all of these kings and all of their lands in one campaign because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel. 43 Then Joshua and all of the Israelites returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:1 A tradition worthy of being celebrated in an epic poem tells how the miracle of the hailstones and of the sun halting brought victory to Israel during a memorable battle. With this tradition is combined a systematic and simplified description of the conquest of southern and northern Palestine. Yet other passages in the Book of Joshua (Jos 13:1-6; 14:6-13; 15:13-19; 17:12, 16) and the entire Book of Judges record an often slow penetration of the country by tribes that were scattered and sometimes even in conflict with one another.
- Joshua 10:13 The Book of Jashar: an ancient collection of poems (see 2 Sam 1:18) that is now lost.
- Joshua 10:24 Put your feet on the necks of these kings: this was a common demonstration of power among the military that announced to all who were victorious in battle. Here it is the Lord’s triumph over the proud kings that is being proclaimed.
- Joshua 10:32 The Lord handed . . . over: the author repeatedly notes that each victory of the Israelite army comes from God.
Joshua 10
New International Reader's Version
The Sun Stands Still
10 Adoni-Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had captured Ai. He found out that the city had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. He heard that Joshua had done to Ai and its king the same thing he had done to Jericho and its king. Adoni-Zedek heard that the people of Gibeon had made a peace treaty with Israel. He also found out that they were living among the Israelites. 2 The things he heard alarmed him and his people very much. That’s because Gibeon was an important city. It was like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai. All its men were good soldiers. 3 So Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, made an appeal to Hoham, the king of Hebron. He appealed to Piram, the king of Jarmuth. He appealed to Japhia, the king of Lachish. He also made an appeal to Debir, the king of Eglon. 4 “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said. “Its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 Then the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon gathered their armies together. Those five Amorite kings moved all their troops into position to fight against Gibeon. Then they attacked it.
6 Joshua was in the camp at Gilgal. The people of Gibeon sent a message to him there. They said, “Don’t desert us. We serve you. Come up to us quickly! Save us! Help us! All the Amorite kings from the central hill country have gathered their armies together to fight against us.”
7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his whole army. The army included all his best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to fight against you and win.”
9 Joshua marched all night from Gilgal. He took the Amorite armies by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into a panic as Israel marched toward them. Then Joshua and the Israelites won a complete victory over them at Gibeon. The Israelites chased them along the road that goes up to Beth Horon. They struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 The Amorites tried to escape as Israel marched toward them. They ran down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. Then the Lord threw large hailstones down on them. The hailstones killed more of them than the swords of the Israelites did.
12 So the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel. On that day Joshua spoke to the Lord while the Israelites were listening. He said,
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
And you, moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still.
The moon stopped.
They didn’t move again until the nation won the battle over its enemies.
You can read about it in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It didn’t go down for about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since. It was a day when the Lord listened to a mere human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15 Joshua and his whole army returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua Kills the Five Amorite Kings
16 The five Amorite kings had run away. They had hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Joshua was told that the five kings had been found. He was also told that they were hiding in the cave at Makkedah. 18 He said, “Roll some large rocks up to the opening of the cave. Put some men there to guard it. 19 But keep on going! Chase your enemies! Attack them from behind. Don’t let them get back to their cities. The Lord your God has handed them over to you.”
20 So Joshua and the men of Israel had complete victory over them. They killed almost every one of them. But a few escaped. They went back to their cities that had high walls around them. 21 Then Israel’s whole army returned safely to Joshua. He was in the camp at Makkedah. No one in the land dared to say anything against the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, “Open up the cave. Bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So Joshua’s men brought the kings out of the cave. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 The men brought them to Joshua. Then he sent for all the men of Israel. He spoke to the army commanders who had come with him. He said, “Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet on the necks of the kings.
25 Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. Be strong and brave. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” 26 Joshua put the five kings to death. He stuck a pole through each of their bodies. Then he set the poles up where people could see the bodies. He left them there until evening.
27 At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take down the bodies. So they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where the kings had been hiding. They placed large rocks at the opening of the cave. And the rocks are still there to this day.
The Campaign Against the Cities in the South
28 That day Joshua captured Makkedah. He cut down its people and their king. He totally destroyed everyone in it. He didn’t leave anyone alive. He did to the king of Makkedah the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Joshua moved on from Makkedah to Libnah. Israel’s whole army went with him. They attacked Libnah. 30 The Lord also handed that city and its king over to Israel. Joshua destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He didn’t leave anyone alive there. He did to its king the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Joshua moved on from Libnah to Lachish. Israel’s whole army went with him. The men took up their battle positions. Then Joshua attacked Lachish. 32 The Lord handed it over to Israel. Joshua captured the city on the second day of the battle. He destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He had done the same thing to Libnah. 33 While all that was happening, Horam had come up to help Lachish. He was the king of Gezer. But Joshua won the battle over him and his army. No one was left alive.
34 Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon. Israel’s whole army went with him. They took up their battle positions. Then they attacked Eglon. 35 They captured it that same day. They totally destroyed everyone in it with their swords. They had done the same thing to Lachish.
36 Joshua went up from Eglon to Hebron. Israel’s whole army went with him. Then they attacked Hebron. 37 They captured the city. They destroyed it and its villages. They killed all its people and their king with their swords. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They totally destroyed the city and everyone in it. They had done the same thing at Eglon.
38 Joshua turned back and attacked Debir. Israel’s whole army went with him. 39 They captured the city, its king and its villages. They totally destroyed everyone in Debir with their swords. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They did to Debir and its king the same thing they had done to Libnah and its king. They had also done the same thing to Hebron.
40 So Joshua brought the whole area under his control. That included the central hill country and the Negev Desert. It included the western hills and the mountain slopes. It also included all the kings in that whole area. Joshua didn’t leave anyone alive. He totally destroyed everyone who breathed. He did just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua brought everyone from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza under his control. He did the same thing to everyone from the whole area of Goshen to Gibeon. 42 He won the battle over all those kings and their lands. He did it in one campaign. That’s because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
43 Then Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal. Israel’s whole army went with him.
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