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

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”
  2. Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “your servants!”
  3. Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “have gathered against us.”
  4. 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.”
  5. 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.
  6. Joshua 10:8 tn Heb “and not a man [or “one”] of them will stand before you.”
  7. Joshua 10:9 tn Heb “Joshua came upon them suddenly, all the night he went up from Gilgal.”
  8. Joshua 10:10 tn Or “caused to panic.”
  9. 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”).
  10. Joshua 10:10 tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
  11. Joshua 10:10 tn Or “ascent.”
  12. Joshua 10:11 tn Heb “on the descent of.”
  13. 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.

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.” So Joshua went up from Gilgal with the entire army and all the bravest soldiers.

The Lord fights for Israel

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.” 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.

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