⁹ So they said to him: ^(A)“From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God; for we have ^(B)heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and ^(C)all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.

¹⁴ Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; ^(A)but they ^[a]did not ask counsel of the Lord.

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.

²⁵ Then Joshua said to ^[a]them, ^(A)“Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for ^(B)thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”

^9 (A)Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; ^(B)do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land^(A)

¹⁹ “So we departed from Horeb, ^(B)and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the Lord our God had commanded us. Then ^(C)we came to Kadesh Barnea. ²⁰ And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; ^(D)do not fear or be discouraged.’

²² “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’

²³ “The plan pleased me well; so ^(E)I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe. ^24 (F)And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. ²⁵ They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a ^(G)good land which the Lord our God is giving us.’

^26 (H)“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;

^23 (A)The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine ^[a]in it, for the ^[b]glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.