Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of ^(A)the temple.

The Sun Stands Still

10 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,^{[a] (A)}doing to Ai and its king ^(B)as he had done to Jericho and its king, and ^(C)how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ^2 (D)he^[b] 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 warriors. ³ So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, 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 ^(E)it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” ⁵ Then 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, ^(F)gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua ^(G)at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” ⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^(H)all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(I)“Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. ^(J)Not a man of them shall stand before you.” ⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. ^10 (K)And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who^[c] struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of ^(L)the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And as they fled before Israel, while they were ^(M)going down the ascent of Beth-horon, ^(N)the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. ^14 (P)There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for ^(Q)the Lord fought for Israel.

¹⁵ So ^(R)Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

¹⁶ These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at ^(S)Makkedah. ¹⁷ And it was told to Joshua, “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 set men by it to guard them, ¹⁹ but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; ^(T)attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰ When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow ^(U)until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, ²¹ then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. ^(V)Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

²² Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³ And they did so, and brought those 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 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵ And Joshua said to them, ^(W)“Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. ^(X)For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” ²⁶ And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And ^(Y)they hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷ But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and ^(Z)they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸ As for ^(AA)Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah ^(AB)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ^(A)him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, ^(B)who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

^2 (C)“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but ^(D)have tested those ^(E)who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up ^(F)for my name's sake, and you ^(G)have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned ^(H)the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do ^(I)the works you did at first. If not, ^(J)I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of ^(K)the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ^7 (L)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(M)To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of ^(N)the tree of life, which is in ^(O)the paradise of God.’

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of ^(P)the first and the last, ^(Q)who died and came to life.

⁹ “‘I know your tribulation and ^(R)your poverty (^(S)but you are rich) and the slander^[a] of ^(T)those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, ^(U)that you may be tested, and for ^(V)ten days ^(W)you will have tribulation. ^(X)Be faithful ^(Y)unto death, and I will give you ^(Z)the crown of life. ^11 (AA)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AB)The one who conquers will not be hurt by ^(AC)the second death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

¹² “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has ^(AD)the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³ “‘I know where you dwell, ^(AE)where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not ^(AF)deny my faith^[b] even in the days of Antipas ^(AG)my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of ^(AH)Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might ^(AI)eat food sacrificed to idols and ^(AJ)practice sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So also you have some who hold the teaching of ^(AK)the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent. If not, ^(AL)I will come to you soon and ^(AM)war against them with ^(AN)the sword of my mouth. ^17 (AO)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AP)To the one who conquers I will give some of ^(AQ)the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with ^(AR)a new name written on the stone ^(AS)that no one knows except the one who receives it.’