Joshua 10:16-27
Lexham English Bible
The Kings of the Amorites Are Killed
16 But these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told to Joshua, saying, “The five kings were found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men in front of it to guard them. 19 But do not stay there; pursue after your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not allow them to go into their cities, for Yahweh your God has given them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the Israelites[a] had finished striking them with a very great blow, until they perished, those of them who survived[b] went into the fortified cities, 21 and all the people returned to the camp safely[c] to Joshua at Makkedah. No one spoke[d] against the Israelites.[e]
22 And Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring to me those five kings from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought him these five kings 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 these kings to Joshua, Joshua called all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the fighting men[f] who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed! Be strong and bold, for thus Yahweh will do to all your enemies whom you are about to fight. 26 And after this Joshua struck them down and killed them, and he hanged them on five trees. And they were hanging on the trees until the evening. 27 And it happened at the time of sunset,[g] Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they put large stones against the mouth of the cave, which are there to this very day.
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- Joshua 10:20 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Joshua 10:20 Literally “the survivors who survived”
- Joshua 10:21 Or “in peace”
- Joshua 10:21 Literally “No one moved his tongue”
- Joshua 10:21 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Joshua 10:24 Literally “the men of war”
- Joshua 10:27 Literally “at the time of the going of the sun”
Joshua 10:16-27
New English Translation
16 The five Amorite kings[a] ran away and hid in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and post guards in front of it.[b] 19 But don’t you delay! Chase your enemies and catch them.[c] Don’t allow them to retreat to[d] their cities, for the Lord your God is handing them over to you.”[e] 20 Joshua and the Israelites almost totally wiped them out, but some survivors did escape to the fortified cities.[f] 21 Then the whole army safely returned to Joshua at the camp in Makkedah.[g] No one[h] dared threaten the Israelites.[i] 22 Joshua said, “Open the cave’s mouth and bring the five kings[j] out of the cave to me.” 23 They did as ordered;[k] they brought the five kings[l] out of the cave to him—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he[m] summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, “Come here[n] and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came up[o] and put their feet on their necks. 25 Then Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic![p] Be strong and brave, for the Lord will do the same thing to all your enemies you fight.” 26 Then Joshua executed them[q] and hung them on five trees. They were left hanging on the trees until evening. 27 At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take them down from the trees.[r] They threw them into the cave where they had hidden and piled large stones over the mouth of the cave. (They remain to this very day.)[s]
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- Joshua 10:16 tn Heb “these five kings.”
- Joshua 10:18 tn Heb “and appoint by it men to guard them.”
- Joshua 10:19 tn Heb “But [as for] you, don’t stand still, chase after your enemies and attack them from the rear.”
- Joshua 10:19 tn Or “enter into.”
- Joshua 10:19 tn Heb “has given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.
- Joshua 10:20 tn Heb “When Joshua and the sons of Israel finished defeating them with a very great defeat until they were destroyed (now the survivors escaped to the fortified cities).” In the Hebrew text the initial temporal clause (“when Joshua…finished”) is subordinated to v. 21 (“the whole army returned”).
- Joshua 10:21 tn Heb “all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua [at] Makkedah [in] peace.”
- Joshua 10:21 tc Heb “No man.” The lamed (ל) prefixed to אִישׁ (ʾish, “man”) is probably dittographic (note the immediately preceding יִשְׂרָאֵל [yisraʾel] which ends in lamed, ל); cf. the LXX.
- Joshua 10:21 tn Heb “no man sharpened [or perhaps, “pointed”] his tongue against the sons of Israel.” Cf. NEB “not a man of the Israelites suffered so much as a scratch on his tongue,” which understands “sharpened” as “scratched” (referring to a minor wound). Most modern translations understand the Hebrew expression “sharpened his tongue” figuratively for opposition or threats against the Israelites.
- Joshua 10:22 tn Heb “these five kings.”
- Joshua 10:23 tn Heb “they did so.”
- Joshua 10:23 tn Heb “these five kings.”
- Joshua 10:24 tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.
- Joshua 10:24 tn Or “Draw near.”
- Joshua 10:24 tn Or “drew near.”
- Joshua 10:25 tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”
- Joshua 10:26 tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
- Joshua 10:27 sn For the legal background of the removal of the corpses before sundown, see Deut 21:22-23.
- Joshua 10:27 tn Heb “to this very day.” The words “They remain” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
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