Beginning
The Gibeonite Trickery
9 All the kings ·west of [L beyond] the Jordan River heard about these things: the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They lived in the ·mountains [hill country] and ·on the western foothills [or in the lowlands/L Shephelah] and along the whole ·Mediterranean [L Great] Sea coast. 2 So all these kings gathered to fight Joshua and the Israelites.
3 When the ·people [inhabitants] of Gibeon heard ·how Joshua had defeated [L what Joshua had done to] Jericho and Ai, 4 they decided to trick the Israelites. They gathered old sacks and old ·leather wine bags [wineskins] that were cracked and mended, and they put them on the backs of their donkeys. 5 They put ·old [L worn and patched] sandals on their feet and wore ·old [ragged] clothes, and they took some dry, ·moldy [or crumbling] bread. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp near Gilgal [4:19].
The men said to Joshua and the ·Israelites [L men of Israel], “We have traveled from a faraway country. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.”
7 The ·Israelites [men of Israel] said to these Hivites, “Maybe you live near us. How can we make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [Deut. 20:10–18]?”
8 The Hivites said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
But Joshua asked, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”
9 The men answered, “We are your servants who have come from a far country, because we heard of the ·fame [reputation; L name] of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done and everything he did in Egypt. 10 We heard that he defeated the two kings of the Amorites ·from the east side of [L who were beyond] the Jordan River—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan who ·ruled [L was] in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and ·our people [L all the inhabitants of our country] said to us, ‘Take ·food [provisions] for your journey and go and meet ·the Israelites [L them]. Tell them, “We are your servants. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.” ’
12 “Look at our bread. On the day we left home to come to you it was warm and fresh, but now [L look; T behold] it is dry and ·moldy [or crumbling]. 13 Look at our ·leather wine bags [wineskins]. They were new and filled with wine, but now they ·are cracked and old [are ripped; or have burst]. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long journey.”
14 The men of Israel ·tasted [or examined; L took some of] the bread, but they did not ·ask the Lord what to do [seek the Lord’s guidance]. 15 So Joshua agreed to make peace with the Gibeonites and to let them live. And the leaders of the Israelites ·swore an oath to keep the agreement [L swore to them].
16 Three days after they had made the ·agreement [covenant; treaty], the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites ·lived nearby [L were neighbors and lived in their midst]. 17 So the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] went to where they lived and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] did not attack those cities, because they had ·made a promise [L sworn] to them before the Lord, the God of Israel.
·All the Israelites [The whole assembly/congregation] grumbled against the leaders. 19 But [L all] the leaders answered, “We ·have given our promise [L swore (an oath)] before the Lord, the God of Israel, so we cannot ·attack [L touch] them now. 20 This is what we must do. We must let them live. Otherwise, ·God’s anger [L wrath] will ·be against [come upon] us for breaking the oath we swore to them. 21 So let them live, but they will cut wood and carry water for ·our people [the whole congregation].” ·So the leaders kept their promise to them [or…as the leaders had decided].
22 Joshua called for the Gibeonites and asked, “Why did you ·lie to [deceive; trick] us? ·Your land was near our camp [L You live among us], but you told us you were from a far country. 23 Now, you will be placed under a curse to ·be our slaves [never cease being slaves/servants]. You will have to cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”
24 The Gibeonites answered Joshua, “We lied to you because we were afraid you would kill us. ·We heard [L It was clearly/with certainty reported to your servants] that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all of this land and to ·kill [destroy] all the people who lived in it [Deut. 20:15–18]. That is why we did this. 25 Now [L look; T behold] ·you can decide what [L we are in your hands] to do with us, whatever you think is right.”
26 So Joshua saved their lives by not allowing the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] to kill them, 27 but he made the Gibeonites slaves. They cut wood and carried water for the Israelites, and they did it for the altar of the Lord—·wherever he chose it to be [L at the place that he would choose; 1 Sam. 4:3; 1 Kin. 9:3]. They are still doing this today [2 Sam. 21:1–14].
The Sun Stands Still
10 At this time Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had ·defeated [captured] Ai and ·completely destroyed it [devoted it to destruction; 2:10; 6:17], doing to Ai and its king as he had also done to Jericho and its king. The king also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Israel and that they ·lived nearby [were living among them; or had become allies]. 2 Adoni-Zedek and his people were very afraid because of this. Gibeon was not a little town like Ai; it was a ·large [great; important] city, ·as big as a city that had a king [L like one of the royal cities], and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent a message to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon [C five major cities in the southern mountains]. He begged them, 4 “Come with me and help me attack Gibeon, which has made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 Then these five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—gathered their armies, went to Gibeon, surrounded it, and attacked it.
6 The Gibeonites sent this message to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal [4:19]: “Don’t ·let us, your servants, be destroyed [abandon your servants]. Come quickly and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the mountains have joined their armies and are fighting against us.”
7 So Joshua marched out of Gilgal with his whole army, including his best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of those armies, because I will ·hand them over to you [L give them into your hand]. None of them will be able to stand against you.”
9 Joshua and his army marched all night from Gilgal for a surprise attack. 10 The Lord ·confused those armies [threw them into a panic] when Israel attacked, so Israel defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. They chased them along the road going up to Beth Horon and ·killed men [L struck them down] all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they chased the enemy down the Beth Horon Pass to Azekah, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the ·sky [heavens] and killed them. More people were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites’ swords.
12 On the day that the Lord gave up the Amorites to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped
until the ·people [nation] ·defeated [took vengeance on] their enemies.
·These words are [L Is this not…?] written in the ·Book [Scroll] of Jashar [C meaning “Upright One”; an extrabiblical account of Israel’s wars, now lost; 2 Sam. 1:18].
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and waited to go down for a full day. 14 ·That has never happened at any time [L There has been no day like it] before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a human being. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15 After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
16 During the fight the five kings ran away and hid in a cave ·near [at] Makkedah, 17 but someone found them hiding in the cave at Makkedah and told Joshua. 18 So he said, “·Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks [L Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave]. Put some men there to guard it, 19 but don’t stay there yourselves. Continue chasing the enemy and attacking them from behind. Don’t let them get to their cities, because the Lord your God will ·hand them over to you [L give them into your hand].”
20 So Joshua and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] ·killed the enemy [L finished slaying them with a very great slaughter], but a ·few [remnant; few survivors] were able to get back to their strong, walled cities. 21 After the fighting, Joshua’s men came back safely to him at Makkedah. No one ·was brave enough to say a word against [or suffered even a scratch on his tongue; C the Hebrew idiom “sharpened/scratched his tongue” may mean to threaten with words or to suffer a minor injury] the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
22 Joshua said, “Move the ·rocks that are covering the opening [L mouth] of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So Joshua’s men brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24 When they brought the five kings out to Joshua, he called for all his men. He said to the commanders of his army, “Come here! Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came close and put their feet on their necks [C a gesture of triumph and dominance; 2 Sam. 22:41; Ps. 18:41].
25 Joshua said to his men, “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed; 1:9; 8:1], because I will show you what the Lord will do to the enemies you will fight in the future.” 26 Then Joshua killed the five kings and hung their bodies on five trees [C an act of humiliation and shame; Deut. 21:23], where he left them until evening.
27 At sunset Joshua ·told [commanded] his men to take the bodies down from the trees. Then they threw them into the same cave where they had been hiding and covered the opening of the cave with large rocks, which are still there today.
28 That day Joshua ·defeated [L captured] Makkedah. He killed the king and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17; 10:1] all the people in that city as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive. He did the same thing to the king of Makkedah that he had done to the king of Jericho.
Defeating Southern Cities
29 Joshua and all the Israelites traveled from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The Lord handed over the city and its king. They ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] every person in the city; no one was left alive. And they did the same thing to that king that they had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua and all the Israelites left Libnah and went to Lachish, which they ·surrounded [took up positions against; besieged] and attacked. 32 The Lord ·handed over Lachish [L gave Lachish into their hand] on the second day. The Israelites ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] everyone in that city just as they had done to Libnah. 33 During this same time Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish, but Joshua also defeated him and his army; no one was left alive.
34 Then Joshua and all the Israelites went from Lachish to Eglon. They ·surrounded [took up positions against; besieged] Eglon, attacked it, and 35 captured it the same day. They ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all its people and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 6:17; 10:28] everything in it as an offering to the Lord, just as they had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and the Israelites went from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it, 37 capturing it and all the little towns near it. The Israelites ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] its king, its surrounding towns, and everyone in Hebron; no one was left alive there. Just as they had done to Eglon, they ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 6:17; 10:28] the city and all its people as an offering to the Lord.
38 Then Joshua and the Israelites went back to Debir and attacked it. 39 They captured that city, its king, and all the little towns near it, ·completely destroying [L striking with the edge of the sword and devoting to destruction; 10:37] everyone in Debir as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive there. Israel did to Debir and its king just as they had done to Libnah and its king, just as they had done to Hebron.
40 So Joshua ·defeated [L struck down] ·all the kings of the cities of these areas [L the whole region/land]: the ·mountains [hill country], ·southern Canaan [L the Negev], the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah], and the slopes [L and all their kings]. The Lord, the God of Israel, had ·told [commanded] Joshua to ·completely destroy [devote to destruction; 2:10; 6:17] all ·the people [L that breathed] as an offering to the Lord, so he left no one alive in those places. 41 Joshua captured all the cities from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza, and from Goshen to Gibeon. 42 He captured all these cities and their kings ·on one trip [in one campaign; L at one time], because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.
43 Then Joshua and all the Israelites returned to their camp at Gilgal [4:19].
Defeating Northern Kings
11 When Jabin king of Hazor [C the largest and best fortified of the Canaanite cities] heard about all that had happened, he sent messages to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Acshaph. 2 He sent messages to the kings in the northern ·mountains [hill country] and also to the kings in the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah] south of ·Lake Galilee [L Kinnereth] and in the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah]. He sent a message to the king of ·Naphoth [or the heights of] Dor in the west [C the coastal plain south of Mount Carmel] 3 and to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west. He sent messages to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the ·mountains [hill country]. Jabin also sent one to the Hivites, who lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah [C a coalition of the northern cities of Palestine]. 4 So the armies of all these kings came together with their horses and chariots [C a great challenge to the Israelites, who only had foot soldiers]. There were as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore [Gen. 22:17].
5 All of these kings met together at the waters of Merom [C probably modern Meirun, eight miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee], joined their armies together into one camp, and made plans to fight against the Israelites.
6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow I will give them to you. You will ·cripple [hamstring] their horses and burn all their chariots.”
7 So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy [10:9] by attacking them at the waters of Merom. 8 The Lord ·handed them over to [L gave them into the hand of] Israel. They chased them to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the Valley of Mizpah in the east [C locations north and west of the battle]. Israel fought until none of the enemy was left alive. 9 Joshua did what the Lord said to do; he ·crippled [hamstrung] their horses and burned their chariots [C Israel did not take the horses and chariots to use themselves, in order to show their trust in God; Ps. 20:7].
10 Then Joshua went back and captured the city of Hazor and ·killed [L struck with the sword] its king. (Hazor had been the leader of all the kingdoms that fought against Israel.) 11 Israel ·killed [L struck with the sword] everyone in Hazor, ·completely destroying them [devoting them to destruction; 2:10; 6:21]; no one was left ·alive [L that breathed]. Then they burned Hazor itself.
12 Joshua captured all of these cities, ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all of their kings, and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; v. 11] everything in these cities. He did this just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. 13 But the Israelites did not burn any cities that were built on their mounds [C so Israel could immediately occupy these strategically important cities; Deut. 6:10–11], except Hazor; only that city was burned by Joshua. 14 The ·people [L sons; children] of Israel kept for themselves ·everything [the plunder/spoil] they found in the cities, including all the animals. But they ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all the people there; they left no one ·alive [L that breathed]. 15 Long ago the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do this, and then Moses had commanded Joshua to do it [Deut. 7:1–6; 20:16–18]. Joshua ·did everything [L left nothing undone that] the Lord had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua defeated all the people in the land [C a general statement, since not every city was taken; 17:16; Judg. 1]. He had control of the mountains and ·the area of southern Canaan [L all the Negev], all the areas of Goshen, the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah], and the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah]. He controlled the ·mountains [hill country] of Israel and ·all the hills near them [or its lowlands/L Shephelah]. 17 ·Joshua controlled all the land from [L …from] Mount Halak near ·Edom [L Seir] to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. Joshua also captured all the kings in the land and killed them. 18 He ·fought [waged war] against them for ·many years [a long time; L many days]. 19 The people of only one city in all the land had made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Israel—the Hivites living in Gibeon. All the other cities were defeated in war. 20 The Lord ·made those people stubborn [L hardened their hearts; Ex. 8:15] so they would fight against Israel and ·he could completely destroy them [would be devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17] without mercy. This is what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.
21 Now Joshua fought the Anakites [or Anakim; Num. 13:33] who lived in the ·mountains [hill country] of Hebron, Debir, Anab, Judah, and Israel, and he completely destroyed them and their towns. 22 There were no Anakites left living in the land of the Israelites ·and only a few were left [or though some remained] in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 23 Joshua took control of all the ·land of Israel [L land] as the Lord had ·told Moses to do [or promised Moses] long ago. He gave the land to Israel, ·because he had promised it to them [L as an inheritance]. ·Then Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel [L …according to their tribal divisions], and ·there was peace in the land [the land had rest from war].
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