The Amorites Are Defeated
1 Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured and totally destroyed Ai and had killed its king, just as he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites and were living among them. 2 The people of Jerusalem were greatly alarmed at this because Gibeon was as large as any of the cities that had a king; it was larger than Ai, and its men were good fighters. 3 So Adonizedek sent the following message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon: 4 “Come and help me attack Gibeon, because its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 5 These five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces, surrounded Gibeon, and attacked it.
6 The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Do not abandon us, sir! Come at once and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings in the hill country have joined forces and have attacked us!”
7 So Joshua and his whole army, including the best troops, started out from Gilgal. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have already given you the victory. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.” 9 All night Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal to Gibeon, and they made a surprise attack on the Amorites. 10 The Lord made the Amorites panic at the sight of Israel's army. The Israelites slaughtered them at Gibeon and pursued them down the mountain pass at Beth Horon, keeping up the attack as far south as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 While the Amorites were running down the pass from the Israelite army, the Lord made large hailstones fall down on them all the way to Azekah. More were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites.
12 On the day that the Lord gave the men of Israel victory over the Amorites, Joshua spoke to the Lord. In the presence of the Israelites he said,
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
Moon, stop over Aijalon Valley.”
13 The sun stood still and the moon did not move until the nation had conquered its enemies. This is written in The Book of Jashar. The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not go down for a whole day. 14 Never before, and never since, has there been a day like it, when the Lord obeyed a human being. The Lord fought on Israel's side!
15 After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua Captures the Five Amorite Kings
16 The five Amorite kings, however, had escaped and were hiding in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Someone found them, and Joshua was told where they were hiding. 18 He said, “Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Place some guards there, 19 but don't stay there yourselves. Keep on after the enemy and attack them from the rear; don't let them get to their cities! The Lord your God has given you victory over them.” 20 Joshua and the men of Israel slaughtered them, although some managed to find safety inside their city walls and were not killed. 21 Then all of Joshua's men came back safe to him at the camp at Makkedah.
No one in the land dared even to speak against the Israelites.
22 Then Joshua said, “Open the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So the cave was opened, and the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon were brought out 24 and taken to Joshua. Joshua then called all the men of Israel to him and ordered the officers who had gone with him to come and put their feet on the necks of the kings. They did so. 25 Then Joshua said to his officers, “Don't be afraid or discouraged. Be determined and confident because this is what the Lord is going to do to all your enemies.” 26 Then Joshua killed the kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies stayed until evening. 27 At sundown Joshua gave orders, and their bodies were taken down and thrown into the same cave where they had hidden earlier. Large stones were placed at the entrance to the cave, and they are still there.
Joshua Captures More Amorite Territory
28 Joshua attacked and captured Makkedah and its king that day. He put everyone in the city to death; no one was left alive. He did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 After this, Joshua and his army went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The Lord also gave the Israelites victory over this city and its king. They spared no one, but killed every person in it. They did to the king what they had done to the king of Jericho.
31 After this, Joshua and his army went on from Libnah to Lachish, surrounded it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave the Israelites victory over Lachish on the second day of the battle. Just as they had done at Libnah, they spared no one, but killed every person in the city. 33 King Horam of Gezer came to the aid of Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army and left none of them alive.
34 Next, Joshua and his army went on from Lachish to Eglon, surrounded it and attacked it. 35 They captured it the same day and put everyone there to death, just as they had done at Lachish.
36 After this, Joshua and his army went from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, attacked it 37 and captured it. They killed the king and everyone else in the city as well as in the nearby towns. Joshua condemned the city to total destruction, just as he had done to Eglon. No one in it was left alive.
38 Then Joshua and his army turned back to Debir and attacked it. 39 He captured it, with its king and all the nearby towns. They put everyone there to death. Joshua did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.
40 Joshua conquered the whole land. He defeated the kings of the hill country, the eastern slopes, and the western foothills, as well as those of the dry country in the south. He spared no one; everyone was put to death. This was what the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41 Joshua's campaign took him from Kadesh Barnea in the south to Gaza near the coast, including all the area of Goshen, and as far north as Gibeon. 42 Joshua conquered all these kings and their territory in one campaign because the Lord, Israel's God, was fighting for Israel. 43 After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua Commands the Sun To Stand Still
1 King Adonizedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured and destroyed the town of Ai, and then killed its king as he had done at Jericho. He also learned that the Gibeonites had signed a peace treaty with Israel. 2 This frightened Adonizedek and his people. They knew that Gibeon was a large town, as big as the towns that had kings, and even bigger than the town of Ai had been. And all of the men of Gibeon were warriors. 3 So Adonizedek sent messages to the kings of four other towns: King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. The messages said, 4 “The Gibeonites have signed a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelites. Come and help me attack Gibeon!”
5 When these five Amorite kings called their armies together and attacked Gibeon, 6 the Gibeonites sent a message to the Israelite camp at Gilgal: “Joshua, please come and rescue us! The Amorite kings from the hill country have joined together and are attacking us. We are your servants, so don't let us down. Please hurry!”
7 Joshua and his army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal. 8 “Joshua,” the Lord said, “don't be afraid of the Amorites. They will run away when you attack, and I will help you defeat them.”
9 Joshua marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon and made a surprise attack on the Amorite camp. 10 The Lord made the enemy panic, and the Israelites started killing them right and left. They chased the Amorite troops up the road to Beth-Horon and kept on killing them, until they reached the towns of Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And while these troops were going down through Beth-Horon Pass, the Lord made huge hailstones fall on them all the way to Azekah. More of the enemy soldiers died from the hail than from the Israelite weapons.
12-13 The Lord was helping the Israelites defeat the Amorites that day. So about noon, Joshua prayed to the Lord loud enough for the Israelites to hear:
“Our Lord, make the sun stop
in the sky over Gibeon,
and the moon stand still
over Aijalon Valley.”
So the sun and the moon
stopped and stood still
until Israel defeated its enemies.
This poem can be found in The Book of Jashar. The sun stood still and didn't go down for about a whole day. 14 Never before and never since has the Lord done anything like that for someone who prayed. The Lord was really fighting for Israel.
15 After the battle, Joshua and the Israelites went back to their camp at Gilgal.
Joshua Kills the Five Enemy Kings
16 While the enemy soldiers were running from the Israelites, the five enemy kings ran away and hid in a cave near Makkedah. 17 Joshua's soldiers told him, “The five kings have been found in a cave near Makkedah.”
18 Joshua answered, “Roll some big stones over the mouth of the cave and leave a few soldiers to guard it. 19 But you and everyone else must keep going after the enemy troops, because they will be safe if they reach their walled towns. Don't let them get away! The Lord our God is helping us get rid of them.” 20 So Joshua and the Israelites almost wiped out the enemy soldiers. Only a few safely reached their walled towns.
21 The Israelite army returned to their camp at Makkedah, where Joshua was waiting for them. No one around there dared say anything bad about the Israelites. 22 Joshua told his soldiers, “Now, move the rocks from the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings to me.”
23 The soldiers opened the entrance to the cave and brought out the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24 After Joshua had called the army together, he forced the five kings to lie down on the ground. Then he called his officers forward and told them, “You fought these kings along with me, so put your feet on their necks.” The officers did this, 25 and Joshua continued, “Don't ever be afraid or discouraged. Be brave and strong. This is what the Lord will do to all your enemies.”
26 Joshua killed the five kings and told his men to hang each body on a tree. Then at sunset 27 he told some of his troops, “Take the bodies down and throw them into the cave where the kings were found. Cover the entrance to the cave with big rocks.”
Joshua's troops obeyed his orders, and those rocks are still there.
Joshua Continues the Fighting
28 Later that day, Joshua captured Makkedah and killed its king and everyone else in the town, just as he had done at Jericho.
29 Joshua and his army left Makkedah and attacked the town of Libnah. 30 The Lord let them capture the town and its king, and they killed the king and everyone else, just as they had done at Jericho.
31 Joshua then led his army to Lachish, and they set up camp around the town. They attacked, 32 and the next day the Lord let them capture the town. They killed everyone, as they had done at Libnah. 33 King Horam of Gezer arrived to help Lachish, but Joshua and his troops attacked and destroyed him and his army.
34 From Lachish, Joshua took his troops to Eglon, where they set up camp surrounding the town. They attacked, 35 captured it that same day, then killed everyone, as they had done at Lachish.
36 Joshua and his army left Eglon and attacked Hebron. 37 They captured the town and the nearby villages, then killed everyone, including the king. They destroyed Hebron in the same way they had destroyed Eglon.
38 Joshua and the Israelite army turned and attacked Debir. 39 They captured the town, and its nearby villages. Then they destroyed Debir and killed its king, together with everyone else, just as they had done with Hebron and Libnah.
40 Joshua captured towns everywhere in the land: In the central hill country and the foothills to the west, in the Southern Desert and the region that slopes down toward the Dead Sea. Whenever he captured a town, he would kill the king and everyone else, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41 Joshua wiped out towns from Kadesh-Barnea to Gaza, everywhere in the region of Goshen, and as far north as Gibeon. 42-43 The Lord fought on Israel's side, so Joshua and the Israelite army were able to capture these kings and take their land. They fought one battle after another, then they went back to their camp at Gilgal after capturing all that land.