1 Now when Adoni-zedek King of Ierusalem had heard how Ioshua had taken Ai and had destroyed it, (for as he had done to Iericho and to the King thereof, so he had done to Ai and to the King thereof) and howe the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them, 2 Then they feared exceedingly: for Gibeon was a great citie, as one of the royall cities: for it was greater then Ai, and all the men thereof were mightie. 3 Wherefore Adoni-zedek King of Ierusalem sent vnto Hoham King of Hebron, and vnto Piram King of Iarmuth, and vnto Iapia King of Lachish, and vnto Debir King of Eglon, saying, 4 Come vp vnto me, and helpe me, that we may smite Gibeon: for they haue made peace with Ioshua and with the children of Israel. 5 Therefore the fiue Kings of the Amorites, the King of Ierusalem, the King of Hebron, the King of Iarmuth, the King of Lachish, and the King of Eglon gathered themselues together, and went vp, they with all their hostes, and besieged Gibeon, and made warre against it. 6 And the men of Gibeon sent vnto Ioshua, euen to the hoste to Gilgal, saying, Withdrawe not thine hand from thy seruants: come vp to vs quickly, and saue vs, and helpe vs: for all the Kings of the Amorites which dwell in the mountaines, are gathered together against vs. 7 So Ioshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of warre with him, and all the men of might. 8 And the Lord sayd vnto Ioshua, Feare them not: for I haue giuen them into thine hand: none of them shall stand against thee. 9 Ioshua therefore came vnto them suddenly: for he went vp from Gilgal all the night. 10 And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth vp to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah and to Makkedah. 11 And as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going downe to Beth-horon, the Lord cast downe great stones from heauen vpon them, vntill Azekah, and they dyed: they were more that dyed with the hailestones, then they whom the children of Israel slewe with the sword. 12 Then spake Ioshua to the Lord, in the day when the Lord gaue the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he sayd in the sight of Israel, Sunne, stay thou in Gibeon, and thou moone, in the valley of Aialon. 13 And the Sunne abode, and the moone stood still, vntill the people auenged themselues vpon their enemies: (Is not this written in the booke of Iasher?) so the Sunne abode in the middes of the heauen, and hasted not to goe downe for a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it, nor after it, that the Lord heard the voyce of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. 15 After, Ioshua returned, and all Israel with him vnto the campe to Gilgal: 16 But the fiue Kings fled and were hid in a caue at Makkedah. 17 And it was tolde Ioshua, saying, The fiue Kings are found hid in a caue at Makkedah. 18 Then Ioshua said, Roule great stones vpon the mouth of the caue, and set men by it for to keepe them. 19 But stand ye not still: follow after your enemies, and smite all the hindmost, suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the Lord your God hath giuen them into your hand. 20 And when Ioshua and the children of Israel had made an ende of slaying them with an exceeding great slaughter till they were consumed, and the rest that remained of them were entred into walled cities, 21 Then all the people returned to the campe, to Ioshua at Makkedah in peace: no man mooued his tongue against the children of Israel. 22 After, Ioshua sayd, Open the mouth of the caue, and bring out these fiue Kings vnto me forth of the caue. 23 And they did so, and brought out those fiue Kings vnto him forth of the caue, euen the King of Ierusalem, the King of Hebron, ye King of Iarmuth, the King of Lachish, and the King of Eglon. 24 And when they had brought out those Kings vnto Ioshua, Ioshua called for all the men of Israel, and sayd vnto the chiefe of the men of warre, which went with him, Come neere, set your feete vpon the necks of these Kings: and they came neere and set their feete vpon their necks. 25 And Ioshua sayd vnto them, Feare not, nor be faint hearted, but be strong and of a good courage: for thus will the Lord doe to all your enemies, against whome ye fight. 26 So then Ioshua smote them, and slewe them, and hanged them on fiue trees, and they hanged still vpon the trees vntill the euening. 27 And at the going downe of the sunne, Ioshua gaue commandement, that they should take them downe off the trees, and cast them into the caue (wherein they had bene hid) and they layde great stones vpon the caues mouth, which remaine vntill this day. 28 And that same day Ioshua tooke Makkedah and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the King thereof destroyed he with them, and all the soules that were therein, he let none remaine: for hee did to the King of Makkedah as he had done vnto the King of Iericho. 29 Then Ioshua went from Makkedah, and all Israel with him vnto Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30 And the Lord gaue it also and the King thereof into the hand of Israel: and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the soules that were therein: he let none remaine in it: for he did vnto the King thereof, as he had done vnto the King of Iericho. 31 And Ioshua departed from Libnah, and all Israel with him vnto Lachish, and besieged it, and assaulted it. 32 And the Lord gaue Lachish into the hand of Israel, which tooke it the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the soules that were therein, according to all as he had done to Libnah. 33 Then Horam King of Gezer came vp to helpe Lachish: but Ioshua smote him and his people, vntill none of his remained. 34 And from Lachish Ioshua departed vnto Eglon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged it, and assaulted it, 35 And they tooke it the same day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the soules that were therein he vtterly destroyed the same day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. 36 Then Ioshua went vp from Eglon, and all Israel with him vnto Hebron, and they fought against it. 37 And when they had taken it, they smote it with the edge of the sword, and the King thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the soules that were therein: he left none remaining, according to all as he had done to Eglon: for he destroyed it vtterly, and all the soules that were therein. 38 So Ioshua returned, and all Israel with him to Debir, and fought against it. 39 And when he had taken it, and the King thereof, and all the citie thereof, they smote them with the edge of the sword, and vtterly destroyed all the soules that were therein, he let none remaine: as he did to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the King thereof, as he had also done to Libnah, and to the King thereof. 40 So Ioshua smote all the hill countreys, and the South countreys, and the valleys, and the hill sides, and all their Kings, and let none remaine, but vtterly destroyed euery soule, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41 And Ioshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea euen vnto Azzah, and all the countrey of Goshen, euen vnto Gibeon. 42 And all these Kings, and their land did Ioshua take at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Afterward, Ioshua and all Israel with him returned vnto the campe in Gilgal.
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.