1   When Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and destroyed it (for Joshua had dealt with Ai and her king as he had dealt with Jericho and her king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made their peace with Israel and were living among them, 2   he was ^note greatly alarmed; for Gibeon was a large place, like a royal city: it was larger than Ai, and its men were all good fighters. 3   So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, 4   and Debir king of Eglon, and said, ‘Come up and help me, and we will attack the Gibeonites, because they have made their peace with Joshua and the Israelites.’ 5   So the five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces and advanced to take up their positions for the attack on Gibeon. 6   But the men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: ‘We are your slaves, do not abandon us, come quickly to our relief. All the Amorite kings in the hill-country have joined forces against us; come and help us.’ 7   So Joshua went up from Gilgal with all his forces and all his fighting men. 8   The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have delivered them into your hands, and not a man will be able to stand against you.’ 9   Joshua came upon them suddenly, after marching all night from Gilgal. 10   The Lord threw them into confusion before the Israelites, and Joshua defeated them utterly in Gibeon; he pursued them down the pass of Beth-horon and kept up the slaughter as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11   As they were fleeing from Israel down the pass, the Lord hurled great hailstones at them out of the sky all the way to Azekah: more died from the hailstones than the Israelites slew by the sword.

12   On that day when the Lord delivered the Amorites into the hands of Israel, Joshua spoke with the Lord, and he said in the presence of Israel:

  Stand still, O Sun, in Gibeon;
  stand, Moon, in the Vale of Aijalon.

13   So the sun stood still and the moon halted until a nation had taken vengeance on its enemies, as indeed is written in the Book of Jashar. ^note The sun stayed in mid heaven and made no haste to set for almost a whole day. 14   Never before or since has there been such a day as this day on which the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel. 15   So Joshua and all the Israelites returned to the camp at Gilgal.

16   The five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah, 17   and Joshua was told that they had been found hidden in this cave.

Israel's entry into the promised land 18   Joshua replied, ‘Roll some great stones to the mouth of the cave and post men there to keep watch over the kings. 19   But you must not stay; keep up the pursuit, attack your enemies from the rear and do not let them reach their cities; the Lord your God has delivered them into your hands.’ 20   When Joshua and the Israelites had finished the work of slaughter and all had been put to the sword—except a few survivors 21   who escaped and entered the fortified cities—the whole army rejoined ^note Joshua at Makkedah in peace; not a man ^note of the Israelites suffered so much as a scratch on his tongue. 22   Then Joshua said, ‘Open the mouth of the cave, and bring me out those five kings.’ 23   They did so; they brought the five kings out of the cave, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24   When they had brought them to Joshua, he summoned all the Israelites and said to the commanders of the troops who had served with him, ‘Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings.’ So they came forward and put their feet on their necks. 25   Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be fearful or dismayed; be strong and resolute; for the Lord will do this to every enemy you fight against.’ 26   And he struck down the kings and slew them; then he hung their bodies on five trees, where they remained hanging till evening. 27   At sunset, on Joshua's orders they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave in which they had hidden; they piled great stones against its mouth, and there the stones are to this day. ^note

28   On that same day, Joshua captured Makkedah and put both king and people to the sword, destroying both them and every living thing in the city. He left no survivor, and he dealt with the king of Makkedah as he had dealt with the king of Jericho. 29   Then Joshua and all the Israelites marched on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30   The Lord delivered the city and its king to the Israelites, and they put its people and every living thing in it to the sword; they left no survivor there, and dealt with its king as they had dealt with the king of Jericho. 31   From Libnah Joshua and all the Israelites marched on to Lachish, took up their positions and attacked it. 32   The Lord delivered Lachish into their hands; they took it on the second day and put every living thing in it to the sword, as they had done at Libnah.

33   Meanwhile Horam king of Gezer had advanced to the relief of Lachish; but Joshua struck them down, both king and people, and not a man of them survived. 34   Then Joshua and all the Israelites marched on from Lachish to Eglon, took up their positions and attacked it; 35   that same day they captured it and put its inhabitants to the sword, destroying every living thing in it as they had done at Lachish.

Israel's entry into the promised land 36   From Eglon Joshua and all the Israelites advanced to Hebron and attacked it. 37   They captured it and put its king to the sword together with every living thing in it and in all its villages; as at Eglon, he left no survivor, destroying it and every living thing in it. 38   Then Joshua and all the Israelites wheeled round towards Debir and attacked it. 39   They captured the city with its king, and all its villages, put them to the sword and destroyed every living thing; they left no survivor. They dealt with Debir and its king as they had dealt with Hebron and with Libnah and its king.

40   So Joshua massacred the population of the whole region—the hill-country, the Negeb, the Shephelah, the watersheds—and all their kings. He left no survivor, destroying everything that drew breath, as the Lord the God of Israel had commanded. 41   Joshua carried the slaughter from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, over the whole land of Goshen and as far as Gibeon. 42   All these kings he captured at the same time, and their country with them, for the Lord the God of Israel fought for Israel. 43   And Joshua returned with all the Israelites to the camp at Gilgal.

Previous section

Next section