UST JOS Chapter 10

◄ JOS 10 ► ║ ═ ©

10 This is what happened next. Adoni Zedek was the king who ruled the city of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua’s army had captured the city of Ai and completely destroyed it, just as they had done to the city of Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of the city of Gibeon had made a peace agreement with the Israelites and were living among them. 2 The people of Jerusalem and their king became very afraid, because the city of Gibeon was as large as the cities that had kings ruling them. It was larger than the city of Ai, and all its men were strong warriors. 3 So Adoni Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, sent messages to several other kings. He sent them to Hoham, who ruled the city of Hebron, to Piram, who ruled the city of Jarmuth, to Japhia, who ruled the city of Lachish, and to Debir, who ruled the city of Eglon. 4 Adoni Zedek told them, “Come and help me attack the city of Gibeon because its people have made a peace agreement with Joshua and the Israelites.”

5 So these five kings of the Amorites joined their armies together. These were the kings of the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. These kings and their armies went up with all their soldiers and surrounded the city of Gibeon and started to attack it.

6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal: “Protect us, because we are your subjects. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined their armies together to attack us!”

7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including his best fighting men. 8 Yahweh told Joshua, “Do not be afraid of those armies. I will enable you to defeat them. None of them will be able to resist you.”

9 Joshua and his army marched all night from Gilgal and surprised the enemy armies. 10 Yahweh caused the enemy armies to become confused when they saw the Israelites. The Israelites won a great victory at Gibeon. They chased their enemies along the road that goes up to Beth Horon. They continued to kill enemy soldiers all the way to the cities of Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As the enemies were running away from the Israelites down the road from Beth Horon, Yahweh threw large hailstones on them from the sky. These hailstones continued to fall on them all the way to the city of Azekah. The hailstones killed more of the enemy soldiers than the Israelites killed with their swords.

12 On that same day, when Yahweh was helping the Israelites defeat the Amorites, Joshua spoke to Yahweh. While the Israelites were watching, Joshua prayed, asking Yahweh to make the sun stay in place over the city of Gibeon and to make the moon stay in place over the Valley of Aijalon. 13 And the sun stayed in place, and the moon did not move, until the Israelites had defeated their enemies. There is an account of this in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped moving, and it stayed in the middle of the sky and did not go down for about a whole day. 14 There has never been another day like that one, either before or after it, when Yahweh answered someone’s prayer in such an amazing way. Yahweh was truly fighting for the Israelites.

15 Then Joshua and all of the Israelite soldiers returned to their camp at Gilgal.

16 During the battle, the five kings ran away and hid in a cave near the city of Makkedah. 17 But Joshua’s soldiers discovered their hiding place and they told him that the five kings were hiding in a cave near Makkedah. 18 Joshua told his men, “Roll some large stones to block the entrance of the cave. Put some guards there to watch it.” 19 Then Joshua said to all the other soldiers, “Do not stay here in the camp. Chase after your enemies and attack those who have been the slowest to escape. Do not let them reach their cities. Yahweh your God will enable you to defeat them.”

20 So Joshua and his soldiers chased and killed the Amorite soldiers until they had destroyed them almost completely. Only a few of them escaped to the safety of their cities, which had defensive walls. 21 Then the whole Israelite army returned to Joshua at the camp at Makkedah with no enemy soldiers pursuing them. No one in that region dared to say anything bad about any of the Israelites.

22 Then Joshua said, “Remove the stones from the entrance of the cave and bring those five kings to me.” 23 So his soldiers brought out the five kings from the cave. They were the kings of the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24 When they brought these kings to Joshua, he called together the whole Israelite army. He said to the commanders who fought the battle with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came and put their feet on the kings’ necks to show that they had completely defeated them and their armies. 25 Then Joshua said to his commanders, “Yahweh will do the same thing to all the enemies whom you will fight. So you have no reason to be afraid of them. Fight very bravely!” 26 Then Joshua killed the five kings and hanged their bodies on five trees. He left their bodies hanging on the trees until evening. 27 At sunset, Joshua ordered his men to take the bodies down from the trees and throw them into the cave where the kings had hidden. They put large stones at the entrance of the cave. Those stones are still there today.

28 That same day, Joshua’s army captured the city of Makkedah. They completely destroyed that city and its king. They also completely destroyed all of the people and animals in the city. They made sure no one survived. This is just what they had done to the city of Jericho.

29 Then Joshua led the whole Israelite army from Makkedah to the city of Libnah and they attacked it. 30 Yahweh also helped the Israelites conquer this city and its king. The Israelite soldiers killed everyone in the city. They made sure no one survived. They treated the king of Libnah the same way they had treated the king of Jericho.

31 Next, Joshua led the whole Israelite army from Libnah to the city of Lachish. They set up their camp near the city and began their attack. 32 After one day of fighting, Yahweh helped the Israelites conquer Lachish. They killed everyone in the city, just as they had done to Libnah. 33 During this time, King Horam of the city of Gezer brought his army to help Lachish. But Joshua’s army defeated them and killed them all.

34 Then Joshua led the whole Israelite army from Lachish to the city of Eglon. They set up their camp near the city and began their attack. 35 They captured Eglon that same day. They killed everyone in the city. They destroyed all the people, just as they had done in Lachish.

36 After this, Joshua led the whole Israelite army up from Eglon to the city of Hebron, and they attacked it. 37 They captured the city and all the nearby towns. They killed everyone, including the king. They made sure no one survived, just as they had done in Eglon.

38 Then Joshua and the whole Israelite army turned back and went to the city of Debir and attacked it. 39 They captured the city, its king, and all the nearby towns. They killed everyone. They made sure that. no person who lived in that area survived. They did the same things to Debir and its king that they had done to the cities of Hebron and Libnah and their kings.

40 This is how Joshua conquered the whole region. He defeated all the kings and their people in the hill country, the southern desert, the western foothills, and the eastern slopes. He killed everyone in these places, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua’s army defeated all the people living in the area from Kadesh Barnea to the city of Gaza, including the region of Goshen all the way to the city of Gibeon. 42 Joshua defeated all these kings and took control of their territories in a single campaign. He was able to do that because Yahweh, the God of Israel, was fighting for his people.

43 After this, Joshua and the whole Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.

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