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The Sun Stands Still

10 Adoni-Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had captured Ai. He found out that the city had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. He heard that Joshua had done to Ai and its king the same thing he had done to Jericho and its king. Adoni-Zedek heard that the people of Gibeon had made a peace treaty with Israel. He also found out that they were living among the Israelites. The things he heard alarmed him and his people very much. That’s because Gibeon was an important city. It was like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai. All its men were good soldiers. So Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, made an appeal to Hoham, the king of Hebron. He appealed to Piram, the king of Jarmuth. He appealed to Japhia, the king of Lachish. He also made an appeal to Debir, the king of Eglon. “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said. “Its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”

Then the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon gathered their armies together. Those five Amorite kings moved all their troops into position to fight against Gibeon. Then they attacked it.

Joshua was in the camp at Gilgal. The people of Gibeon sent a message to him there. They said, “Don’t desert us. We serve you. Come up to us quickly! Save us! Help us! All the Amorite kings from the central hill country have gathered their armies together to fight against us.”

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his whole army. The army included all his best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to fight against you and win.”

Joshua marched all night from Gilgal. He took the Amorite armies by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into a panic as Israel marched toward them. Then Joshua and the Israelites won a complete victory over them at Gibeon. The Israelites chased them along the road that goes up to Beth Horon. They struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 The Amorites tried to escape as Israel marched toward them. They ran down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. Then the Lord threw large hailstones down on them. The hailstones killed more of them than the swords of the Israelites did.

12 So the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel. On that day Joshua spoke to the Lord while the Israelites were listening. He said,

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
    And you, moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still.
    The moon stopped.
    They didn’t move again until the nation won the battle over its enemies.

You can read about it in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It didn’t go down for about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since. It was a day when the Lord listened to a mere human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

15 Joshua and his whole army returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua Kills the Five Amorite Kings

16 The five Amorite kings had run away. They had hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Joshua was told that the five kings had been found. He was also told that they were hiding in the cave at Makkedah. 18 He said, “Roll some large rocks up to the opening of the cave. Put some men there to guard it. 19 But keep on going! Chase your enemies! Attack them from behind. Don’t let them get back to their cities. The Lord your God has handed them over to you.”

20 So Joshua and the men of Israel had complete victory over them. They killed almost every one of them. But a few escaped. They went back to their cities that had high walls around them. 21 Then Israel’s whole army returned safely to Joshua. He was in the camp at Makkedah. No one in the land dared to say anything against the Israelites.

22 Joshua said, “Open up the cave. Bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So Joshua’s men brought the kings out of the cave. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 The men brought them to Joshua. Then he sent for all the men of Israel. He spoke to the army commanders who had come with him. He said, “Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet on the necks of the kings.

25 Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. Be strong and brave. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” 26 Joshua put the five kings to death. He stuck a pole through each of their bodies. Then he set the poles up where people could see the bodies. He left them there until evening.

27 At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take down the bodies. So they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where the kings had been hiding. They placed large rocks at the opening of the cave. And the rocks are still there to this day.

The Campaign Against the Cities in the South

28 That day Joshua captured Makkedah. He cut down its people and their king. He totally destroyed everyone in it. He didn’t leave anyone alive. He did to the king of Makkedah the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.

29 Joshua moved on from Makkedah to Libnah. Israel’s whole army went with him. They attacked Libnah. 30 The Lord also handed that city and its king over to Israel. Joshua destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He didn’t leave anyone alive there. He did to its king the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Joshua moved on from Libnah to Lachish. Israel’s whole army went with him. The men took up their battle positions. Then Joshua attacked Lachish. 32 The Lord handed it over to Israel. Joshua captured the city on the second day of the battle. He destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He had done the same thing to Libnah. 33 While all that was happening, Horam had come up to help Lachish. He was the king of Gezer. But Joshua won the battle over him and his army. No one was left alive.

34 Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon. Israel’s whole army went with him. They took up their battle positions. Then they attacked Eglon. 35 They captured it that same day. They totally destroyed everyone in it with their swords. They had done the same thing to Lachish.

36 Joshua went up from Eglon to Hebron. Israel’s whole army went with him. Then they attacked Hebron. 37 They captured the city. They destroyed it and its villages. They killed all its people and their king with their swords. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They totally destroyed the city and everyone in it. They had done the same thing at Eglon.

38 Joshua turned back and attacked Debir. Israel’s whole army went with him. 39 They captured the city, its king and its villages. They totally destroyed everyone in Debir with their swords. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They did to Debir and its king the same thing they had done to Libnah and its king. They had also done the same thing to Hebron.

40 So Joshua brought the whole area under his control. That included the central hill country and the Negev Desert. It included the western hills and the mountain slopes. It also included all the kings in that whole area. Joshua didn’t leave anyone alive. He totally destroyed everyone who breathed. He did just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua brought everyone from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza under his control. He did the same thing to everyone from the whole area of Goshen to Gibeon. 42 He won the battle over all those kings and their lands. He did it in one campaign. That’s because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

43 Then Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal. Israel’s whole army went with him.

The Campaign Against the Cities in the North

11 Jabin was the king of Hazor. He heard about the battles Israel had won. So he sent a message to Jobab. Jobab was the king of Madon. Jabin sent the same message to the kings of Shimron and Akshaph. He also sent it to many other kings. Some ruled in the mountains in the north. Some ruled in the Arabah Valley south of Kinnereth. Others ruled in the western hills. Still others ruled in Naphoth Dor in the west. Jabin sent the same message to the people of east Canaan and west Canaan. He sent it to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites. They lived in the central hill country. He also sent it to the Hivites who lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah. Those kings marched out with all their troops. They had a large number of horses and chariots. It was a huge army. The fighting men were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. All those kings gathered their armies together to fight against Israel. They set up camp together at the Waters of Merom.

The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel. All of them will be killed. You must cut the legs of their horses. You must burn their chariots.”

So Joshua and his whole army attacked them suddenly. They fought against them at the Waters of Merom. The Lord handed them over to Israel. The Israelites won the battle over them. They hunted them down all the way to Greater Sidon. They chased them to Misrephoth Maim. They chased them to the Valley of Mizpah in the east. Not one of them was left alive. Joshua did to them what the Lord had ordered him to do. He cut the legs of their horses. He burned up their chariots.

10 At that time Joshua turned back. He captured Hazor. He killed its king with his sword. Hazor was the most important city in all those kingdoms. 11 The army of Israel killed everyone in Hazor with their swords. Its people had been set apart to the Lord to be destroyed. Israel’s army didn’t spare anyone who breathed. Then Joshua burned down the city.

12 Joshua captured all those royal cities and their kings. He and his men killed everyone in those cities with their swords. He totally destroyed them. He did just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. 13 Many cities were built on top of earlier cities that had been destroyed. Israel didn’t burn any of those except Hazor. Joshua burned it down. 14 The army of Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they took from those cities. But they killed all the people with their swords. They completely destroyed them. They didn’t spare anyone who breathed. 15 The Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do all these things. Moses had passed that command on to Joshua. And Joshua carried it out. He did everything the Lord had commanded Moses.

16 So Joshua captured the whole land. He took over the central hill country and the whole Negev Desert. He took over the whole area of Goshen. He took over the western hills. He took over the Arabah Valley. He took over the mountains of Israel and the hills around them. 17 He took over the area that begins at Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. The area ends at Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. Joshua captured the kings who ruled over that whole land. He put them to death. 18 He fought battles against all those kings for a long time. 19 Only the Hivites who lived in Gibeon made a peace treaty with the Israelites. No other city made a treaty with them. So Israel captured all those cities in battle. 20 The Lord himself made their people stubborn. He made them go to war against Israel so he could totally destroy them. He wanted to wipe them out. He didn’t show them any mercy. The Lord had commanded Moses to destroy the Canaanites.

21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites. They lived all through the hill country of Judah and Israel. They lived in Hebron, Debir and Anab. Joshua totally destroyed the Anakites and their towns. 22 There weren’t any Anakites left alive in Israel’s territory. But a few were left alive in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.

23 So Joshua captured the whole land, just as the Lord had directed Moses. Joshua gave the land to Israel as their very own. He divided it up and gave each tribe its share. Then the land had peace and rest.

Israel Wins the Battle Over the Kings in the Land

12 The Israelites took over the territory east of the Jordan River. The land they captured reached from the Arnon River valley to Mount Hermon. It included the whole east side of the Arabah Valley. Israel won the battle over the kings of that whole territory. Here are the lands Israel captured from the kings they won the battle over.

They took over the land of Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon.

The land he ruled over begins at Aroer. Aroer is on the rim of the Arnon River valley. Sihon ruled from the middle of the valley to the Jabbok River. The Jabbok is the border of Ammon. Sihon’s territory included half of Gilead.

He also ruled over the east side of the Arabah Valley. That land begins at the Sea of Galilee. It goes to the Dead Sea and over to Beth Jeshimoth. Then it goes south, below the slopes of Pisgah.

Israel also took over the territory of Og. He was the king of Bashan. He was one of the last of the Rephaites. He ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salekah and the whole land of Bashan. Og’s kingdom reached all the way to the border of Geshur and Maakah. He ruled over half of Gilead. His land reached the border of Sihon, the king of Heshbon.

Moses was the servant of the Lord. Moses and the Israelites won the battle over those two kings. He gave their land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. He gave it to them as their share.

Joshua and the Israelites won the battle over the kings who ruled west of the Jordan River. The lands of those kings reached from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their lands to the tribes of Israel as their very own. He divided them up and gave each tribe its share. Those lands included the central hill country, the western hills and the Arabah Valley. They also included the mountain slopes, the Desert of Judah and the Negev Desert. Those lands belonged to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Here are the kings Israel won the battle over.

the king of Jerichoone
the king of Ai, which is near Bethelone
10 the king of Jerusalemone
the king of Hebronone
11 the king of Jarmuthone
the king of Lachishone
12 the king of Eglonone
the king of Gezerone
13 the king of Debirone
the king of Gederone
14 the king of Hormahone
the king of Aradone
15 the king of Libnahone
the king of Adullamone
16 the king of Makkedahone
the king of Bethelone
17 the king of Tappuahone
the king of Hepherone
18 the king of Aphekone
the king of Lasharonone
19 the king of Madonone
the king of Hazorone
20 the king of Shimron Meronone
the king of Akshaphone
21 the king of Taanachone
the king of Megiddoone
22 the king of Kedeshone
the king of Jokneam in Carmelone
23 the king of Dor in Naphoth Dorone
the king of Goyim in Gilgalone
24 the king of Tirzahone

The total number of kings was 31.

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