Joshua 10:1-15
New American Standard Bible
Five Kings Attack Gibeon
10 Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had [a]utterly destroyed it (just (A)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had (B)made peace with Israel and were [b]within their land, 2 that [c]he (C)feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 3 Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word (D)to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, and let’s [d]attack Gibeon, for it has (E)made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” 5 So the five kings of (F)the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.
6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not [e]abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and (G)all the people of war with him, and all the valiant warriors. 8 And the Lord said to Joshua, “(H)Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not [f]one of them will stand against you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly [g]by marching all night from Gilgal. 10 (I)And the Lord brought them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them down in a great defeat at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And as they fled from Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, (J)the Lord hurled large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died [h]from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord turned the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“(K)Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
And moon, at the Valley of Aijalon!”
13 (L)So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.
Is it not written in (M)the Book of Jashar? And (N)the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day. 14 There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for (O)the Lord fought for Israel.
15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp [i]at Gilgal.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 10:1 Or put under the ban
- Joshua 10:1 Lit among them
- Joshua 10:2 Lit they
- Joshua 10:4 Lit strike
- Joshua 10:6 Lit slacken your hands from
- Joshua 10:8 Lit a man
- Joshua 10:9 Lit he went up
- Joshua 10:11 Lit with
- Joshua 10:15 Lit to Gilgal
Joshua 10:1-15
King James Version
10 Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.
3 Wherefore Adonizedec king of Jerusalem, sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,
4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
6 And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.
7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.
8 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.
9 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all 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 up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.
15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
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Joshua 10:1-15
Living Bible
10 When Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured and destroyed Ai and had killed its king, the same as he had done at Jericho, and how the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were now their allies, 2 he was very frightened. For Gibeon was a great city—as great as the royal cities and much larger than Ai—and its men were known as hard fighters. 3 So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent messengers to several other kings: King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, King Debir of Eglon.
4 “Come and help me destroy Gibeon,” he urged them, “for they have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.”
5 So these five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack on Gibeon. 6 The men of Gibeon hurriedly sent messengers to Joshua at Gilgal.
“Come and help your servants!” they demanded. “Come quickly and save us! For all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hills are here with their armies.”
7 So Joshua and the Israeli army left Gilgal and went to rescue Gibeon.
8 “Don’t be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for they are already defeated! I have given them to you to destroy. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”
9 Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the enemy armies by surprise. 10 Then the Lord threw them into a panic so that the army of Israel slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon and chased the others all the way to Beth-horon and Azekah and Makkedah, killing them along the way. 11 And as the enemy was racing down the hill to Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a great hailstorm that continued all the way to Azekah; in fact, more men died from the hail than by the swords of the Israelis.
12 As the men of Israel were pursuing and harassing the foe, Joshua prayed aloud, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and let the moon stand in its place over the valley of Aijalon!”
13 And the sun and the moon didn’t move until the Israeli army had finished the destruction of its enemies! This is described in greater detail in The Book of Jashar. So the sun stopped in the heavens and stayed there for almost twenty-four hours! 14 There had never been such a day before, and there has never been another since, when the Lord stopped the sun and moon—all because of the prayer of one man. But the Lord was fighting for Israel. 15 (Afterwards Joshua and the Israeli army returned to Gilgal.)
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.