1As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,[1] doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, (书6:21; 书6:24; 书8:22; 书8:26; 书9:15)2he[2] 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 warriors. (申11:25)3So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent 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 us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” (书9:15; 书10:1)5Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it. (书9:2)6And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” (书5:10; 书9:6)7So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. (书8:1; 书8:3)8And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” (书1:5; 书11:6; 士4:14)9So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal.10And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who[3] struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. (书16:3; 书16:5; 书18:13; 士4:15; 撒上7:10; 王上9:17; 代上7:24; 代下8:5; 诗18:14; 赛28:21)11And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword. (书10:10; 诗18:12; 赛30:30; 启16:21)12At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” (赛28:21; 哈3:11)13And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.14There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. (书10:42; 书23:3; 书23:10; 王下20:11; 赛38:8)15So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. (书10:43)
Five Amorite Kings Executed
16These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. (书10:10; 书10:28)17And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”18And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them,19but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” (申25:18)20When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, (书8:24)21then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel. (出11:7)22Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.”23And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.24And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.25And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” (申3:21; 申7:19; 申31:6; 书1:6; 书1:9)26And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening. (书8:29)27But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. (申21:22)28As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho. (书6:21; 书10:10; 书10:16)
Conquest of Southern Canaan
29Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. (书21:13)30And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. (书10:28)31Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. (书10:3)32And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.33Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining. (书16:10; 士1:29; 王上9:15)34Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. (书10:3)35And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.36Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron. And they fought against it (书14:13; 书15:13; 士1:10)37and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.38Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and fought against it (书15:15; 士1:11)39and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.40So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. (申20:16; 书12:8)41And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. (申9:23; 书11:16)42And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. (书10:14)43Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. (书10:15)