Five Kings Attack Gibeon

1Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had [a]utterly destroyed it (just 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 made peace with Israel and were [b]within their land, 2that [c]he 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. 3Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word 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 made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” 5So 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 together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

6Then 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.” 7So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the valiant warriors. 8And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not [f]one of them will stand against you.” 9So Joshua came upon them suddenly [g]by marching all night from Gilgal. 10And 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. 11And as they fled from Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, 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.

12Then 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,

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

And moon, at the Valley of Aijalon!”

13So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.

Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day. 14There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.

15Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp [i]at Gilgal.

Victory at Makkedah

16Now these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17And it was told to Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men by it to guard them, 19but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and [j]attack them from behind. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has handed them over to you.” 20It came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them down in a very great defeat, until they were destroyed, and the survivors of them who escaped [k]had entered the fortified cities, 21that all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one [l]uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.

22Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.” 23They did so, and brought these 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. 24When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the leaders of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and put their feet on their necks. 25Joshua then said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all your enemies with whom you fight.” 26So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five [m]trees; and they were hung on the [n]trees until evening. 27Then it came about at [o]sunset that Joshua gave the command, and they took them down from the [p]trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

28Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he [q]utterly destroyed [r]it and every [s]person who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Joshua’s Conquest of Southern Canaan

29Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30And the LORD also handed it over to Israel, with its king, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. 32And the LORD handed Lachish over to Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

33Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua [t]defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.

34And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. 35They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he [u]utterly destroyed on that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

36Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it. 37And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he [v]utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

38Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and they fought against it. 39He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and [w]utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

40So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the [x]Negev and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he [y]utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon. 42Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp [z]at Gilgal.

[a] 1 Or put under the ban
[b] 1 Lit among them
[c] 2 Lit they
[d] 4 Lit strike
[e] 6 Lit slacken your hands from
[f] 8 Lit a man
[g] 9 Lit he went up
[h] 11 Lit with
[i] 15 Lit to Gilgal
[j] 19 Lit strike their tail
[k] 20 Lit and had
[l] 21 Lit moved his tongue
[m] 26 Or wooden posts
[n] 26 Or wooden posts
[o] 27 Lit the time of the going of the sun
[p] 27 Or wooden posts
[q] 28 Lit put under the ban
[r] 28 Some mss them
[s] 28 Lit soul, and so throughout the ch
[t] 33 Lit struck
[u] 35 Lit put under the ban
[v] 37 Lit put it under the ban
[w] 39 Lit put under the ban
[x] 40 I.e., South country
[y] 40 Lit put under the ban
[z] 43 Lit to Gilgal