Joshua 9-10New King James Version (NKJV)
The Treaty with the Gibeonites
9 And it came to pass when all the kings
who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the
lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon—the Hittite, the
Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—heard about
it, 2 that they gathered together to fight with
Joshua and Israel with one accord.
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon
heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they
worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old
sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, 5 old
and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the
bread of their provision was dry and moldy. 6 And
they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of
Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with
us.”
7 Then the men of Israel said to the
Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?”
8 But they said to Joshua, “We are your
servants.”
And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and
where do you come from?”
9 So they said to him: “From a very
far country your servants have come, because of the name of
the Lord your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did
in Egypt, 10 and all that He did to the two kings
of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of
Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. 11 Therefore
our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take
provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them,
“We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with
us.”’ 12 This bread of ours we took hot for our
provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look,
it is dry and moldy. 13 And these wineskins which
we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our
garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”
14 Then the men of Israel took some
of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord. 15 So
Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live;
and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.
16 And it happened at the end of
three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that
they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. 17 Then
the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now
their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath
Jearim. 18 But the children of Israel did not
attack them, because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by
the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against
the rulers.
19 Then all the rulers said to all
the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel;
now therefore, we may not touch them. 20 This we
will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the
oath which we swore to them.” 21 And the rulers
said to them, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers
for all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them.”
22 Then Joshua called for them, and
he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very
far from you,’ when you dwell near us? 23 Now
therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from
being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 So they answered Joshua and said,
“Because your servants were clearly told that the Lord your God
commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the
inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were very much afraid for
our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25 And
now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to
us.” 26 So he did to them, and delivered them out
of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. 27 And
that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation
and for the altar of the Lord, in the place which He would choose, even to
this day.
The Sun Stands Still
10 Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of
Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it—as he had
done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its 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, 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 to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of
Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come
up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for it has 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, and the king of Eglon,
gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before
Gibeon and made war against it.
6 And the men of Gibeon sent to
Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to
us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in
the mountains have 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 valor. 8 And
the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them
into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.” 9 Joshua
therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. 10 So
the Lord routed them before Israel, killed them with a great
slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and
struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And
it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the
descent of Beth Horon, that the Lord cast down large hailstones from
heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more
who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.
12 Then Joshua spoke 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 still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So
the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for
about a whole day. 14 And there has been no day
like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a
man; for the Lord fought for Israel.
15 Then Joshua returned, and all
Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
The Amorite Kings Executed
16 But these five kings had fled and
hidden themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17 And it
was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at
Makkedah.”
18 So Joshua said, “Roll large stones
against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them. 19 And
do not stay there yourselves, but pursue your
enemies, and attack their rear guard. Do not allow them to
enter their cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into
your hand.” 20 Then it happened, while Joshua and
the children of Israel made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter,
till they had finished, that those who escaped entered fortified cities. 21 And
all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah, in peace.
No one moved his tongue against any of the children of
Israel.
22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth
of the cave, and bring out those five kings to me from the cave.” 23 And
they did so, and brought out those five kings 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.
24 So it was, when they brought out
those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said
to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet
on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near and put their feet on their
necks. 25 Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be
afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for thus
the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 26 And
afterward Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees;
and they were hanging on the trees until evening. 27 So
it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua
commanded, and they took them down from the trees, cast them into the cave
where they had been hidden, and laid large stones against the cave’s
mouth, which remain until this very day.
Conquest of the Southland
28 On that day Joshua took Makkedah,
and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed
them[a]—all the people who were in
it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to
the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah,
and all Israel with him, to Libnah; and they fought against Libnah. 30 And
the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he
struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of
the sword. He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the
king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua passed from Libnah,
and all Israel with him, to Lachish; and they encamped against it and fought
against it. 32 And the Lord delivered
Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day, and struck it
and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword,
according to all that he had done to Libnah. 33 Then
Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his
people, until he left him none remaining.
34 From Lachish Joshua passed to
Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it and fought against
it. 35 They took it on that day and struck it with
the edge of the sword; all the people who were in it he
utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36 So Joshua went up from Eglon, and
all Israel with him, to Hebron; and they fought against it. 37 And
they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword—its king, all its cities,
and all the people who were in it; he left none remaining,
according to all that he had done to Eglon, but utterly destroyed it and all
the people who were in it.
38 Then Joshua returned, and all
Israel with him, to Debir; and they fought against it. 39 And
he took it and its king and all its cities; they struck them with the edge of
the sword and utterly destroyed all the people who were in it.
He left none remaining; as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its
king, as he had done also to Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua conquered all the land:
the mountain country and the South[b] and the lowland and
the wilderness slopes, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but utterly
destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had
commanded. 41 And Joshua conquered them from Kadesh
Barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even as far as
Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their land Joshua
took at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for
Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel
with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
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