1Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek 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; 2That 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.10.2 royal…: Heb. cities of the kingdom 3Wherefore Adoni-zedek 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, 4Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. 5Therefore 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.
7So 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. 9Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. 10And 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 Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. 11And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, 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.10.12 stand…: Heb. be silent 13And 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.10.13 Jasher: or, the upright? 14And 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. 16But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. 18And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them: 19And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.10.19 smite…: Heb. cut off the tail 20And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities. 21And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. 22Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. 23And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. 25And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. 26And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. 27And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
28¶ And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho. 29Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah: 30And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
31¶ And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: 32And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
33¶ Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.
34¶ And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it: 35And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. 36And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it: 37And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
38¶ And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: 39And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.
40¶ So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. 41And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. 42And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. 43And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
Solen står stille under kampen mod amoritterne
1Da kong Adonitzedek af Jerusalem hørte, hvordan Josva havde erobret og fuldstændig ødelagt Aj og Jeriko og dræbt de to byers konger, og at gibeonitterne havde sluttet fred med Israels folk, så de nu var deres allierede, 2blev han skrækslagen. Gibeon var nemlig en stor by, lige så stor som de andre kongers byer og større end Aj, og dens mænd var kendt som stærke krigere. 3Derfor sendte kong Adonitzedek bud til en række af sine nabokonger: kong Hoham af Hebron, kong Piram af Jarmut, kong Jafia af Lakish og kong Debir af Eglon.
4„Kom og hjælp mig med at udrydde gibeonitterne,” opfordrede han, „for de har sluttet fred med Josva og Israels folk.”
5Så sluttede de fem amoritterkonger sig sammen for at angribe Gibeon i sluttet trop, 6men gibeonitterne sendte straks bud til Josva i Gilgal.
„Kom straks og hjælp os,” bad de. „Alle amoritterkongerne i bjerglandet har samlet deres hære og er kommet for at angribe os. I må ikke lade os i stikken!”
7Josva og den israelitiske hær forlod straks Gilgal for at komme gibeonitterne til undsætning. 8„Vær ikke bange for dem,” sagde Herren til Josva, „for jeg vil overgive dem til dig. Du skal besejre dem alle som en.”
9Samme nat marcherede Josva og hæren fra Gilgal til Gibeon, hvor de overrumplede amoritterne. 10Herren gjorde dem så panikslagne, at de led et stort nederlag. De, der tog flugten, blev indhentet og dræbt neden for bjergpasset ved Bet-Horon og længere sydpå helt til Azeka og Makkeda. 11Da de flygtende amoritter kom til skråningen ved Bet-Horon lod Herren store hagl falde ned over dem fra himlen hele vejen til Azeka, så mange af dem døde. Haglene dræbte flere, end israelitterne gjorde med deres sværd. 12Den dag, da Herren gav israelitterne sejr over amoritterne, bad Josva højt til Herren: „Lad solen stå stille over Gibeon, og lad månen standse i sin bane over Ajjalons dal.” 13Og solen og månen stod stille, indtil israelitterne havde tilintetgjort deres fjender. Er det ikke sådan, der står i „Den Retskafnes Bog”?
Den dag stod solen stille midt på himlen og ventede næsten en hel dag med at gå ned. 14Aldrig før eller siden har der været en dag, hvor Herren adlød sådan en bøn fra et menneske. Det var, fordi Herren kæmpede på Israels side, 15at Josva og hele hæren senere kunne vende uskadt tilbage til lejren i Gilgal.
16På et tidspunkt under slaget ved Gibeon undslap de fem konger og gemte sig i en hule ved byen Makkeda. 17Så snart Josva fik det at vide, 18gav han følgende befaling: „Rul store sten for indgangen og sæt vagtposter udenfor. 19Resten af hæren skal følge efter fjenderne og hugge dem ned bagfra. De må ikke nå at slippe ind i deres byer. Hug dem ned, for Herren, jeres Gud, har overgivet dem til jer.”
20Så genoptog Josva og den israelitiske hær forfølgelsen og huggede de fem kongers hære ned med undtagelse af nogle enkelte krigere, der nåede i sikkerhed i de befæstede byer. 21Israelitterne vendte derefter uskadte tilbage til lejren ved Makkeda. Fra da af var der ingen, som vovede at gøre oprør imod dem.
22Da kampen var overstået, sagde Josva til sine mænd: „Fjern stenene fra hulens indgang og før de fem konger ud til mig.” 23Så førte mændene de fem konger ud til Josva, 24og han sagde til sine hærførere: „Sæt jeres fødder på kongernes nakke.” Det gjorde de.
25„Lad aldrig frygt og mismod overmande jer,” sagde Josva. „Vær altid stærke og modige, for sådan her vil Herren gøre med alle jeres fjender.” 26Så blev kongerne henrettet og hængt op på hver sin pæl indtil aften.
27Ved solnedgang gav Josva ordre til, at deres lig skulle tages ned og kastes ind i hulen, hvor de havde gemt sig. Hulens indgang blev stoppet til med store sten, som ligger der den dag i dag.
De øvrige byer i sydlandet indtages og ødelægges
28Samme dag indtog Josva Makkeda. Han ødelagde byen og huggede både kongen og indbyggerne ned. Ikke en eneste i byen blev skånet. Det gik Makkeda, som det var gået Jeriko.
29Senere drog Josva og israelitterne videre fra Makkeda til Libna og angreb den. 30Herren overgav byen og dens konge til israelitterne. Alle blev hugget ned uden skånsel, og kongen af Libna fik samme behandling som kongen af Jeriko.
31Så tog Josva og israelitterne videre fra Libna til Lakish og gik til angreb på den. 32Efter kun en dag overgav Herren byen til dem, så de kunne gå ind og hugge befolkningen ned ligesom i Libna.
33Under angrebet på Lakish dukkede kong Horam af Gezer op med sin hær for at komme byen til undsætning, men Josva og hans mænd slog kongen ihjel og udslettede fuldstændigt hans hær.
34-35Derefter forlod israelitterne Lakish og gik imod Eglon. De løb byen over ende allerede den første dag. Også her blev samtlige indbyggere hugget ned. 36Fra Eglon tog de videre til Hebron, 37angreb og indtog byen. Alle indbyggerne i byen og i de omliggende landsbyer fik samme medfart som deres konge. De blev alle hugget ned. 38Så vendte de sig mod Debir. 39Byen og dens omliggende landsbyer blev hurtigt indtaget, og alle indbyggerne hugget ned som i Libna og Hebron.
40Således indtog Josva og hans hær hele området og dræbte de folk og konger, der boede på bakkeskråningerne mod vest, i højlandet, i Negev mod syd og på skråningerne mod øst. De udryddede hele landets befolkning, sådan som Herren, Israels Gud, havde befalet. 41De huggede dem ned fra Kadesh-Barnea til Gaza, og fra Goshen til Gibeon. 42Alle disse konger og deres landområder blev erobret i et enkelt felttog, for Herren, Israels Gud, kæmpede for sit folk. 43Derefter vendte Josva og hæren tilbage til lejren ved Gilgal.
