The Sun Stands Still
1Adoni-Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had captured Ai. He found out that the city had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. He heard that Joshua had done to Ai and its king the same thing he had done to Jericho and its king. Adoni-Zedek heard that the people of Gibeon had made a peace treaty with Israel. He also found out that they were living among the Israelites. 2The things he heard alarmed him and his people very much. That’s because Gibeon was an important city. It was like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai. All its men were good soldiers. 3So Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, made an appeal to Hoham, the king of Hebron. He appealed to Piram, the king of Jarmuth. He appealed to Japhia, the king of Lachish. He also made an appeal to Debir, the king of Eglon. 4“Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said. “Its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5Then the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon gathered their armies together. Those five Amorite kings moved all their troops into position to fight against Gibeon. Then they attacked it.
6Joshua was in the camp at Gilgal. The people of Gibeon sent a message to him there. They said, “Don’t desert us. We serve you. Come up to us quickly! Save us! Help us! All the Amorite kings from the central hill country have gathered their armies together to fight against us.”
7So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his whole army. The army included all his best fighting men. 8The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to fight against you and win.”
9Joshua marched all night from Gilgal. He took the Amorite armies by surprise. 10The Lord threw them into a panic as Israel marched toward them. Then Joshua and the Israelites won a complete victory over them at Gibeon. The Israelites chased them along the road that goes up to Beth Horon. They struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11The Amorites tried to escape as Israel marched toward them. They ran down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. Then the Lord threw large hailstones down on them. The hailstones killed more of them than the swords of the Israelites did.
12So the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel. On that day Joshua spoke to the Lord while the Israelites were listening. He said,
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
And you, moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13So the sun stood still.
The moon stopped.
They didn’t move again until the nation won the battle over its enemies.
You can read about it in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It didn’t go down for about a full day. 14There has never been a day like it before or since. It was a day when the Lord listened to a mere human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15Joshua and his whole army returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua Kills the Five Amorite Kings
16The five Amorite kings had run away. They had hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17Joshua was told that the five kings had been found. He was also told that they were hiding in the cave at Makkedah. 18He said, “Roll some large rocks up to the opening of the cave. Put some men there to guard it. 19But keep on going! Chase your enemies! Attack them from behind. Don’t let them get back to their cities. The Lord your God has handed them over to you.”
20So Joshua and the men of Israel had complete victory over them. They killed almost every one of them. But a few escaped. They went back to their cities that had high walls around them. 21Then Israel’s whole army returned safely to Joshua. He was in the camp at Makkedah. No one in the land dared to say anything against the Israelites.
22Joshua said, “Open up the cave. Bring those five kings out to me.” 23So Joshua’s men brought the kings out of the cave. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24The men brought them to Joshua. Then he sent for all the men of Israel. He spoke to the army commanders who had come with him. He said, “Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet on the necks of the kings.
25Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. Be strong and brave. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” 26Joshua put the five kings to death. He stuck a pole through each of their bodies. Then he set the poles up where people could see the bodies. He left them there until evening.
27At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take down the bodies. So they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where the kings had been hiding. They placed large rocks at the opening of the cave. And the rocks are still there to this day.
The Campaign Against the Cities in the South
28That day Joshua captured Makkedah. He cut down its people and their king. He totally destroyed everyone in it. He didn’t leave anyone alive. He did to the king of Makkedah the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.
29Joshua moved on from Makkedah to Libnah. Israel’s whole army went with him. They attacked Libnah. 30The Lord also handed that city and its king over to Israel. Joshua destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He didn’t leave anyone alive there. He did to its king the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.
31Joshua moved on from Libnah to Lachish. Israel’s whole army went with him. The men took up their battle positions. Then Joshua attacked Lachish. 32The Lord handed it over to Israel. Joshua captured the city on the second day of the battle. He destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He had done the same thing to Libnah. 33While all that was happening, Horam had come up to help Lachish. He was the king of Gezer. But Joshua won the battle over him and his army. No one was left alive.
34Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon. Israel’s whole army went with him. They took up their battle positions. Then they attacked Eglon. 35They captured it that same day. They totally destroyed everyone in it with their swords. They had done the same thing to Lachish.
36Joshua went up from Eglon to Hebron. Israel’s whole army went with him. Then they attacked Hebron. 37They captured the city. They destroyed it and its villages. They killed all its people and their king with their swords. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They totally destroyed the city and everyone in it. They had done the same thing at Eglon.
38Joshua turned back and attacked Debir. Israel’s whole army went with him. 39They captured the city, its king and its villages. They totally destroyed everyone in Debir with their swords. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They did to Debir and its king the same thing they had done to Libnah and its king. They had also done the same thing to Hebron.
40So Joshua brought the whole area under his control. That included the central hill country and the Negev Desert. It included the western hills and the mountain slopes. It also included all the kings in that whole area. Joshua didn’t leave anyone alive. He totally destroyed everyone who breathed. He did just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41Joshua brought everyone from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza under his control. He did the same thing to everyone from the whole area of Goshen to Gibeon. 42He won the battle over all those kings and their lands. He did it in one campaign. That’s because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
43Then Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal. Israel’s whole army went with him.
太陽停止
1耶路撒冷王亞多尼·洗德聽說約書亞奪取並毀滅了艾城，像對付耶利哥和耶利哥王一樣對付艾城和艾城的王，又聽說基遍人已經跟以色列人立了盟約，住在他們中間， 2便大為恐懼。因為基遍是一座大城，宏偉得像座都城，比艾城更大，城中的人都驍勇善戰。 3耶路撒冷王亞多尼·洗德便派遣使者去見希伯崙王何咸、耶末王毗蘭、拉吉王雅非亞和伊磯倫王底璧，說： 4「求你們上來幫助我攻打基遍，因為這城已經與約書亞和以色列人立了和約。」 5這五位亞摩利王便聯合起來，率領他們所有的軍隊在基遍附近紮營，攻打基遍。
6基遍人派人去吉甲告訴約書亞說：「住在山區的亞摩利眾王正聯合起來攻打我們，求你趕快來救我們！不要不顧你的僕人。」 7於是，約書亞便率領他的全軍，包括所有的精兵，從吉甲上去。 8耶和華對約書亞說：「不要害怕，我已經把他們交在你手中，他們沒有一人能抵擋你。」 9約書亞從吉甲出發，連夜趕路，突襲敵人。 10耶和華使亞摩利聯軍陣腳大亂，以色列人就在基遍大敗敵軍，在去伯·和崙的上坡路上追殺他們，一直追到亞西加和瑪基大。 11敵人在從伯·和崙到亞西加的下坡路上逃竄的時候，耶和華降下大冰雹，被冰雹砸死的人比以色列人用刀殺死的還要多。
12耶和華將亞摩利人交在以色列人手中，那天約書亞當眾向耶和華禱告：
「太陽啊，停在基遍！
月亮啊，停在亞雅崙谷！」
13果然太陽停住了，
月亮也不動了，
直到以色列人殺敗敵人。
《雅煞珥書》記載了這事。約有一天的時間，太陽停留在天空，沒有西沉。 14耶和華這樣垂聽一個人的祈求是空前絕後的，這是因為耶和華要為以色列爭戰。
15後來，約書亞率領以色列軍返回了吉甲的營地。
亞摩利五王被殺
16那五王逃進瑪基大的山洞裡，躲藏起來。 17有人告訴約書亞那五個王藏在瑪基大的山洞裡， 18約書亞便下令說：「滾幾塊大石頭堵住洞口，派人看守。 19你們不可停下來，要繼續追殺敵人，不要讓他們逃回城，你們的上帝耶和華已經把他們交在你們手中了。」 20約書亞和以色列人把敵人殺得大敗，幾乎全軍覆沒，一些殘餘都逃進了堅固的城壘。 21以色列人都安然無恙地回到約書亞駐紮的瑪基大營。再也沒有人敢威脅以色列人了。
22約書亞說：「打開洞口，把裡面的五個王押出來見我。」 23眾人便把耶路撒冷王、希伯崙王、耶末王、拉吉王、伊磯倫王從洞裡押出來，帶到約書亞面前。 24約書亞召來全體以色列人，然後對那些跟他一起出征的將領說：「你們上前來，用腳踏在這些王的頸上。」各將領便照著約書亞的吩咐做了。 25約書亞對他們說：「你們不要害怕，也不要驚慌，應該剛強勇敢，因為耶和華要使你們所有的仇敵都落此下場。」 26隨後約書亞將這五個王殺死，把屍體分別掛在五棵樹上，直到傍晚。 27日落時，約書亞才下令把屍體放下，丟在他們先前躲藏的山洞裡，用大石頭堵住洞口，石頭至今還在那裡。
28約書亞在當天佔領了瑪基大，把瑪基大王和所有的居民都殺了，一個沒留。他對待瑪基大王跟以前對待耶利哥王一樣。
29約書亞和以色列軍又從瑪基大出發，去攻打立拿。 30耶和華將立拿城和立拿王交在以色列人手中，他們殺了全城的人，一個沒留。他們對待立拿王跟以前對待耶利哥王一樣。
31約書亞和以色列軍從立拿前往拉吉，他們在城外紮營，攻打拉吉。 32耶和華將拉吉交在以色列人手中，第二天約書亞便攻佔了拉吉，殺了全城的人，就像在立拿所行的一樣。 33基色王何蘭前來支持拉吉，結果也被約書亞殺得一個不剩。
34約書亞又率領以色列全軍從拉吉前往伊磯倫，在城外紮營，攻打伊磯倫。 35他們當天就攻陷該城，殺了城內所有的人，就像在拉吉所行的一樣。
36約書亞和全體以色列人又從伊磯倫去攻打希伯崙。 37他們攻陷該城及其附屬城邑，殺了希伯崙王和城邑中的居民，一個沒留，就像在伊磯倫所行的一樣。
38然後，約書亞和全體以色列人再回兵攻打底璧， 39攻取了該城及其附屬城邑，擒獲底璧王，殺了城中所有的人，一個沒留，就像對待希伯崙、立拿和立拿王一樣。
40這樣，約書亞征服了整個地區，包括山區、南地、丘陵和山坡，按照以色列的上帝耶和華的吩咐殺了當地的諸王和所有的居民，一個沒留。 41約書亞征服了各地，從加低斯·巴尼亞到加薩，歌珊全境，直到基遍。 42約書亞能一鼓作氣殺敗諸王，征服他們的土地，都是因為有以色列的上帝耶和華為以色列人爭戰。 43之後，約書亞率領以色列人回到吉甲的營地。
