1 Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem aheard how Joshua had taken bAi and had utterly destroyed it—cas he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to dAi and its king—and ehow the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,
2 that they afeared 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 ait has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.”
5 Therefore the five kings of the aAmorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, bgathered 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 aat 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 aall the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.
8 And the Lord said to Joshua, a“Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; bnot a man of them shall cstand before you.”
9 Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal.
10 So the Lordarouted them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes bto Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as cAzekah and Makkedah.
11 And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, athat the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. Therewere 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: a“Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of bAijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. aIs 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 ano day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for bthe Lord fought for Israel.
15aThen 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. aNo 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 aput their feet on their necks.
25 Then Joshua said to1 them, a“Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for bthus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”
26 And afterward Joshua struck1 them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they awere 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 atook them down from the trees, cast them into the cave where they had been hidden, and laid large stones against the cave’s mouth, whichremain 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 adestroyed them—all the people who were in it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah bas he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to aLibnah; and they fought against Libnah.
JOSHUA. The title of this book is derived from the pious and valiant leader whose achievements it relates and who is commonly supposed to have been its author. The objections to this idea are founded chiefly on the clause, "unto this day," which occurs several times (Joshua 4:9; Joshua 6:25; Joshua 8:28). But this, at least in the case of Rahab, is no valid reason for rejecting the idea of his authorship; for assuming what is most probable, that this book was composed toward the close of Joshua's long career, or compiled from written documents left by him, Rahab might have been still alive. A more simple and satisfactory way of accounting for the frequent insertion of the clause, "unto this day," is the opinion that it was a comment introduced by Ezra, when revising the sacred canon; and this difficulty being removed, the direct proofs of the book having been produced by a witness of the transactions related in it, the strong and vivid descriptions of the passing scenes, and the use of the words "we" and "us," (Joshua 5:1-6), viewed in connection with the fact, that, after his farewell address to the people, Joshua "wrote these words in the book of the law of God" [Joshua 24:26] —all afford strong presumptive proof that the entire book was the work of that eminent individual. Its inspiration and canonical authority are fully established by the repeated testimonies of other Scripture writers (compare Joshua 6:26 with I Kings 16:34; compare Joshua 10:13 with Habakkuk 3:11; Joshua 3:14 with Acts 7:45; Joshua 6:17-23 with Hebrews 11:30; Joshua 2:1-24 with James 2:25; Psalms 44:2; Psalms 68:12-14; Psalms 78:54-55). As a narrative of God's faithfulness in giving the Israelites possession of the promised land, this history is most valuable, and bears the same character as a sequel to the Pentateuch, that the Acts of the Apostles do to the Gospels.
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