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JOSHUA 11
the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they
reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the
enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the
Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said,
“Let the sun stand still over Gibeon,
and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”
13 So
the sun stood still and the moon stayed in
place until the nation of Israel had defeated its
enemies.
Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar*? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky,
and it did not set as on a normal day.* 14 There
has never been a day like this one before or
since, when the Lord answered such a prayer.
Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!
15 Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.
Joshua Kills the Five Southern Kings
16 During the battle the five kings escaped and
hid in a cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua
heard that they had been found, 18 he issued this
command: “Cover the opening of the cave with
large rocks, and place guards at the entrance to
keep the kings inside. 19 The rest of you continue
chasing the enemy and cut them down from
the rear. Don’t give them a chance to get back
to their towns, for the Lord your God has given
you victory over them.”
20 So Joshua and the Israelite army continued the slaughter and completely crushed the
enemy. They totally wiped out the five armies
except for a tiny remnant that managed to
reach their fortified towns. 21 Then the Israelites
returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. After that, no one dared to speak even a
word against Israel.
22 Then Joshua said, “Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the
five kings to me.” 23 So they brought the five
kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem,
Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24 When
they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, “Come and put your feet
on the kings’ necks.” And they did as they
were told.
25 “Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,”
Joshua told his men. “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of
your enemies.” 26 Then Joshua killed each of the
five kings and impaled them on five sharpened
poles, where they hung until evening.
27 As the sun was going down, Joshua gave
instructions for the bodies of the kings to be
taken down from the poles and thrown into the
cave where they had been hiding. Then they
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covered the opening of the cave with a pile of
large rocks, which remains to this very day.
Israel Destroys the Southern Towns
28 That same day Joshua captured and destroyed
the town of Makkedah. He killed everyone in it,
including the king, leaving no survivors. He
destroyed them all, and he killed the king of
Makkedah as he had killed the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua and the Israelites went to Libnah and attacked it. 30 There, too, the Lord gave
them the town and its king. He killed everyone
in it, leaving no survivors. Then Joshua killed
the king of Libnah as he had killed the king of
Jericho.
31 From Libnah, Joshua and the Israelites
went to Lachish and attacked it. 32 Here again,
the Lord gave them Lachish. Joshua took it on
the second day and killed everyone in it, just
as he had done at Libnah. 33 During the attack
on Lachish, King Horam of Gezer arrived with
his army to help defend the town. But Joshua’s men killed him and his army, leaving no
survivors.
34 Then Joshua and the Israelite army went
on to Eglon and attacked it. 35 They captured
it that day and killed everyone in it. He completely destroyed everyone, just as he had done
at Lachish. 36 From Eglon, Joshua and the Israelite army went up to Hebron and attacked it.
37 They captured the town and killed everyone
in it, including its king, leaving no survivors.
They did the same thing to all of its surrounding villages. And just as he had done at Eglon,
he completely destroyed the entire population.
38 Then Joshua and the Israelites turned back
and attacked Debir. 39 He captured the town, its
king, and all of its surrounding villages. He completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He did to Debir and its king just what he
had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua conquered the whole region—the
kings and people of the hill country, the Negev,
the western foothills,* and the mountain slopes.
He completely destroyed everyone in the land,
leaving no survivors, just as the Lord, the God of
Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua slaughtered
them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and from the
region around the town of Goshen up to Gibeon. 42 Joshua conquered all these kings and
their land in a single campaign, for the Lord,
the God of Israel, was fighting for his people.
43 Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.
Israel Defeats the Northern Armies
When King Jabin of Hazor heard what
had happened, he sent messages to the
following kings: King Jobab of Madon; the king
11
10:13a Or The Book of the Upright. 10:13b Or did not set for
about a whole day. 10:40 Hebrew the Shephelah.