Joshua 10:4-25

⁴In the message he said, “Please come up with your armies and help me to attack Gibeon, because the people of Gibeon have made a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelis.”

⁵So those five kings who ruled all the groups who were descendants of Amor—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Debir—came up with all of their soldiers and surrounded the city. Then they prepared to attack it.

⁶So the people of Gibeon sent a message to Joshua while he was in the camp at Gilgal. They said, “We are your servants. So do not forsake us. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because the kings of all of the groups descended from Amor and their armies have joined their forces and have come from the hilly area to attack us!”

⁷So Joshua and all his army, including the soldiers who were his best fighting men, marched up from Gilgal.

⁸Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of those armies! I will enable your army to defeat them IDM. None of them will be able to ◄resist/fight and defeat► your army.”

⁹Joshua's army marched all night and arrived very early in the morning.

¹⁰They attacked their enemies before anyone knew that they had come. Yahweh caused their enemies to ◄become very confused/start running in all directions► when they saw the Israeli army. As a result, the Israeli army defeated them very severely at Gibeon and killed many of them. The rest of them fled along the road that goes up to Beth-Horon. But the Israeli army pursued them and killed them all along the road that goes to Azekah and Makkedah towns.

¹¹As they fled in front of the Israeli army, Yahweh threw down huge hailstones from the sky. As a result, more of them died from hailstones falling on them than died as a result of the Israeli army killing them with swords.

¹²On the day that Yahweh enabled the Israeli army to defeat the groups who were descendants of Amor, Joshua said to Yahweh while the Israeli people were listening, “Yahweh, cause the sun to stand still over Gibeon, and cause the moon to not move when it is over Aijalon Valley.”

¹³And that is what happened. The sun stood still, and the moon did not move, until the Israeli army defeated their enemies. That is what has been written in the book that Jashar wrote. The sun stopped while it was in the middle of the sky, and did not ◄set/go down► for about a whole day.

¹⁴On that day Yahweh did a great miracle that someone asked him to do. There was never a day like that previously, and there has never been a day like that since. Yahweh was certainly fighting for the Israeli people!

¹⁵After Joshua's army defeated their enemies, they all returned to their camp at Gilgal.

¹⁶While the enemy soldiers were fleeing from Joshua's army, their five kings also fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah town.

¹⁷Then someone told Joshua, “We found those five kings, hiding in a cave at Makkedah!”

¹⁸When Joshua heard that, he said, “Roll some very large rocks to the entrance of the cave so that the kings cannot escape, and leave some soldiers there to guard it.

¹⁹But do not stay there! Pursue our enemies! Attack them from behind! Do not allow them to escape to their cities, because Yahweh, our God, will enable you to defeat/kill them. IDM”

²⁰So Joshua's army did what he told them to do. They killed almost all of the enemy soldiers, but a few of them were able to reach their cities and be safe inside the walls of the cities.

²¹Then Joshua's army returned to Joshua, who was still in their camp at Makkedah. No one in the land dared to criticize MTY the Israelis.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the entrance of the cave, and bring out to me those five kings!”

²³So the soldiers brought those five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

²⁴When they brought those kings to Joshua and forced them to lie on the ground, he summoned all the Israeli soldiers, and then he said to the army commanders, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings!” So the commanders did that.

²⁵Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid of any of our enemies! Never be discouraged! Be strong and courageous. This is what Yahweh will do to all the enemies you will fight!”