1
The victories of Israel became known to all the kings west of the Jordan---in the hills, in the foothills, and all along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as Lebanon; these were the kings of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
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They all came together and joined forces to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.
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But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
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and they decided to deceive him. They went and got some food and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and patched-up wineskins.
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They put on ragged clothes and worn-out sandals that had been mended. The bread they took with them was dry and moldy.
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Then they went to the camp at Gilgal and said to Joshua and the Israelites, "We have come from a distant land. We want you to make a treaty with us."
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But the Israelites said, "Why should we make a treaty with you? Maybe you live nearby."
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They said to Joshua, "We are at your service." Joshua asked them, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"
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Then they told him this story: "We have come from a very distant land, sir, because we have heard of the LORD your God. We have heard about everything that he did in Egypt
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and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan: King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.
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Our leaders and all the people that live in our land told us to get some food ready for a trip and to go and meet you. We were told to put ourselves at your service and ask you to make a treaty with us.
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Look at our bread. When we left home with it and started out to meet you, it was still warm. But look! Now it is dry and moldy.
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When we filled these wineskins, they were new, but look! They are torn. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long trip."
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The Israelites accepted some food from them, but did not consult the LORD about it.
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Joshua made a treaty of friendship with the people of Gibeon and allowed them to live. The leaders of the community of Israel gave their solemn promise to keep the treaty.
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Three days after the treaty had been made, the Israelites learned that these people did indeed live nearby.
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So the people of Israel started out and three days later arrived at the cities where these people lived: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim.
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But the Israelites could not kill them, because their leaders had made a solemn promise to them in the name of the LORD, Israel's God. All the people complained to the leaders about this,
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but they answered, "We have made our solemn promise to them in the name of the LORD God of Israel. Now we cannot harm them.
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We must let them live because of our promise; if we don't, God will punish us.
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Let them live, but they will have to cut wood and carry water for us." This was what the leaders suggested.
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Joshua ordered the people of Gibeon to be brought to him, and he asked them, "Why did you deceive us and tell us that you were from far away, when you live right here?
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Because you did this, God has condemned you. Your people will always be slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the sanctuary of my God."
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They answered, "We did it, sir, because we learned that it was really true that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to kill the people living in it as you advanced. We did it because we were terrified of you; we were in fear of our lives.
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Now we are in your power; do with us what you think is right."
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So this is what Joshua did: he protected them and did not allow the people of Israel to kill them.
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But at the same time he made them slaves, to cut wood and carry water for the people of Israel and for the LORD's altar. To this day they have continued to do this work in the place where the LORD has chosen to be worshiped.
1
Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured and totally destroyed Ai and had killed its king, just as he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites and were living among them.
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The people of Jerusalem were greatly alarmed at this because Gibeon was as large as any of the cities that had a king; it was larger than Ai, and its men were good fighters.
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So Adonizedek sent the following message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon:
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"Come and help me attack Gibeon, because its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."
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These five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces, surrounded Gibeon, and attacked it.
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The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: "Do not abandon us, sir! Come at once and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings in the hill country have joined forces and have attacked us!"
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So Joshua and his whole army, including the best troops, started out from Gilgal.
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The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them. I have already given you the victory. Not one of them will be able to stand against you."
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All night Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal to Gibeon, and they made a surprise attack on the Amorites.
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The LORD made the Amorites panic at the sight of Israel's army. The Israelites slaughtered them at Gibeon and pursued them down the mountain pass at Beth Horon, keeping up the attack as far south as Azekah and Makkedah.
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While the Amorites were running down the pass from the Israelite army, the LORD made large hailstones fall down on them all the way to Azekah. More were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites.
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On the day that the LORD gave the men of Israel victory over the Amorites, Joshua spoke to the LORD. In the presence of the Israelites he said, "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; Moon, stop over Aijalon Valley."
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The sun stood still and the moon did not move until the nation had conquered its enemies. This is written in The Book of Jashar. The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not go down for a whole day.
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Never before, and never since, has there been a day like it, when the LORD obeyed a human being. The LORD fought on Israel's side!
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After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
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The five Amorite kings, however, had escaped and were hiding in the cave at Makkedah.
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Someone found them, and Joshua was told where they were hiding.
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He said, "Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Place some guards there,
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but don't stay there yourselves. Keep on after the enemy and attack them from the rear; don't let them get to their cities! The LORD your God has given you victory over them."
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Joshua and the men of Israel slaughtered them, although some managed to find safety inside their city walls and were not killed.
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Then all of Joshua's men came back safe to him at the camp at Makkedah. No one in the land dared even to speak against the Israelites.
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Then Joshua said, "Open the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings out to me."
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So the cave was opened, and the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon were brought out
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and taken to Joshua. Joshua then called all the men of Israel to him and ordered the officers who had gone with him to come and put their feet on the necks of the kings. They did so.
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Then Joshua said to his officers, "Don't be afraid or discouraged. Be determined and confident because this is what the LORD is going to do to all your enemies."
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Then Joshua killed the kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies stayed until evening.
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At sundown Joshua gave orders, and their bodies were taken down and thrown into the same cave where they had hidden earlier. Large stones were placed at the entrance to the cave, and they are still there.
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Joshua attacked and captured Makkedah and its king that day. He put everyone in the city to death; no one was left alive. He did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho.
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After this, Joshua and his army went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it.
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The LORD also gave the Israelites victory over this city and its king. They spared no one, but killed every person in it. They did to the king what they had done to the king of Jericho.
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After this, Joshua and his army went on from Libnah to Lachish, surrounded it and attacked it.
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The LORD gave the Israelites victory over Lachish on the second day of the battle. Just as they had done at Libnah, they spared no one, but killed every person in the city.
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King Horam of Gezer came to the aid of Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army and left none of them alive.
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Next, Joshua and his army went on from Lachish to Eglon, surrounded it and attacked it.
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They captured it the same day and put everyone there to death, just as they had done at Lachish.
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After this, Joshua and his army went from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, attacked it
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and captured it. They killed the king and everyone else in the city as well as in the nearby towns. Joshua condemned the city to total destruction, just as he had done to Eglon. No one in it was left alive.
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Then Joshua and his army turned back to Debir and attacked it.
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He captured it, with its king and all the nearby towns. They put everyone there to death. Joshua did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.
40
Joshua conquered the whole land. He defeated the kings of the hill country, the eastern slopes, and the western foothills, as well as those of the dry country in the south. He spared no one; everyone was put to death. This was what the LORD God of Israel had commanded.
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Joshua's campaign took him from Kadesh Barnea in the south to Gaza near the coast, including all the area of Goshen, and as far north as Gibeon.
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Joshua conquered all these kings and their territory in one campaign because the LORD, Israel's God, was fighting for Israel.
43
After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
1
When the news of Israel's victories reached King Jabin of Hazor, he sent word to King Jobab of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph,
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and to the kings in the hill country in the north, in the Jordan Valley south of Lake Galilee, in the foothills, and on the coast near Dor.
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He also sent word to the Canaanites on both sides of the Jordan, to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, as well as to the Hivites who lived at the foot of Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
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They came with all their soldiers---an army with as many men as there are grains of sand on the seashore. They also had many horses and chariots.
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All of these kings joined forces and came together and set up camp at Merom Brook to fight against Israel.
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The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will have killed all of them for Israel. You are to cripple their horses and burn their chariots."
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So Joshua and all his men attacked them by surprise at Merom Brook.
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The LORD gave the Israelites victory over them; the Israelites attacked and pursued them as far north as Misrephoth Maim and Sidon, and as far east as the valley of Mizpah. The fight continued until none of the enemy was left alive.
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Joshua did to them what the LORD had commanded: he crippled their horses and burned their chariots.
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Joshua then turned back, captured Hazor and killed its king. (At that time Hazor was the most powerful of all those kingdoms.)
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They put everyone there to death; no one was left alive, and the city was burned.
12
Joshua captured all these cities and their kings, putting everyone to death, just as Moses, the LORD's servant, had commanded.
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However, the Israelites did not burn any of the cities built on mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua did burn.
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The people of Israel took all the valuables and livestock from these cities and kept them for themselves. But they put every person to death; no one was left alive.
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The LORD had given his commands to his servant Moses, Moses had given them to Joshua, and Joshua obeyed them. He did everything that the LORD had commanded Moses.
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Joshua captured all the land---the hill country and foothills, both north and south, all the area of Goshen and the dry country south of it, as well as the Jordan Valley.
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The territory extended from Mount Halak in the south near Edom, as far as Baalgad in the north, in the valley of Lebanon south of Mount Hermon. Joshua was at war with the kings of this territory for a long time, but he captured them all and put them to death.
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The only city that made peace with the people of Israel was Gibeon, where some of the Hivites lived. All the others were conquered in battle.
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The LORD had made them determined to fight the Israelites, so that they would be condemned to total destruction and all be killed without mercy. This was what the LORD had commanded Moses.
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At this time Joshua went and destroyed the race of giants called the Anakim who lived in the hill country---in Hebron, Debir, Anab, and in all the hill country of Judah and Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them and their cities.
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None of the Anakim were left in the land of Israel; a few, however, were left in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.
23
Joshua captured the whole land, as the LORD had commanded Moses. Joshua gave it to the Israelites as their own and divided it into portions, one for each tribe. So the people rested from war.
1
If any of you have a dispute with another Christian, how dare you go before heathen judges instead of letting God's people settle the matter?
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Don't you know that God's people will judge the world? Well, then, if you are to judge the world, aren't you capable of judging small matters?
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Do you not know that we shall judge the angels? How much more, then, the things of this life!
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If such matters come up, are you going to take them to be settled by people who have no standing in the church?
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Shame on you! Surely there is at least one wise person in your fellowship who can settle a dispute between fellow Christians.
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Instead, one Christian goes to court against another and lets unbelievers judge the case!
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The very fact that you have legal disputes among yourselves shows that you have failed completely. Would it not be better for you to be wronged? Would it not be better for you to be robbed?
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Instead, you yourselves wrong one another and rob one another, even other believers!
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Surely you know that the wicked will not possess God's Kingdom. Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts
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or who steal or are greedy or are drunkards or who slander others or are thieves---none of these will possess God's Kingdom.
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Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin; you have been dedicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
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Someone will say, "I am allowed to do anything." Yes; but not everything is good for you. I could say that I am allowed to do anything, but I am not going to let anything make me its slave.
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Someone else will say, "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food." Yes; but God will put an end to both. The body is not to be used for sexual immorality, but to serve the Lord; and the Lord provides for the body.
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God raised the Lord from death, and he will also raise us by his power.
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You know that your bodies are parts of the body of Christ. Shall I take a part of Christ's body and make it part of the body of a prostitute? Impossible!
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Or perhaps you don't know that the man who joins his body to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? The scripture says quite plainly, "The two will become one body."
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But he who joins himself to the Lord becomes spiritually one with him.
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Avoid immorality. Any other sin a man commits does not affect his body; but the man who is guilty of sexual immorality sins against his own body.
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Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God;
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he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory.
