1 And it came to pass when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it, that he had done to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them,

2 that they feared greatly; for Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

3 And Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piream king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,

4 Come up to me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.

5 And the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, {and} the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their armies, and they encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, saying, Withdraw not thy hand from thy servants: come up to us quickly, and save us and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered against us.

7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, even all the valiant men.

8 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Fear them not; for into thy hand have I given them: not a man of them shall stand before thee.

9 And Joshua came upon them suddenly; he went up from Gilgal all night.

10 And Jehovah discomfited them before Israel, and smote them {with} a great slaughter at Gibeon; and he chased them on the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and smote them up to Azekah and Makkedah.

11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, -they were at the descent of Beth-horon, -that Jehovah cast down great stones from heaven upon them up to Azekah, and they died. They were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel had slain with the sword.

12 Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah gave up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; And thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon!

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon remained where it was, until the nation had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? And the sun remained standing in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a full day.

14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened to the voice of a man; for Jehovah fought for Israel.

15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp, to Gilgal.

16 And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

17 And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings have been found, hid in the cave at Makkedah.

18 And Joshua said, Roll great stones before the mouth of the cave, and set men before it to keep them.

19 And ye, stay not, pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities; for Jehovah your God has given them into your hand.

20 And it came to pass when Joshua and the children of Israel had ended smiting them with a very great slaughter, until they were consumed, that the remnant which remained of them entered into fortified cities;

21 and all the people returned to the camp to Joshua, at Makkedah, in peace; none moved his tongue against the children of Israel.

22 And Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth to me those five kings out of the cave.

23 And they did so, and brought forth to him those five kings out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.

24 And it came to pass when they had brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called to all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came forward and put their feet on their necks.

25 And Joshua said to them, Fear not, neither be dismayed; be strong and courageous, for thus will Jehovah do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

26 And afterwards Joshua smote them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

27 And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave where they had been hid, and laid great stones before the cave's mouth, {which remain} to this very day.

28 And Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, him and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed; he let none remain; and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

29 And Joshua passed, and all Israel with him, from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.

30 And Jehovah gave it also and the king thereof into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it: and he did to the king thereof as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 And Joshua passed, and all Israel with him, from Libnah to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it.

32 And Jehovah gave Lachish into the hand of Israel; and they took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.

34 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, passed from Lachish to Eglon; and they encamped against it, and fought against it.

35 And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword; and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed on that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

36 And Joshua went up, and all Israel with him, from Eglon to Hebron; and they fought against it.

37 And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein: he let none remain, according to all that he had done to Eglon; and he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls that were therein.

38 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it.

39 And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: as he had done to Hebron, and as he had done to Libnah, and to the king thereof, so he did to Debir and to the king thereof.

40 And Joshua smote the whole country, the mountain, and the south, and the lowland, and the hill-slopes, and all their kings: he let none remain, but he utterly destroyed all that breathed, as Jehovah the God of Israel had commanded.

41 And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even to Gazah, and all the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon;

42 and all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time; for Jehovah the God of Israel fought for Israel.

43 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp, to Gilgal.

1 Sabendo Adonisedec, rei de Jerusalém, que Josué se tinha apoderado de Hai e a havia votado ao interdito, que fizera a Hai e ao seu rei como tinha feito a Jericó e a seu rei, e que os gabaonitas tinham feito paz com Israel e habitavam com ele,

2 teve grande medo. Gabaon era, com efeito, uma grande cidade, uma cidade real, maior que Hai, e toda a sua população muito guerreira.

3 Adonisedec, rei de Jerusalém, mandou dizer a Oão, rei de Hebron, a Farão, rei de Jerimot, a Jafia, rei de Laquis, e a Dabir, rei de Eglon:

4 Vinde comigo e ajudai-me a ferir Gabaon, porque fez paz com Josué e os israelitas.

5 Unidos assim os cinco reis dos amorreus, o rei de Jerusalém, o rei de Hebron, o rei de Jerimot, o rei de Laquis e o rei de Eglon, saíram com todos os seus exércitos e acamparam diante de Gabaon, sitiando-a.

6 Os habitantes de Gabaon enviaram então a seguinte mensagem a Josué, que estava acampado em Gálgala: Não abandones os teus servos; vem ao nosso encontro sem demora, traze-nos socorro e livra-nos, porque todos os reis dos amorreus da montanha se coligaram contra nós.

7 Josué subiu de Gálgala com todos os seus guerreiros e todos os seus valentes.

8 O Senhor disse-lhe: Não os temas, porque os entreguei em tuas mãos; nenhum deles te poderá resistir.

9 Josué, tendo passado toda a noite a subir de Gálgala, caiu de repente sobre eles.

10 O Senhor semeou no meio deles o terror diante de Israel, e este infligiu-lhes uma terrível derrota diante de Gabaon, e perseguiu-os pelo caminho que sobe a Betoron, batendo-os até Azeca e Maceda.

11 Enquanto fugiam diante de Israel, na descida de Betoron, o Senhor mandou sobre eles do céu uma tempestade de granizo até Azeca; e foram mais numerosos os que morreram sob essa chuva de pedras do que os que pereceram pela espada dos israelitas.

12 Josué falou ao Senhor no dia em que ele entregou os amorreus nas mãos dos filhos de Israel, e disse em presença dos israelitas: Sol, detém-te sobre Gabaon, e tu, ó lua, sobre o vale de Ajalon.

13 E o sol parou, e a lua não se moveu até que o povo se vingou de seus inimigos. Isto acha-se escrito no Livro do Justo. O sol parou no meio do céu, e não se apressou a pôr-se pelo espaço de quase um dia inteiro.

14 Não houve, nem antes nem depois, um dia como aquele, em que o Senhor tenha obedecido à voz de um homem, porque o Senhor combatia por Israel.

15 Depois disso, Josué com toda a sua tropa voltou para o acampamento de Gálgala.

16 Ora, os cinco reis tinham fugido, e tinham se escondido numa caverna, em Maceda.

17 E noticiaram-no a Josué: Foram encontrados os cinco reis escondidos numa caverna, em Maceda.

18 Josué respondeu: Rolai grandes pedras para a entrada da caverna, e ponde homens junto a ela em guarda.

19 Vós, porém, não vos detenhais, mas persegui vossos inimigos; não os deixeis entrar em suas cidades, porque o Senhor, vosso Deus, os entregou em vossas mãos.

20 Tendo Josué e os israelitas acabado de massacrá-los, até o extermínio - apenas uns poucos puderam escapar e recolher-se às suas cidades fortes -,

21 todo o povo voltou tranqüilamente ao acampamento, junto de Josué, em Maceda, e ninguém se atreveu a abrir a boca contra os filhos de Israel.

22 Josué disse então: Abri a entrada da caverna, e trazei-me os cinco reis que lá estão. Assim o fizeram.

23 Foram tirados da caverna os cinco reis, o rei de Jerusalém, o rei de Hebron, o rei de Jerimot, o rei de Laquis e o rei de Eglon.

24 Quando foram conduzidos a Josué, ele chamou todos os homens de Israel e disse aos chefes dos guerreiros que o tinham acompanhado: Aproximai-vos e ponde o pé sobre o pescoço destes reis. Tendo-se eles aproximado e posto o pé sobre o pescoço deles,

25 disse-lhes de novo: Não temais, nem tremais. Tende coragem e sede fortes, porque é assim que fará o Senhor a todos os inimigos que haveis de combater.

26 Dizendo isso, Josué feriu-os de morte e suspendeu-os em cinco árvores, onde estiveram até a tarde.

27 Ao pôr-do-sol, mandou que fossem descidos das árvores e lançados na caverna onde se tinham refugiado, e puseram à entrada grandes pedras, que ali se encontram ainda hoje.

28 No mesmo dia apoderou-se Josué de Maceda, e passou-a ao fio da espada juntamente com seu rei; votou ao interdito a cidade com todo ser vivo que nela havia, sem nada poupar. E fez ao rei de Maceda como tinha feito ao rei de Jericó.

29 Passou em seguida com todo o Israel a Libna, e atacaram-na.

30 O Senhor entregou-a com seu rei nas mãos de Israel, que passou ao fio da espada a cidade com todo ser vivo que nela havia, não deixando escapar nenhum. E fez ao seu rei como tinha feito ao rei de Jericó.

31 De Libna passou Josué com todo o Israel a Laquis, onde levantou o seu acampamento, sitiando-a.

32 O Senhor lha entregou, e Israel apoderou-se dela no segundo dia, passando-a ao fio da espada com todo ser vivo, como tinha feito a Libna.

33 Então, Horão, rei de Gaser, veio em socorro de Laquis, mas Josué o derrotou com todo o seu povo até o extermínio completo.

34 De Laquis, passou Josué com todo o seu povo a Eglon; levantaram ali o seu acampamento, e atacaram-na.

35 Tomaram-na no mesmo dia, e passaram-na ao fio da espada, votando ao interdito todo ser vivo, como tinha feito a Laquis.

36 Subiu em seguida com todo o Israel de Eglon a Hebron, e atacaram-na.

37 Tomaram Hebron e passaram ao fio da espada a cidade com seu rei, seus arrabaldes e todo ser vivo, sem nada deixar escapar, como tinham feito a Eglon. A cidade foi votada ao interdito com todo ser vivo.

38 Dali Josué, com todo o Israel, voltou-se contra Dabir e atacou-a;

39 apoderou-se dela, juntamente com seu rei, e passou-os ao fio da espada. Votou ao interdito toda alma viva que nela se achava, sem nada poupar, e fez a Dabir e ao seu rei como tinha feito a Hebron e a Libna com seus reis.

40 Josué feriu toda a terra: a montanha, o Negeb, a planície, as colinas com todos os seus reis, sem poupar ninguém, votando ao interdito tudo o que respirava, segundo a ordem do Senhor, Deus de Israel.

41 Tudo foi assim ferido por Josué, de Cades-Barne a Gaza, toda a terra de Gosen até Gabaon.

42 Josué apoderou-se, de uma só vez, desse país e de seus reis, porque o Senhor, Deus de Israel, combatia por ele.

43 Depois voltou Josué com todo o Israel para o acampamento de Gálgala.