The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now when it came to the ears of Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, that Joshua had taken Ai, and had given it up to the curse (for as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king); and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them;
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.
2 He was in great fear, because Gibeon was a great town, like one of the king's towns, greater than Ai, and all the men in it were men of war.
2
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.
3 So Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, and to Piram, king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia, king of Lachish, and to Debir, king of Eglon, saying,
3
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:
4 Come up to me and give me help, and let us make an attack on Gibeon: for they have made peace with Joshua and the children of Israel.
4
"Come and help me attack Gibeon, because its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."
5 So 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, were banded together, and went up with all their armies and took up their position before Gibeon and made war against it.
5
These five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces, surrounded Gibeon, and attacked it.
6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the tent-circle at Gilgal, saying, Be not slow to send help to your servants; come up quickly to our support and keep us safe: for all the kings of the Amorites from the hill-country have come together against us.
6
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!"
7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal with all his army and all his men of war.
7
So Joshua and his whole army, including the best troops, started out from Gilgal.
8 And the Lord said to Joshua, Have no fear of them, for I have given them into your hands; they will all give way before you.
8
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."
9 So Joshua, having come up from Gilgal all night, made a sudden attack on them.
9
All night Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal to Gibeon, and they made a surprise attack on the Amorites.
10 And the Lord made them full of fear before Israel, and they put great numbers of them to death at Gibeon, and went after them by the way going up to Beth-horon, driving them back to Azekah and Makkedah
10
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.
11 And in their flight before Israel, on the way down from Beth-horon, the Lord sent down great stones from heaven on them all the way to Azekah, causing their death: those whose death was caused by the stones were more than those whom the children of Israel put to death with the sword.
11
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.
12 It was on the day when the Lord gave up the Amorites into the hands of the children of Israel that Joshua said to the Lord, before the eyes of Israel, Sun, be at rest over Gibeon; and you, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon.
12
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."
13 And the sun was at rest and the moon kept its place till the nation had given punishment to their attackers. (Is it not recorded in the book of Jashar?) So the sun kept its place in the middle of the heavens, and was waiting, and did not go down, for the space of a day.
13
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.
14 And there was no day like that, before it or after it, when the Lord gave ear to the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.
14
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!
15 And Joshua, with all Israel, went back to the tent-circle at Gilgal.
15
After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
16 But these five kings went in flight secretly to a hole in the rock at Makkedah.
16
The five Amorite kings, however, had escaped and were hiding in the cave at Makkedah.
17 And word was given to Joshua that the five kings had been taken in a hole in the rock at Makkedah.
17
Someone found them, and Joshua was told where they were hiding.
18 And Joshua said, Let great stones be rolled against the mouth of the hole, and let men keep watch by it:
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He said, "Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Place some guards there,
19 But do you, without waiting, go after their army, attacking them from the back; do not let them get into their towns, for the Lord your God has given them into your hands.
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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."
20 Now when Joshua and the children of Israel had come to the end of their war of complete destruction, and had put to death all but a small band who had got safely into the walled towns,
20
Joshua and the men of Israel slaughtered them, although some managed to find safety inside their city walls and were not killed.
21 All the people went back to Joshua to the tent-circle at Makkedah in peace: and no one said a word against the children of Israel.
21
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.
22 Then Joshua said, Take away the stones from the mouth of the hole in the rock, and make those five kings come out to me.
22
Then Joshua said, "Open the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings out to me."
23 And they did so, and made those five kings come out of the hole to him, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
23
So the cave was opened, and the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon were brought out
24 And when they had made those kings come out to Joshua, Joshua sent for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, Come near and put your feet on the necks of these kings. So they came near and put their feet on their necks.
24
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.
25 And Joshua said to them, Have no fear and do not be troubled; be strong and take heart: for so will the Lord do to all against whom you make war.
25
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."
26 Then Joshua had them put to death, hanging them on five trees, where they were till evening.
26
Then Joshua killed the kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies stayed until evening.
27 And when the sun went down, they were taken down from the trees, by Joshua's orders, and put into the hole where they had gone to be safe; and great stones were placed at the mouth of the hole, where they are to this day.
27
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.
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah, and put it and its king to the sword; every soul in it he gave up to the curse without mercy: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
28
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.
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Makkedah and came to Libnah, and made an attack on it;
29
After this, Joshua and his army went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it.
30 And again the Lord gave it and its king into the hands of Israel; and he put it and every person in it to the sword, till their destruction was complete; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
30
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.
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Libnah to Lachish, and took up their position against it and made an attack on it,
31
After this, Joshua and his army went on from Libnah to Lachish, surrounded it and attacked it.
32 And the Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel, and on the second day he took it, putting it and every person in it to the sword without mercy, as he had done to Libnah.
32
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.
33 Then Horam, king of Gezer, came up to the help of Lachish; and Joshua overcame him and his people, putting all of them to death.
33
King Horam of Gezer came to the aid of Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army and left none of them alive.
34 And Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Lachish to Eglon: and they took up their position against it and made an attack on it;
34
Next, Joshua and his army went on from Lachish to Eglon, surrounded it and attacked it.
35 And that day they took it, putting it and every person in it to the sword, as he had done to Lachish.
35
They captured it the same day and put everyone there to death, just as they had done at Lachish.
36 And Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and made an attack on it;
36
After this, Joshua and his army went from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, attacked it
37 And took it, overcoming it and putting it and its king and its towns and every person in it to the sword: as he had done to Eglon, he put them all to death, and gave it up to the curse with every person in it.
37
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.
38 And Joshua and all Israel with him went on to make an attack on Debir;
38
Then Joshua and his army turned back to Debir and attacked it.
39 And he took it, with its king and all its towns: and he put them to the sword, giving every person in it to the curse; all were put to death: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king.
39
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 So Joshua overcame all the land, the hill-country and the South and the lowland and the mountain slopes, and all their kings; all were put to death: and every living thing he gave up to the curse, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had given him orders.
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.
41 Joshua overcame them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
41
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.
42 And all these kings and their land Joshua took at the same time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.
42
Joshua conquered all these kings and their territory in one campaign because the Lord, Israel's God, was fighting for Israel.
43 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went back to their tents at Gilgal.
43
After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.