The Message Bible MSG
New Century Version NCV
1 It wasn't long before My-Master-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and destroyed it and its king under a holy curse, just as he had done to Jericho and its king. He also learned that the people of Gibeon had come to terms with Israel and were living as neighbors.
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At this time Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had defeated Ai and completely destroyed it, as he had also done to Jericho and its king. The king also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace agreement with Israel and that they lived nearby.
2 He and his people were alarmed: Gibeon was a big city - as big as any with a king and bigger than Ai - and all its men were seasoned fighters.
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Adoni-Zedek and his people were very afraid because of this. Gibeon was not a little town like Ai; it was a large city, as big as a city that had a king, and all its men were good fighters.
3 Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon:
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So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent a message to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon. He begged them,
4 "Come and help me. Let's attack Gibeon; they've joined up with Joshua and the People of Israel."
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"Come with me and help me attack Gibeon, which has made a peace agreement with Joshua and the Israelites."
5 So the five Amorite (Western) kings - the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon - combined their armies and set out to attack Gibeon.
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Then these five Amorite kings -- the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon -- gathered their armies, went to Gibeon, surrounded it, and attacked it.
6 The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua camped at Gilgal, "Don't let us down now! Come up here quickly! Save us! Help us! All the Amorite kings who live up in the hills have ganged up on us."
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The Gibeonites sent this message to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal: "Don't let us, your servants, be destroyed. Come quickly and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the mountains have joined their armies and are fighting against us."
7 So Joshua set out from Gilgal, his whole army with him - all those tough soldiers!
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So Joshua marched out of Gilgal with his whole army, including his best fighting men.
8 God told him, "Don't give them a second thought. I've put them under your thumb - not one of them will stand up to you."
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The Lord said to Joshua, "Don't be afraid of those armies, because I will hand them over to you. None of them will be able to stand against you."
9 Joshua marched all night from Gilgal and took them by total surprise.
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Joshua and his army marched all night from Gilgal for a surprise attack.
10 God threw them into total confusion before Israel, a major victory at Gibeon. Israel chased them along the ridge to Beth Horon and fought them all the way down to Azekah and Makkedah.
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The Lord confused those armies when Israel attacked, so Israel defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. They chased them along the road going up to Beth Horon and killed men all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
11 As they ran from the People of Israel, down from the Beth Horon ridge and all the way to Azekah, God pitched huge stones on them out of the sky and many died. More died from the hailstones than the People of Israel killed with the sword.
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As they chased the enemy down the Beth Horon Pass to Azekah, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky and killed them. More people were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites' swords.
12 The day God gave the Amorites up to Israel, Joshua spoke to God, with all Israel listening: "Stop, Sun, over Gibeon; Halt, Moon, over Aijalon Valley."
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On the day that the Lord gave up the Amorites to the Israelites, Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon. Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon."
13 And Sun stopped, Moon stood stock still Until he defeated his enemies.
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So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped until the people defeated their enemies. These words are written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and waited to go down for a full day.
14 There's never been a day like that before or since - God took orders from a human voice! Truly, God fought for Israel.
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That has never happened at any time before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a human being. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15 Then Joshua returned, all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
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After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
16 Meanwhile the five kings had hidden in the cave at Makkedah.
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During the fight the five kings ran away and hid in a cave near Makkedah,
17 Joshua was told, "The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah."
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but someone found them hiding in the cave at Makkedah and told Joshua.
18 Joshua said, "Roll big stones against the mouth of the cave and post guards to keep watch.
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So he said, "Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks. Put some men there to guard it,
19 But don't you hang around - go after your enemies. Cut off their retreat. Don't let them back into their cities. God has given them to you."
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but don't stay there yourselves. Continue chasing the enemy and attacking them from behind. Don't let them get to their cities, because the Lord your God will hand them over to you."
20 Joshua and the People of Israel then finished them off, total devastation. Only a few got away to the fortified towns.
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So Joshua and the Israelites killed the enemy, but a few were able to get back to their strong, walled cities.
21 The whole army then returned intact to the camp and to Joshua at Makkedah. There was no criticism that day from the People of Israel!
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After the fighting, Joshua's men came back safely to him at Makkedah. No one was brave enough to say a word against the Israelites.
22 Then Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring me those five kings."
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Joshua said, "Move the rocks that are covering the opening of the cave and bring those five kings out to me."
23 They did it. They brought him the five kings from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
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So Joshua's men brought the five kings out of the cave -- the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.
24 When they had them all there in front of Joshua, he called up the army and told the field commanders who had been with him, "Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings." They stepped up and put their feet on their necks.
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When they brought the five kings out to Joshua, he called for all his men. He said to the commanders of his army, "Come here! Put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came close and put their feet on their necks.
25 Joshua told them, "Don't hold back. Don't be timid. Be strong! Be confident! This is what God will do to all your enemies when you fight them."
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Joshua said to his men, "Be strong and brave! Don't be afraid, because I will show you what the Lord will do to the enemies you will fight in the future."
26 Then Joshua struck and killed the kings. He hung them on five trees where they remained until evening.
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Then Joshua killed the five kings and hung their bodies on five trees, where he left them until evening.
27 At sunset Joshua gave the command. They took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden. They put large stones at the mouth of the cave. The kings are still in there.
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At sunset Joshua told his men to take the bodies down from the trees. Then they threw them into the same cave where they had been hiding and covered the opening of the cave with large rocks, which are still there today.
28 That same day Joshua captured Makkedah, a massacre that included the king. He carried out the holy curse. No survivors. Makkedah's king got the same treatment as Jericho's king.
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That day Joshua defeated Makkedah. He killed the king and completely destroyed all the people in that city as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive. He did the same thing to the king of Makkedah that he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Joshua, all Israel with him, moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.
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Joshua and all the Israelites traveled from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it.
30 God gave Libnah to Israel. They captured city and king and massacred the lot. No survivors. Libnah's king got the same treatment as Jericho's king.
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The Lord handed over the city and its king. They killed every person in the city; no one was left alive. And they did the same thing to that king that they had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Joshua, all Israel with him, moved on from Libnah to Lachish. He set up camp nearby and attacked.
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Then Joshua and all the Israelites left Libnah and went to Lachish, which they surrounded and attacked.
32 God gave Lachish to Israel. Israel took it in two days and killed everyone. He carried out the holy curse, the same as with Libnah.
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The Lord handed over Lachish on the second day. The Israelites killed everyone in that city just as they had done to Libnah.
33 Horam, king of Gezer, arrived to help Lachish. Joshua attacked him and his army until there was nothing left of them. No survivors.
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During this same time Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish, but Joshua also defeated him and his army; no one was left alive.
34 Joshua, all Israel with him, moved on from Lachish to Eglon. They set up camp and attacked.
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Then Joshua and all the Israelites went from Lachish to Eglon. They surrounded Eglon, attacked it, and
35 They captured it and killed everyone, carrying out the holy curse, the same as they had done with Lachish.
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captured it the same day. They killed all its people and completely destroyed everything in it as an offering to the Lord, just as they had done to Lachish.
36 Joshua, all Israel with him, went up from Eglon to Hebron. He attacked
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Then Joshua and the Israelites went from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it,
37 and captured it. They killed everyone, including its king, its villages, and their people. No survivors, the same as with Eglon. They carried out the holy curse on city and people.
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capturing it and all the little towns near it. The Israelites killed everyone in Hebron; no one was left alive there. Just as they had done to Eglon, they completely destroyed the city and all its people as an offering to the Lord.
38 Then Joshua, all Israel with him, turned toward Debir and attacked it.
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Then Joshua and the Israelites went back to Debir and attacked it.
39 He captured it, its king, and its villages. They killed everyone. They put everyone and everything under the holy curse. No survivors. Debir and its king got the same treatment as Hebron and its king, and Libnah and its king.
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They captured that city, its king, and all the little towns near it, completely destroying everyone in Debir as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive there. Israel did to Debir and its king just as they had done to Libnah and its king, just as they had done to Hebron.
40 Joshua took the whole country: hills, desert, foothills, and mountain slopes, including all kings. He left no survivors. He carried out the holy curse on everything that breathed, just as God, the God of Israel, had commanded.
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So Joshua defeated all the kings of the cities of these areas: the mountains, southern Canaan, the western hills, and the slopes. The Lord, the God of Israel, had told Joshua to completely destroy all the people as an offering to the Lord, so he left no one alive in those places.
41 Joshua's conquest stretched from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the entire region of Goshen to Gibeon.
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Joshua captured all the cities from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza, and from Goshen to Gibeon.
42 Joshua took all these kings and their lands in a single campaign because God, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
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He captured all these cities and their kings on one trip, because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.
43 Then Joshua, all Israel with him, went back to the camp at Gilgal.
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Then Joshua and all the Israelites returned to their camp at Gilgal.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.