Joshua 10; Joshua 11; Joshua 12; Luke 1:39-56

Joshua 10

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 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 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 and help me attack Gibeon, because its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."

5 These five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces, surrounded Gibeon, and attacked it.

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 and his whole army, including the best troops, started out from Gilgal.

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 All night Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal to Gibeon, and they made a surprise attack on the Amorites.

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 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 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 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 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 After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

16 The five Amorite kings, however, had escaped and were hiding in the cave at Makkedah.

17 Someone found them, and Joshua was told where they were hiding.

18 He said, "Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Place some guards there,

19 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 Joshua and the men of Israel slaughtered them, although some managed to find safety inside their city walls and were not killed.

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, "Open the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings out to me."

23 So the cave was opened, and the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon were brought out

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 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 killed the kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies stayed until evening.

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 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 After this, Joshua and his army went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it.

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 After this, Joshua and his army went on from Libnah to Lachish, surrounded it and attacked it.

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 King Horam of Gezer came to the aid of Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army and left none of them alive.

34 Next, Joshua and his army went on from Lachish to Eglon, surrounded it and attacked it.

35 They captured it the same day and put everyone there to death, just as they had done at Lachish.

36 After this, Joshua and his army went from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, attacked 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 Then Joshua and his army turned back to Debir and attacked it.

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 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'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 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.

Joshua 11

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,

2 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.

3 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.

4 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.

5 All of these kings joined forces and came together and set up camp at Merom Brook to fight against Israel.

6 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."

7 So Joshua and all his men attacked them by surprise at Merom Brook.

8 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.

9 Joshua did to them what the Lord had commanded: he crippled their horses and burned their chariots.

10 Joshua then turned back, captured Hazor and killed its king. (At that time Hazor was the most powerful of all those kingdoms.)

11 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.

13 However, the Israelites did not burn any of the cities built on mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua did burn.

14 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.

15 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.

16 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.

17 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.

19 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.

20 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.

21 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.

22 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.

Joshua 12

1 The people of Israel had already conquered and occupied the land east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley up the Jordan Valley and as far north as Mount Hermon. They defeated two kings.

2 One was Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled at Heshbon. His kingdom included half of Gilead: from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and from the city in the middle of that valley, as far as the Jabbok River, the border of Ammon;

3 it included the Jordan Valley from Lake Galilee south to Beth Jeshimoth (east of the Dead Sea) and on toward the foot of Mount Pisgah.

4 They also defeated King Og of Bashan, who was one of the last of the Rephaim; he ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei.

5 His kingdom included Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all of Bashan as far as the boundaries of Geshur and Maacah, as well as half of Gilead, as far as the territory of King Sihon of Heshbon.

6 These two kings were defeated by Moses and the people of Israel. Moses, the Lord's servant, gave their land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to be their possession.

7 Joshua and the people of Israel defeated all the kings in the territory west of the Jordan, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak in the south near Edom. Joshua divided this land among the tribes and gave it to them as a permanent possession.

8 This portion included the hill country, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley and its foothills, the eastern slopes, and the dry country in the south. This land had been the home of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 The people of Israel defeated the kings of the following cities: Jericho, Ai (near Bethel),

10 Jerusalem, Hebron,

11 Jarmuth, Lachish,

12 Eglon, Gezer,

13 Debir, Geder,

14 Hormah, Arad,

15 Libnah, Adullam,

16 Makkedah, Bethel,

17 Tappuah, Hepher,

18 Aphek, Lasharon,

19 Madon, Hazor,

20 Shimron Meron, Achshaph,

21 Taanach, Megiddo,

22 Kedesh, Jokneam (in Carmel),

23 Dor (on the coast), Goiim (in Galilee ),

24 and Tirzah - thirty-one kings in all.

Luke 1:39-56

39 Soon afterward Mary got ready and hurried off to a town in the hill country of Judea.

40 She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

42 and said in a loud voice, "You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear!

43 Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord's mother comes to visit me?

44 For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness.

45 How happy you are to believe that the Lord's message to you will come true!"

46 Mary said, "My heart praises the Lord;

47 my soul is glad because of God my Savior,

48 for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! From now on all people will call me happy,

49 because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me. His name is holy;

50 from one generation to another he shows mercy to those who honor him.

51 He has stretched out his mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans.

52 He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.

54 He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors, and has come to the help of his servant Israel.

55 He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever!"

56 Mary stayed about three months with Elizabeth and then went back home.